The first split with the redesigned League of Legends European Championship (formerly EU LCS) did not go as planned for the storied franchise of Rogue. The team that they thought would continue an upward trend for the organization would be unable to, and when the dust settled from the final skirmish there was just a lot of questions.
Through 18 games in the 2019 LEC Spring Split, Rogue only managed to secure 2 wins. This record cemented them in last place among their competition, and everyone was scratching their heads.
On paper, Rogue should have had a fine time competing with the middle of the pack at least in the LEC. Instead, they were 3 wins behind their closest opponent. Of all the teams in the LEC, Rogue are the only ones that warrant a reconstruction during the mid-season break.
Over the course of the last few weeks, Rogue has announced two major departures from the starting line-up of their League of Legends team.
Mareusz “Kikis” Szkudlerek
Over the past eight years, Kikis has been a part of more than a dozen teams. Some disbanded, while others moved on. Which might leave some folks to assume that he’s the problem, but that’s just not true.
The veteran 23-year-old jungler has twenty-four 1st-place finishes across his career, dating as far back as July of 2011. Most recently, he won both the Polska Liga Championship, and ESL Polski Spring Championship in 2018. With the back-to-back championships so close to one another, Team Vitality took notice and Kikis got another shot in the European pro league.
Unfortunately, after the 2018 Summer Split, Vitality let Kikis go. Which is where Rogue swooped in and snatched up the seasoned jungler. Now, with only one split behind him with Rogue, he’s searching for new opportunities and Rogue is in need for a pro-tier jungler to step up and help drag them from the mud.
"We want to thank Kikis for all the dedication and hard work he put into the team," general manager Tomislav Mihailov said in a statement. "We wish him the best in the future as he pursues other opportunities."
Thank you for everything @Rogue https://t.co/6a7SNEeVLl
— Mateusz Szkudlarek (@Kikis1205) May 2, 2019
Chres “Sencux” Laursen
Another casualty of the Rogue rework was announced just today (May 13th, 2019) and that was their mid-laner Sencux.
Since coming of age in the pro leagues, Sencux has spent two formidable years with Splyce of the LEC, and one year at Misfits Gaming -- who just signed Turkis Jungler Kirei from 1907 Fenerbahce -- before coming over to Rogue in the Winter of 2018.
Again, Sencux only got a single split to prove his worth with the Rogue organization and with full-sail changes coming, no one can be super upset that all of this is happening with very little time played. Above all of that, Sencux is a stellar talent and may just make a huge splash somewhere else. So, he deserves this.
“We were able to come to a mutual agreement with Sencux that allows him to pursue other opportunities,” said Rogue's GM Mihailov. “He is one of the most professional players that I had the pleasure to work with and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward."
As people might have seen ive parted ways with Rogue and im currently free agent.
— Chres Laursen (@Sencux) May 13, 2019
Im still motivated to play in a team so if any team is interrested even bringing in a 6th man feel free to contact me for any further questions.
will check my DMs and email [email protected]
It’s far too early to tell what the LEC is going to look like come the end of the 2019 Summer Split, but we can be sure that Rogue’s line-up is going to have a whole lot of new faces.
For now, the world of League of Legends is glued to Vietnam as the MSI 2019 Group Stage is currently underway.
