#8 - Rekkles

Riot·Sep 14, 2014·3 votes·58,321 views

As part of our Countdown to Worlds, we celebrate the Top 20 players of the World Championship.

#8 - Rekkles

Team - Fnatic Region - Europe Position - AD Carry Signature Champions

Rekkles is the original wunderkind. In November 2012, just months after the Season 2 World Championship, teams headed to Las Vegas to participate in IPL5. To many, this is still one of the greatest tournaments ever played - largely because of Rekkles. Fnatic looked nigh untouchable, with four consecutive wins against defending World Champions TPA, eliminating them from the tournament. They went on to just barely lose out to tournament winners World Elite, who was at that time at the height of their power. Though Rekkles looked like the best ADC in the world during that tournament, Fnatic would lose him for a year due to the age restriction in the LCS. It was 100% worth the wait. Now Rekkles is the reigning EU LCS MVP, and shares the single-season kills record, on one of the best teams in the world. Rekkles does it all: mechanics in lane, late-game farming and awareness, strategic play, and communication. He also has the ability to play almost any champion at a top level. Rekkles is the gold standard for Western ADCs. Check out the other players on the list! Who do you think is #7 on our list of the 20 greatest players at #Worlds? Tweet @lolesports or comment below to let us know!

57 Comments

RadioactiveSnakeSep 14, 201420 votes

Dont get me wrong, Rekkles is really good, But i question if he is better than Deft or Imp.

0neSh0tGGSep 14, 201419 votes

The thing is. Rekkles isn't better than Imp or Deft. But this article isn't only about that. It is about the importance of the player to the team too. Fnatic wouldn't even go to worlds if they didn't have Rekkles. While on the other hand Imp and Deft have more importand players in their team (Dade , Spirit , Dandy , Mata).

12talesSep 14, 201412 votes

The Fnatic that went to worlds last year was literally the exact same team sans Rekkles, and they made semis. And it's not like Rekkles is some prodigious shotcaller that's offering intangible benefits in game, either - he's just a very powerful weapon for the team to use, like a lot of ADCs.

You could put any good western player on Dark Passage, and they'd be so fucking important to their team you wouldn't believe. That wouldn't make them better players, though, and is possibly the most ridiculously arbitrary qualifier for power rankings ever. Like, "Oh yeah, that guy's pretty good, probably #15 or so. But if his teammates were shit, he'd be way higher."

Also, Dade is the only person on Blue who's potentially more important than Deft. If you're into EU, I like to think of it as similar to the relationship between Froggen and Tabzz.

SeagroveSep 15, 20147 votes

I would say I don't know why you are getting down voted, but I do know why. You are mostly right, but it is unpopular. Remember Puszu? he was a beast at worlds. Granted, Rekkles is better, but the difference between the two isn't huge in terms of helping the team.

Imperio EboySep 16, 20141 votes

At least all EUADCs played so good at worlds... Puszu,Ganja, Yellowstar,Yellowpete, and Tabbz all played good in the last 2 worlds....

GrigôriSep 17, 20141 votes

There is a difference between Puszu's performance at s3 worlds and Rekkles' performance at least in this split imo. Puszu was doing great at a time that both sOAZ and xPeke were performing really well. Rekkles has been performing close to all the time this season, while xPeke and sOAZ were rather lackluster, to put it mildly (this point might be debatable, but I'd love to defend myself on that topic). He hasn't been solocarrying his team, mostly because YellOwStaR was doing great as well, so they were carrying their team from bot together.

But compared to s3's fnatic, this year's fnatic has a much greater focus on snowballing the game from bot than it did last year, when Cyanide was mostly camping mid/top to get xPeke going and keep sOAZ in the game.

matrinoxSep 21, 20141 votes

This list has been heavily criticized, and for good reason. It appears like Riot's trying to highlight NA & EU LCS players as having an equal footing with China and Korea when it's not even remotely close

12talesSep 21, 20142 votes

Pretty much.

