Fnatic has locked down their support for the 2021 season by signing Zdravets “Hylissang” Iliev Galabov.

After a mixed season in 2020, Fnatic will at least be keeping hold of one half of their bot lane as Hylissang has signed a one-year contract extension. Hylissang joins up with the new arrival Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer who re-joins Fnatic from Cloud9 after he was let go by the LCS side in the off-season. Cloud9 is expected to replace Nisqy with G2 ADC Luka “Perkz” Perković. A move which saw Martin “Rekkles” Larsson join G2 Esports as his replacement.

It was an eventful year for Fnatic in 2020. The side almost missed out on a playoff spot and then found themselves facing off against, and losing to, G2 Esports in another LEC Final. Fnatic did look to come good at Worlds at least, however, despite a valiant showing against TOP Esports in the Quarterfinals, they were unable to progress.

Welcome back, professor 👨‍🏫

We're excited to announce that @FNCHylissang has signed a new contract with Fnatic, pending Riot approval.https://t.co/6RfN6MKsx4#HyliSigns

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) November 19, 2020

Fnatic is also expected to make a change in the coaching department, with former Team Vitality and LEC analyst Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi joining the side for 2021.

The future of the Fnatic ADC is not currently known, with Rekkles expected to join G2 Esports in the coming days.

Looking up for Fnatic

2020 was a year that saw Fnatic almost not make playoffs in the LEC, let alone Worlds. It ended with them losing yet again to G2 Esports in the Summer Split finals before being knocked out of Worlds 2020 in the first knockout round by TOP Esports in a tight 3-2 series.

2021 will bring yet another huge wave of change to Fnatic. With the head coach, mid laner, and ADC all changing ahead of another LEC season. 2021 will, however, have an added complication of them facing off against Rekkles, a situation that will be very unusual for Fnatic and their fans.

The post LoL: Fnatic Extends Hylissang's Contract For 2021 appeared first on Esports News Network | ESTNN.

source https://estnn.com/lol-fnatic-extend-hylissang-deal-for-2021/

It looks like the third end of an era is coming to Europe, as Rekkles and Fnatic have confirmed his time with the organization has come to an end.

Martin “Rekkles” Larsson has been a near one organization man in his career. First playing for Fnatic back in 2012, before leaving on loan to join Copenhagen Wolves. Rekkles would then return for another year before moving to first Alliance, then Elements in late 2014, early 2015 before finally returning to Fnatic in May 2015 where he’s remained ever since.

While no official confirmation of where he’ll head next has been forthcoming, all signs right now point to him signing for G2 Esports after they parted ways with their mid laner turned ADC Luka “Perkz” Perkovic who is expected to join Cloud9. Speculation had been rampant about who G2 would replace Perkz with, it does appear that G2 will pull off the shock of the off-season by reuniting Rekkles and Caps once again as G2 Esports looks to cement their dominance in Europe.

Rekkles’ Fnatic career in numbers:

👨‍🦳 8 years
🏆 26 1st place tournament finishes
🖱️ 566 games
☠️ 6.6 KDA
💰 438 GPM

Legend. pic.twitter.com/rkRsfPRIFY

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) November 18, 2020

Now the pressure moves to Fnatic, who must replace their franchise man with a new player. With a mid laner still not confirmed, and the contract of Zdravets “Hylissang” Iliev Galabov still not officially renewed for 2021, Fnatic faces a dire situation. While TIme “Nemesis” Lipovsek is still under contract, speculation has seen him linked with a move to the LCS the most likely outcome.

Where does Fnatic turn now?

The biggest question now is what do Fnatic do about their ADC, and potentially their support. Astralis ADC Elias “Upset” Lipp was heavily linked with a move to G2 Esports earlier in the off-season, so he could be a logical replacement for Rekkles. Fnatic might, however, look to double down on younger players, with Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek still just 20 and heading into his second season and Babriél “Bwipo” Rau entering his third.

One unlikely scenario could see Bwipo and Hylissang play in the bot lane together. The pair linked up in Summer 2018, and they had a real affinity for one another. While the partnership was a result of a meta that suited Bwipo and his champion pool in the bot lane, Bwipo could be unleashed in the bot lane alongside Hylissang. It’s so wild of an idea, it could only happen in 2020.

The post LoL: End of an Era as Rekkles Leaves Fnatic appeared first on Esports News Network | ESTNN.

source https://estnn.com/lol-end-of-an-era-as-rekkles-leaves-fnatic/

Immortals is taking full advantage of the new Oceania residency rules for North America as they double-dip on the region.

Immortals will pick up former Origen (Astralis) Mitchell “Destiny” Shaw and Legacy Esports bot laner Quin “Raes” Korebrits. This will unite the two Oceania players in the bot lane as the residency rules open up for North American sides.

