Recently, many League of Legends fans were stunned by the “shocking news” regarding the transfer related to T1. Specifically, there were reports that T1 would recruit the “European Super Marksman” Rekkles for the Academy team. At the time, this was no different than a joke since Rekkles had already established a reputation as a marksman in the global League of Legends scene. The superstar born in 1996 can also be considered a true legend of the LEC, and Rekkles himself is already too old to compete in such a young team like Academy.
However, recently, according to the official announcement from T1, Rekkles will join the Academy team in the Support role. This news has truly shocked League of Legends fans worldwide. Not only is he joining an Academy team at an age considered too old, but Rekkles is also taking on a completely new role as Support. This could be seen as one of the most shocking moves in the League of Legends scene to date. Additionally, LCK and T1 have almost never had to use foreign players or intended to recruit non-Korean players.
Immediately after the T1 Academy x Rekkles deal was announced, T1’s manager, Mr. Becker, made a noteworthy post. The content of the post read: “A total of 10 players have been registered for LCK and LCK CL. However, according to roster regulations, there must be 11 players on the list. Therefore, a player is being planned as the sixth member of the CL. (Nothing is confirmed yet) We are considering as many options as possible to ensure that the coaches are not forced to register as players like last year. We will announce the final member later.”
This has raised a conspiracy theory that Rekkles could become T1’s “trump card” for the upcoming MSI if they secure a spot. Specifically, in 2023, whenever a 6-man roster was needed, Coach Sky would be selected. Now, with Rekkles, T1 could easily promote this player to the MSI roster while avoiding the need to bring a coach on board as a player like before. This could also be a part of the terms for Rekkles’ joining T1. Not to mention, T1’s current Challengers roster also lacks the quality and is very unlikely to meet LCK requirements if needed. A prime example is Poby during the last LCK Summer.
However, currently both T1 and Rekkles have yet to comment on this matter. The marksman from LEC has also taken a break from competition for long enough that people have begun to doubt his professional contributions to T1’s young roster in the new season.