I'm waiting for the people after worlds who have the balls to say "Rekkles was the 8th best player there."

matrinoxJan 7, 20151 votes

Deft was the most important player alongside Dade

supercow376Sep 16, 20143 votes

I would argue that Rekkles is the best adc in the world, and I don't even like fnatic

IS1c1be0454bcfd00e6a8bfSep 15, 201415 votes

soon as ANYBODY gets placed above a KOREAN player EVERYBODY goes insane cuz it's the end of the world, why don't you people just make your own top 20 and put all the Koreans in the top 15 and just throw in some randoms at the last 5. Cuz if they're Korean they're automatically better

RessyMusicSep 16, 20146 votes

But that's not the point. I don't know about others, but I accept that Rekkles definitely deserves top 20 IF NOT top 10! But to put him above Deft and Imp is such a questionable call. Who is to say Rekkles is more important to his team than Deft and Imp are to their respective teams? In terms of mechanics all three are pretty close but I would hand it to Deft/Imp simply because they practice more and play against tougher competition. They're NOT better because they're Korean. We understand the list's criteria, but there needs to be some realism.

EdoHPSep 14, 201413 votes

He deserved to be on the list but #8 and Deft #11 is ridiculous

supercow376Sep 16, 20142 votes

mmmm, no. Reckless could be better

12talesSep 14, 20146 votes

"What concerns me is that Froggen, Rekkles and Bjergsen aren't even on the list yet. I doubt that they'd rank Yellowstar above any of the players, which strongly implies that there's going to be even more ridiculous Western hype later on (Rekkles above Imp, for instance, which seems inevitable at this point)."

Fuckin' called it.

BozoSep 14, 20142 votes

PJSalt

12talesSep 14, 20141 votes

Hey buddy. Fellow fan of EULCS, I see. Good, it's cool to meet other people who follow the scene.

So, Samsung Blue and Fnatic are both in Group C, and they'll be playing each other in a bit under two weeks. I'd love to get your opinion on how that series is gonna shake out. In particular, what are your thoughts on the bot lane matchup? It's gonna be Rekkles and Yellowstar vs. Deft and Heart. What's your gut feeling on which ADC is gonna perform better?

Fat of the LandSep 14, 20146 votes

So true, Korean players are untouchable. I sure hope all the westerners bow and scrape in their presence at this tournament, or it will be a great offense to God and He will Deal True Damage to our greatest cities.

EinherjiSep 14, 20143 votes

I'm feeling a tinge, just a tinge, of sarcasm here... True Damage... I teared up a little on that one.

12talesSep 14, 20143 votes

Nah, I think there's a case for Froggen, Bjergsen and Rekkles to be on this list. Maybe Meteos and Yellowstar, though I'm not completely sold on them. It's more that Rekkles is being listed above Imp and Deft that bothers me - Fnatic as a team hasn't really shown up in international competition this year (3-0 to the KT Bullets at IEM Katowice, 2-0 to SKT K at All Stars), and I haven't seen anything to convince me that Rekkles has the ability to outperform top Asian ADCs on an international stage.

Just to clarify where I'm coming from - I'm an NA native, and I watch both NA and EU LCS religiously. As you could maybe guess from my summoner icon, I'd love nothing more than if Alliance won worlds. I have no particular emotional investment in any Korean teams (that are attending this tournament, anyways).

However, I'm unconvinced that western players and teams are currently able to rival them, and I get the impression that these power rankings are primarily motivated by a desire to push a specific narrative (that the West is secretly just as good as Korea, and it's only nebulous concepts like 'teamwork' that separate the regions), rather than by a desire to accurately represent the scene.

If somebody who's only just getting into League of Legends esports reads these articles and actually believes that Rekkles, as an individual player, is superior to the best that Korea has to offer - I see that as an issue. Which is why I'm taking time out of my day to post my thoughts on the matter.

