Earlier today, former G2 Esports bottom laner Rekkles made his European Regional League debut with France’s Karmine Corp in a showmatch against Spanish team KOI Squad. Rekkles and Kcorp lost the friendly match by a score of two games to one.
Rekkles, an eight-year veteran of the LEC, made the stunning move to play in a non-Worlds-qualifying league in 2022 when he transferred to an LFL squad in Karmine Corp back in November. Rekkles had been placed on the trading block by G2 Esports in October, but a deal between G2 and LEC suitors was not reached.
G2 owner Carlos “ocelote” Rodriguez confirmed earlier this year that the team had attempted to loan Rekkles out to an LEC team at a reduced price this offseason but were stopped in doing so by the league’s official rules. Rekkles’ play during the 2021 season brought G2 Esports to within one game of qualifying for this year’s World Championship. Rekkles also won the LEC MVP award back in the Spring Split of the past season, in addition to qualifying for the league’s All-Pro team in the Summer Split.
After dropping the first game of the series to KOI Squad, a team owned by Spanish streamer Ibai Llanos, Kcorp roared back in the second game, knotting the match up at one game apiece. The decisive third game saw KOI Squad take home the victory. Despite the loss, Rekkles still posted a respectable scoreline of 18/6/13 across the three games of his debut match. The series marked Rekkles’ first match since 2013 that he did not play for a team in the EU LCS or LEC.
Next season, Rekkles and Kcorp will play in the LFL, while KOI Squad will compete in the Spanish Superliga. The two teams could potentially meet again at one of next season’s EU Masters tournaments. The 2022 Superliga season is set to begin on Jan. 10 of next year, while the LFL will kick off on Jan. 12.