Destiny spent 2020 with Origen and despite having a good season it looks like Astralis (who have name changed the roster) will be going in a different direction and move on their entire 2020 roster. For Raes, he’s the product of the demise of the OPL region. He and Legacy Esports had a great season, dominating the domestic competition and attending Worlds 2020. Unfortunately, they were knocked out of Worlds earlier than they’d have liked due to a 0-3 loss to LGD.

These two signings will likely see the current Immortals bot lane duo of Apollo “Apollo” Price and Nickolas “Hakuho” Surgent who will likely be moved on. This is despite them each having a year left on their contract. Elsewhere at Immortals, both Jake “Xmithie” Kevin Puchero and David “Insanity” Challe both still have time remaining on their contracts with Immortals. Though if they stick around in the starting roster is not known.

One possible option for Immortals appears to be in the form of another Astralis player. Jungler Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir is rumored to have signed with Immortals. Doing so would take up one of the Immortals import spots, though they would have one more remaining. Immortals also picked up former Astralis coach André “Guilhoto” Pereira Guilhoto. This is likely why we’ve seen them pick up two former Astralis players for 2021.

The post LoL: Immortals Sign Destiny And Raes For Starting Roster appeared first on Esports News Network | ESTNN.

source https://estnn.com/lol-immortals-sign-destiny-and-raes-for-starting-roster/

Schalke 04 is starting to round out their roster for 2021 as they sign up former SK Gaming support Dino “LIMIT” Tot.

Limit spent 2019 with SK Gaming in his rookie season. He was a generally well-liked player and should be a good addition to the Schalke 04 roster that had a tricky 2020, despite a miracle run that almost saw them go to Worlds. Schalke 04 has also changed most of their roster from 2020, though Broken Blade and Limit will be important signings.

Limit has spent all of his career in Europe, having played for ad hoc gaming before SK Gaming and QFLASH and ASUS ROG Elite before that.

Limit will join fellow new arrival Sergen “Broken Blade” Çelik who has signed from LCS side Team SoloMid. They’ll play alongside Erberk “Gilius” Demir who has resigned with Schalke 04 after joining the side in 2019.

Schalke 04 will now be in the market for a new mid laner, with current ADC Matiús “Neon” Jakubcik likely to stay with the side in 2021. Neon being confirmed also appears to be hanging on Martin “Rekkles” Larssen and what his plans after for 2021. Rekkles is currently a free agent, though Fnatic does wish to keep him. With G2 Esports now looking for an ADC, Rekkles is a possible move for them.

Limit was moved on after SK Gaming picked up Erik “Treatz” Wessén from TSM, in the process completed their roster.

The post LoL: Schalke 04 Sign Former SK Gaming Support Limit appeared first on Esports News Network | ESTNN.

source https://estnn.com/lol-schalke-04-sign-former-sk-gaming-support-limit/

Former TSM support Erik “Treatz” Wessén is returning to Europe to fill out the SK Gaming roster for 2021.

Having signed for Team SoloMid Academy in 2018, Treatz moved to TSM’s LCS roster in July 2020. Treatz was picked up from the European regional scene straight into the LCS, having previously played for Gentside, Movistar Riders, Dark Passage, and Team ROCCAT.

Treatz was not given much time on the TSM squad, and though he did help the team qualify for Worlds, he was not used at Worlds 2020 as Vincent “Biofrist” Wang was used in his place. TSM was unable to pick up a single victory at Worlds, going 0-6 in groups, with Biofrost having a particularly poor time.

Treatz is the final part of the SK Gaming 2021 LEC roster. He’ll join new signings Jean “Jezu” Massol from Misfits Premier, LDLC jungler Kristian “TynX” Hansen, and exciting mid lane prospect  Ersin “Blue” Gören from 1907 Fenerbahçe. They’ll join existing player Janik “Jenax” Bartels who is expected to remain the top laner after signing a contract extension.

SK Gaming just missed out on Worlds in 2020 after finishing 5th place in the Summer Split after losing out to Schalke 04 0-3 in Summer Playoffs. SK Gaming finished Spring Split in 9th place, so will be looking to make improvements into the 2021 season.

With this confirmed, it means that former SK Gaming players Juš “Crownshot” Marušič, mid laner Dirk “ZaZee” Mallner, and jungler Kim “Trick” Gang-yun will now be looking for new teams to join.

The post LoL: SK Gaming Completes Roster For 2021 With Treatz Signing appeared first on Esports News Network | ESTNN.

source https://estnn.com/lol-sk-gaming-completes-roster-for-2021-with-treatz-signing/