If you disagree, that's fine - but I'd rather hear your opinion of Rekkles as a player and why he's superior to Imp and Deft. Your post, although pretty amusing, only really tells me that you disagree - it doesn't give me any new ideas to work with or anything that could maybe change my mind.

AelumniëlSep 15, 20142 votes

He's considered superior to the Korean adc because the ADC position has more importance in the european meta than in the Korean one. Korean meta revolve essentialy around controlling the map were for example China revolve more on feeding the bot lane to prepare the TF of the mid/late game. The European meta is kinda in between the Korean and the Chinese one. That's probably why Rekless is higher than the Korean ADC but lower than the chinese one like Uzi.

KemySep 15, 20141 votes

Just because CLG played the Korean meta of jungler preferring to help top lane doesn't mean anything because CLG couldn't execute it why they lost. Also, we saw IEM and All Stars what happens when you put a mid tier Korean bot lane against Fnatic's. Don't pull information out of your ass

AelumniëlSep 15, 20141 votes

For the funny guy under: where have u seen that we were speaking of CLG or even of NA? I was speaking about the different meta in Europe/China/Korea... No point to come back with the fail attempt of CLG to try to fix a desperate situation...

KarickSep 15, 20141 votes

You responded to a hilarious troll with a 5 paragraph essay. I think that means you lose.

12talesSep 15, 20141 votes

If it saves even one noob from thinking Rekkles is better than Deft, it was all worth it.

SeagroveSep 15, 20145 votes

If you are saying that Koreans aren't that much better than the other regions than please name an international game that a korean team has lost since Season 3 worlds. Mid team korean teams (the only ones to play internationally) have gone undefeated in international tournaments. I am not saying that there is no chance of a non-korean team winning, but it is improbable.

IS1c1be0454bcfd00e6a8bfSep 15, 20143 votes

lets just count all other teams out and have the 3 Korean teams play for the finals, saves so much time cuz Korean = automatic win

SeagroveSep 15, 20141 votes

It is not automatic, but it is very likely that the final will be korean vs. korean. I'd give it an 85% chance.

SpudMurphySep 16, 20141 votes

just dont know if this is sarcasm or if u go serious on that...!?

SpudMurphySep 15, 20141 votes

[deleted]

SeagroveSep 15, 20141 votes

I agree that having a better team does not equal having all better players. I also understand that there are other criteria. But to have Rekkles over Deft is silly. Deft has better individual skill and is better at the position. Deft is also more important to his team. Fnatic made it to semi-finals last year with Puszu. Rekkles is certainly an upgrade but not a HUGE one. Blue would be hard pressed to find a suitable replacement for Deft. I never said that having a better team equals being a better player. You said that it was my "logik" then criticised it. I actually said nothing about that in my post. If anything you could have criticised it for being in the wrong thread.

SpudMurphySep 16, 20141 votes

That was my intention with the "Not best team" statement. So given the context of this thread ur text reads like: Koreans are better than all others. which in this context concludes to... their individual ranks schould be higher than those of players from other regions. Ok, if this wasn´t ur intetion, i apologize. Just delete it, i´ll delete mine, everything is fine. But if anything of ur first post refers to the single player positioning in this list ur argumentation is just wrong. In this case the German Football Team Example follows the same argumentation logik.

And Dude! PLZ! Arguments including Puszu and Seson 3 Worlds to this discussion? That would mean nothing or nothing of importance had or could have changed in the period of time. Given that SKT T1 K arent even in the Tournament makes THIS silly.

Imperio EboySep 16, 20141 votes

than please tell me an international tournament with Top enemys since World 2013.... unprepared Fnatic, not the best OMG Roster... the only reason they dominated imo is that the bottom of korea is much closer than the bottom of EU/NA/CH/SEA to the top.... also every game is a new game....

