Rekkles Apologizes After Fnatic’s Disastrous LEC Winter Split Performance

Fnatic is one of the most successful organizations in the League of Legends EMEA [Europe, Middle East, and Africa] Championship (LEC) but the team faced a heartbreaking elimination in the LEC 2023 Winter Split. Fnatic failed to make it to the group stage after only winning two out of nine games during the three-week regular season. Following this disappointing showing, Fnatic and its returning attack-damage carry (ADC) Erik “Rekkles” Larsson issued statements and apologized to the fans. Rekkles’ return to Fnatic after being away for almost two years was touted as a homecoming but the results have been far from satisfactory. 

Notably, the other team that did not make the LEC 2023 Winter Split Group stage is Excel Esports which went 1-8 during the regular season.

Fnatic misses out on LEC Winter Group Stage

Following its defeat at the behest of SK Gaming, Fnatic’s run in the Winter Split was cut short. The organization wrote on Twitter, “Our Winter run ends there. Thank you for all the support as always. We'll be back, bet on it.” In its statement, Fnatic said it was sorry for the outcome and that it would go all in and improve moving forward. “This outcome is not acceptable for Fnatic, nor is it a reflection of the level of performance our fans deserve to see from us in the LEC,” it acknowledged. It noted that it will take time to reflect on the split and said its thanks to fans for their support during both its highs and lows. It also added, “Further updates to come.”

Rekkles addresses fans after LEC

After the elimination, ADC Rekkles posted a video on Twitter where he apologized to fans for his lackluster performance in the opening split of 2023. He said, “It hasn’t been a good start to the new year… It’s been really rough, and I really wanted to say sorry for not being able to deliver. I haven’t played good. I don’t think I have been able to contribute much to the team’s success.”

Rekkles added, “On the contrary, I have actually probably contributed more to the team’s failure.  I’m really sorry for all of this.”

Rekkles noted that it was a tough time for everyone and that he wanted to say something straight away. While Rekkles stated he would like to go in-depth about his point of view of this year and the split, he said that this was neither the time nor the place to do so.

The LEC’s format underwent a revamp at the start of the year and as a result of this, Fnatic will only play again in the Spring Split in March. The group stage of the LEC 2023 Winter Split is scheduled to kick off on 11th February.