Rekkles’ clapback implies deeper problems

League of Legends player Carl Martin Erik "Rekkles" Larsson took to X recently to clear the air surrounding his departure from the European (EU) scene. Rekkles' message on X was as a reply to a message from popsly_lol. Popsly_lol, who is a notorious troll in the space, claimed Rekkles was an EU deserter and ring chaser in his initial response. He also likened the former-Fnatic ADC to NBA star Kevin Durant.

The interaction began when Rekkles commented on a post from FlyQuest top laner Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau. Bwipo, a former teammate of Rekkles, posted a picture from his recent dinner with the Swedish player, along with a motivating message for Rekkles' transition into a support role. Rekkles reciprocated the warm message his reply with, "Take me back 🥺💕." Popsly_lol then joined the conversation with the following tweet.

Popsly_lol claimed that Rekkles had abandoned the EU scene, a region in which he competed for nine years. That incensed the Swedish player, who was quick to respond. In a long reply, Rekkles outlined the various issues he had faced in the EU region since his departure from G2 at the end of 2021.

On the topic of G2, the player explained that the organization benched him at the end of 2021 — just one year into his three-year contract. Furthermore, he claimed that G2 ensured he could not play in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) for the following year under any circumstances.

That forced Rekkles into joining La Ligue Française (LFL) team Karmine Corp for 2022. The former ADC claimed that Karmine Corp "saved him" and "did everything they could to help me get back to the LEC at the end of 2022." Notably, that included the organization waving off his buyout, but on the condition that he would not receive 50% of his salary.

The mid-contract benching was then repeated at Fnatic, who benched the player just four months into a two-year contract. According to Rekkles, Fnatic further failed to get him transferred off the bench at the correct time.

Finally, Rekkles praised his current team — T1. The Korean team signed Rekkles to its academy roster at the start of 2024. It was a move that gave him time to adjust in "a continuous tough period of my life." Since then, Rekkles claims the team has been trying to make 2025 as good as it can be for him.

Reacting to it all, content creator Christian "IWDominate" Rivera shared many thoughts on his stream. After reading Rekkles' tweet, IWDominate explained that this was just the latest manifestation of a problem the scene had witnessed for a long time.

In his opinion, the situation first came to light when Luka "Perkz" Perković and G2 decided to part ways. As part of his contract with Cloud9, G2 included a clause which prevented Perkz from signing with Fnatic. It was a clause that lasted until the start of the 2025 season. Consequently, Fnatic failed to sign Perkz from Cloud9. Instead, the organization had to sign Yasin "Nisqy" Dinçer. Meanwhile G2 were free to "upgrade" on Perkz' ADC stint by signing the aforementioned Rekkles.

While Riot Games cleared the transaction, they later stated that it was a matter for the courts of law. However, many, including IWDominate, noted that the clause was anti-competitive.

Expanding further, IWDominate explained a particular clause of German labour laws. Any player who is benched from an LEC team is entitled to receive close to 50% to 60% of their salary. That means for many players, especially in the top teams, staying on the bench is often more financially lucrative. That creates a scenario where players choose to remain on the bench instead of competing. Despite all that, IWDominate agreed that Rekkles' treatment in terms of contracts and managements was particularly poor.

Closing out his thoughts, IWillDominate added the caveat that Rekkles himself wasn't always the perfect player across these years. "Rekkles is a very specific type of person and very particular in a lot of ways," he said, adding that it's something that may be linked to his recently revealed autism diagnosis.

Those aspects may not have made him the most endearing teammates — especially in a team like G2. IWillDominate continued, highlighting that G2 weren't happy with Rekkles and wanted a different type of teammate. "They wanted somebody to be one of the bros," he said.

Other industry pundits also didn't take too kindly to Rekkles' reply. Richard "Rich" Wells, formerly of H2K, tweeted out, "Now tell everyone what you did to be benched both times..." Meanwhile, Duncan "Thorin" Shields ominously implied that someone may reveal the "truth" soon. Thorin, in particular, has been fairly critical of Rekkles in the past. Previously, he claimed that the player failed to integrate with the team's culture.

A former Vitality bot laner took the opportunity to joke about his own history with EU mismanagement. The player was one of the shining stars of Misfits in 2022 alongside Vincent "Vetheo" Berrié. He was also rewarded with a significant move to Vitality — joining Perkz and Zhou "Bo" Yang-Bo alongside Kyeong "Photon" Gyu-tae and Norman "Kaiser" Kaiser.

The tweet is believed to be in reference to Perkz himself. According to Matúš "Neon" Jakubčík, he witnessed his teammate messaging his replacement and "flaming" him. Shortly after, Neon found himself heading to the academy roster while Elias "Upset" Lipp joined the team to replace him. The move did irreversible damage to Neon's career and prospects. Since then, the former "All-Pro 3rd Team" bot laner has languished in EMEA Academy teams.

All in all, these tweets have sparked immense discussion within the League of Legends community. However, Rekkles is an exceptionally eminent personality. Perhaps it is time for the scene to take notice.

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