SSO got in Worlds 2013 at one of the Favorites whithout making it through groups cause they were ,,arrogant´´ (sry for english)

Darth JamalSep 15, 20145 votes

WOW, Rekkles CLEARLY deserves top 5! just because there is so much Korean hype, doesn't mean that one of the Obvious top players, should be ranked lower.

KemySep 15, 20148 votes

seriously? Rekkles top 5? I guess you're one of those fanboys who only watches LCS and expects all regions to be equal

RabidLawnGnomeSep 15, 20147 votes

Told u before, ur name is SKT t1 K geegee, ur a korea fanboy, over a team you knownothing about.

Imperio EboySep 16, 20146 votes

Rekkles can be replaced so easy, he isnt really important for the team... its hard to put him Top 10 even tho he belong there in SKill

The LexerSep 14, 20144 votes

wait wait wait... Rekkless, tied most kills in LCS, least deaths in LCS, and he is rated 8th? There are more LCS members to come I'm sure.....

RabidLawnGnomeSep 15, 20141 votes

Froggen and i hope xpeke, not sure about that last one, since i don';t see him as better then rekkles

KarickSep 15, 20141 votes

Sorry but I highly doubt xpeke is making it. Definitely Froggen tho (they'll probably throw him at #5 so they can say they put an LCS in the top 5, heh)

FT HairsySep 16, 20144 votes

Rekkles is really strong ADC, but in that video, many of his succesful kills were set up by Yellowstar :) They are best botlane EU i think item 3078

ChampionHDSep 14, 20143 votes

Pro LCS players in Korea SoloQ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkAyTLBRLtk

TnsEagleSep 15, 20141 votes

wait so people are saying deft should be higher because he is the best ADC of korea ??? well , best ADC korea is not best ADC of the world and that ladies and gentlemen is Rekkles or Uzi

KarickSep 15, 20141 votes

Incoming massive outrage (OUTRAGE!) that <put any NA or EU player here> is higher than <put any Korean or Chinese player here>.

KissBladeSep 16, 20141 votes

Was this post a joke or did the guy even watch IPL5? Aside from the part that what made the tournament was WE beasting everyone whether it be Caomei's Rengar or Misaya's Ori. Oh and Rekkles looking like the "best ADC", did we forget about this random guy named ... WeiXiao?! Even current EU LCS, there's debate whether Tabzz is better considering Rekkles has largely been criticized for his tendency to pussy out on fights to preserve his KDA.

justinmaxiSep 16, 20141 votes

My predictions for TOP 8 as I said some days ago in other comments were: Rekkles, DanDy, Froggen, Uzi (now they are shown) and NaMe1, Winds, Cool, Dade. I still go on with it-

GrishkoSep 17, 20141 votes

I just couldn't hold it in me. So many Korean fanboys. Just because you watch OGN doesn't mean you know better than everybody else. Guess what you are not the only one.... First of all Fnatic is a different team compared to last year. xPeke is not carrying (I don't know if this is his problem or mid champions are not that dominant anymore), sOAZ is weaker and Cyanide can't be this super supportive jungler because of the meta. So basically yes this is not the same team from last year and this is not even the same META. So Fnatic is all about Rekkles and Yellowstar so please do not talk **** about them just because they are not Korean. And I've seen a lot of games where Deft and Imp were carried by their teams. Have you ever seen Rekkles doing bad in a game and getting carried? The answer is no. Even when his team is doing super bad he is the only hope they have. So yeah he is definitely more important to Fnatic than Deft and Imp are to Samsung. Also it is so obvious how you assume that they have better mechanics just because they are koreans and they practice more... Next time assume something based on the games you've watched.

MomusSep 17, 20141 votes

Rekkles deserves to be where he is. His records alone should point to how important he is to the team as well as how great his mechanics are! League player logic "If the player is Korean than he must be better". The regions aren't equal that's for sure, but it doesn't mean that EU and NA can't/don't have great players.