Riot stopped G2 Esports from loaning Rekkles for cheap

The 2022 offseason is already at a fever pitch, with roster moves left, right, and center. Europe’s biggest player shuffle has to be the disbanding of the G2 Esports core that put European League of Legends back on the map.

The most recent addition to the roster, longtime Fnatic player Martin “Rekkles” Larssen, was one of the parts confirmed to be replaced for 2022 by founder Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez. In a recent series of tweets, Rodriguez said that despite trying to work with Riot to allow them to loan Rekkles to another team to circumvent a contract buyout, the developer prevented them from beginning the practice of player loans.

Player loans from one team to another are incredibly common in other esports but haven’t yet made the leap to the LEC. Rodriguez had announced that Rekkles’ contract buyout stood at a staggering 1.5 million Euros. It seems like the high price combined with a disappointing 2021 has resulted in difficulty moving the all-star AD carry.

update regarding rekkles: loaning a player is not possible within the rules today.

we just applied for these rules to change to allow us to loan rekkles anywhere at double-reduced price, with an option to buy after first year.

we've done and are doing everything we can to help.

— ⭕️ CarlosR ocelote 👌🏼 (@CarlosR) November 12, 2021

Will Rekkles play in Europe in 2022?

LEC-focused account LEC Wooloo confirmed earlier that all 10 of Europe’s LEC teams had locked in their rosters and that Rekkles was not among any of them. According to Rodriguez’s tweet, loaning a player is impossible given the current state of Riot’s rules and regulations surrounding professional play. Rodriguez says G2 Esports petitioned Riot to create compatible rules so they could move Rekkles elsewhere at a reduced price.

Every LEC team have now locked an AD Carry, Rekkles is with none of them.

— LEC Wooloo (@LEC_Wooloo) November 11, 2021

Rodriguez says Riot has denied this request, making it impossible for Rekkles to be transferred to another team without facing the contract buyout. This could spell trouble for him, with more and more North American organizations preparing to lock in their rosters. There are almost no rumors of Rekkles moving across the pond to the LCS, so his future remains up in the air.