PapaSmithy announces 100 Thieves Next, criticizes amateur scene

100 Thieves has announced 100 Thieves Next, the organization’s new League of Legends amateur program.

Calling it the third pillar of its League structure, 100T’s general manager Christopher “PapaSmithy” Smith announced 100X, an amateur team formed for the development of young talent in North America.

The region has been in a negative spotlight when it comes to nourishing domestic talent, and 100T says it’s taking the first step to fix it.

“North America has struggles, especially in the last couple of years, to produce the amount of talent that I’m sure fans are hoping to see,” PapaSmithy said on the announcement video. “Now newly announcing 100X, our amateur program for developing the next generation of League of Legends talent coming from North America.”

The 100X amateur program is planned around young players

PapaSmithy added that this new program is unique as it’s organized around players that can’t commit to League as a full-time job yet. Three 100X members are still attending high school, including Milan “Tenacity” Oleksij, Shane “Kenvi” Espinoza, and Jouhan “Copy” Pathmanathan. 

The three challenger players are joined by a more experienced bot lane, including former CLG Academy player Osama “Auto” Alkhalaileh and the 2019 Tyler1 Championship Series MVP Philippe “Poome” Lavoie-Giguere. With these two players, 100T wants to add some veteran savvy to its new amateur team.

100T promises the program is designed so that the players can remain focused on their education, while at the same time getting prepared for what’s coming if they make it to the big show in League of Legends. It’s certain that these are skilled players, but performing in an LCS starting roster requires a whole different level of dedication.

If 100X succeeds, other regional esports organizations that field League of Legends teams might follow, which is surely an important step in better developing amateur talent in North America. But the young players still have a long way to go before making it at least to an academy roster, and the community will be interested to see if they succeed.

After training in the newly built 100 Thieves Cash App, 100X will show what it’s capable of for the first time in the Upsurge Premier League on February 4.