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.
Read Also
Esports Betting
Cloud9 vs LYON: Best Betting Odds and Picks for LCS 2026 Lower Bracket Final
Hannan Mundia
The 2026 LCS Summer playoffs are close to concluding, but Cloud9 and LYON will battle it out to decide the grand final matchup. Only one spot is left in the 2026 LCS grand final. Cloud9 and LYON have done well to make it this far, even if LYON is the favorite to win the match. Still, looking at the recent match histories of both teams, there’s a good chance that ...
League of Legends
T1 Esports Challengers vs Galions: WSCI Semifinals best bets and predictions
Wasif Ahmed
T1 Esports Challengers faces Galions in the World Star Challengers Invitational semifinals. Honoring their organisation, T1.EA is one of the two favorites to win the event, easily defeating every opponent they’ve faced so far. Against them, Galions also made quick work of their Korean quarterfinal opponent. Here are our predictions and the best bets for T1.EA vs GL. The org of LoL champions is also a stronghold in tier 2. ...
League of Legends
Solary vs DN Soopers Challengers WSCI Semi-Finals: Bets and Predictions
Ben Boland
Solary goes up against DN Soopers Challengers in the semi-finals of the World Star Challengers Invitational 2026, the inaugural edition of the tier 2 World Championship. Europe and Korea have been dominating the tournament, and only those two regions remain in the semi-finals. This is the first time that secondary leagues face off internationally, making this the first true test of those regions’ strengths. Is the LFL the best tier ...
League of Legends
LYON vs Shopify Rebellion LCS playoffs lower bracket: Best bets and predictions
Ben Boland
LYON faces Shopify Rebellion in the lower bracket of the LCS Summer Playoffs 2026. The winner of this match claims North America’s final spot at the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, while the loser ends their season in fourth place. Neither team should have been in this spot. LYON entered the playoffs as the favorite and they’re now in the loser’s bracket, and SR was expected to lose much ...
League of Legends
Team Liquid vs Cloud9 LCS Playoffs Upper Bracket Finals: Bets and Predictions
Ben Boland
The LCS Upper Bracket finals are one many would not have predicted. Team Liquid takes on Cloud9 to see which team will lock in their spot in the Worlds 2026 Swiss stage and the LCS Summer Grand Finals. League of Legends bettors are in for a treat in this best-of-five, with many good bets available. Let’s take a look at some of the best bets for the Cloud9 vs. Team ...
League of Legends
The LEC’s Viewership Is Down 20% From Summer 2025
Ben Boland
As the Summer Split has concluded, the results are out — and the LEC’s viewership keeps declining for the second year in a row. Even though Europe has achieved strong results this year, fewer viewers follow these teams regionally afterwards. According to Escharts, the LoL European league has recorded 173,989 average viewers in Summer 2026, and 438,821 peak viewers. In 2025, the LEC had an average viewership of 213,292 with ...
League of Legends
Is Voice Chat Coming to League of Legends in 2026?
Ben Boland
After a decade of being opposed to it, Riot has finally taken steps to implement voice chat in League of Legends. However, the launch of voice chat in LoL has been delayed as the feature is experiencing setbacks. Here’s a rundown of the situation. Earlier this year, players discovered voice chat-related files on the LoL Player Beta Environment (PBE). Following them, Riot communicated on March 13 that they were now ...
