Rekkles Shares Insights on His Offseason and Contract Issues
Former G2 Esports AD carry, Martin “Rekkles” Larsson, recently discussed the challenges he faced during the 2022 offseason on his livestream. He revealed that he was benched by G2 after the 2021 LEC season and was not given a chance to play as a substitute or fight for his spot. This prompted him to search for a new team.
Moreover, Rekkles faced limitations in his options due to a stipulation in his contract with G2. This stipulation allowed him to receive only six percent of his salary if he was benched. Despite raising this concern with his lawyer when signing the contract in 2020, Rekkles found himself in a difficult situation.
In his lone year with G2, Rekkles and the team came close to qualifying for the 2021 League World Championship but lost to Fnatic in the quarterfinals of the Summer Split playoffs. Following this loss, Rekkles was benched and activated the clause in his contract that resulted in a reduced salary.
Rekkles expressed his frustration with G2, stating that he was naive to believe they wouldn’t take advantage of him. He felt the need to leave the team to avoid sitting idle for two years with no income or playing opportunity.
Rekkles also revealed that the buyout price of his G2 contract was initially too high for most LEC teams. It wasn’t until other LEC teams started signing players in the 2021 offseason that G2 lowered his buyout mark.
Fortunately, KCorp showed interest in Rekkles and eventually purchased his contract. However, Rekkles believes that his value may pose a challenge for potential teams looking to acquire him. Despite this, he remains focused on playing at the LEC level and has already received multiple offers from teams this offseason.
Rekkles criticized the buyout market for star players, pointing out that high buyout marks have left players like Mikyx and Nisqy without teams for the 2022 season. He believes that the exorbitant amounts of money involved in buyouts have become unsustainable for the industry.
In an effort to accommodate a potentially high buyout, Rekkles suggested the possibility of role-swapping to the support position in 2023. He believes his game sense and willingness to learn new champions could contribute to success in this new role.
Rekkles is currently contracted to Karmine Corp until the end of 2023, according to the League global contract database.