Only three weeks in the new LEC season, one of Europe’s most controversial League of Legends pro players – Konstantinos-Napoleon “FORG1VEN” Tzortziou – has left FC Schalke 04. This might well be the last chapter of his career, so it is a good time to look back at the bad boy of European ADCs.
In this two-part series, we will try to explain who Forg1ven is and trace his career from the beginning to where we stand now.
The Lone Wolf
Love him or hate him, among long-time League of Legends fans, Forg1ven is impossible to ignore. He has been hailed as one of the best Western AD Carries for multiple years, yet he has gone from one team to another, never staying long and often parting on less than perfect terms with his former teammates.
The Greek ADC was originally a Counter-Strike player who had some success in the days of CS 1.6 before switching to MOBA games.
He got his first big break with the Copenhagen Wolves after they found themselves in need of an AD Carry. Martin “Rekkles” Larsson, who the Wolves had on loan from Fnatic, became old enough to play in the then-EU LCS, so they couldn’t use him anymore.
Instead, they took a chance on the Greek and that gamble soon paid off – the team went on a tear through the amateur scene, eventually joining the European pro league for the 2014 spring season. It was there that Forg1ven started winning his aggressive reputation, on and off the Rift. He carried CW to several key wins but also won himself a reputation for less-than-stellar behavior in community and solo queue games – and a $1000 fine to match.
The Wolves made it to the playoffs but a loss to Alliance in the quarterfinals meant they had to also play for relegation. Forg1ven was once more on point in their clash against Denial.EU and helped the team remain in the elite but he parted ways with CW soon afterward.
While officially listed as a substitute for the remainder of the year, he played in an amateur team called Different Dimension. Around the end of the year, rumors circulated that he would be returning to the EU LCS, and in an interview with Summoning Insight, he confirmed that he was looking to go back – but would only play for a team contending to be the best. Soon after, the name of the team was revealed: SK Gaming.
The bot-lane king
In the start of 2015, SK Gaming had an incredible start and after 5 weeks, they were in first place of the LCS which gave them a berth for the IEM Season IX world championship. It was Forg1ven’s first real taste of international competition.
However, while the team started strong with a victory against Flash Wolves, a loss to GE Tigers saw them relegated to the losers’ bracket. There, the Flash Wolves had their revenge and eliminated them. While SK lost some steam, they finished the split first and Forg1ven got an MVP award.
Unfortunately, the team was eliminated in a dramatic five-game semifinal by newcomers Unicorns of Love and then lost another 3-2 series against H2K for the third place. Forg1ven parted ways with SK not too long after.
The summer split found him on another storied team: Gambit Gaming. At that time, though, the venerable Russian organization was struggling and the Greek had his hands full to turn it around. After a 0-4 start, the team went on a winning streak and was standing in fifth place with one more week to go.
It was then that Forg1ven’s behavior problem reared its head again. He got a four-game suspension for solo-queue toxic behavior and without him, the team ended in 8th place with no chance for playoffs. He did not play in the following promotion series either and was soon released.
But this is not the end of his tale. Click here for Part 2 to see in which direction Forg1ven’s career goes next.
