In Part 1 of our journey into the life and times of Martin “Rekkles” Larsson, we took a deep dive into his personal life and early career. Now, we will turn our focus towards his professional career. Here, you will find out how good Rekkles really is so do not miss out!
2012 – a Star is Born
As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, Rekkles joined his first professional League of Legends team in 2012. In the beginning, he represented Playing Ducks and PAH. Alongside these two teams, he was also invited to play as a stand-in for SK Gaming and Team BLACK.
The only two big events where he played as a stand-in were DreamHack Summer 2012 and MLG Pro Circuit 2012. This proved to be an excellent opportunity for the young Swede. Not so long after that, fnatic came calling and he put pen to paper in late 2012.
2013 – Time to Grow Up
Since he was still a minor while signing for fnatic, Rekkles was unable to help the team out in the 2013 EU LCS.
This esports franchise took things one step further by forming Fnatic.Beta – an entire team based around Martin. It did not take this team of youngsters long to sky-rocket and they were signed by Copenhagen Flames. However, the organization forced Rekkles to come back and play under the fnatic banner in 2014.
2014 – Proving His Worth
The first-ever big event Rekkles played with fnatic was IEM Season VIII – World Championship. Despite trying their best, fnatic were unfortunately unable to bear KT Rolster Bullets in the grand final.
During the Spring Split, Rekkles won his first MVP award. Eventually, fnatic came out on top by beating SK Gaming in the grand finals. Time for stardom.
EU LCS Spring 2014 earned fnatic an invite for All-Star Paris 2014. Still, despite playing on a high level, fnatic had nothing to offer against SK Telecom T1.
Then, the Summer Split definitely did not go as planned. Fnatic struggled badly and they barely sealed the 2nd spot in the 7th week of the Summer Split. Rekkles was by far the best player in fnatic as he picked up an MVP award for the 9th Week of the Split. Eventually, fnatic lost to Alliance in the grand finals. While not technically at the top, this placement booked them a spot at the 2014 World Championship.
Truth be told, fnatic and Rekkles did not show anything in the 2014 World Championship – only 2 victories in the group stage were not enough for the Swedish franchise to qualify for the playoffs.
2015 – New Beginning and Redemption
It was understandable that tensions were high after a poor showing in the 2014 World Championship. This is why Rekkles decided that his time at fnatic had come to an end. In late 2014, he announced that he was joining Alliance as a starting ADC.
The first event he attended with Alliance was IEM Season IX – San Jose. Despite having a lineup filled with star players, it was not enough for Alliance to do much in this event. Eventually, they played third.
Not so long after, Alliance had to rebrand due to the Riot regulations. The team was now officially known as Elements. After constantly shuffling the roster, Elements had a poor showing on the 2015 Spring Split where they played seventh.
At that time, Martin decided that his spell with Elements was over and he rejoined fnatic on May 14, 2015. After putting a perfect 18-0 record during the Summer Season, fans expected a lot from Rekkles and fnatic in the 2015 World Championship.
Despite stomping their group, fnatic did not have much to offer in the semifinals as they were bested by KOO Tigers.
2016 – Finding Himself
In 2016,Rekkles found out that Jhin was a very strong ADC hero. After finishing second at IEM Season X – World Championship, fnatic dropped down in form.
A poor showing at the Spring Split led to another awful event. To make things even worse, fnatic had everything to play for during the EU LCS Regional Finals 2016, but they blew it all by not showing up against Unicorns of Love.
2017 – Same Old Fnatic
In early 2017, fnatic struggled. They finished both Spring and Summer Season in the 3rd place. However, EU LCS Regional Finals 2017 went their way as they totally stomped H2K without breaking a sweat.
This time around, no one expected anything from fnatic in the Worlds. With a 2-4 record, Rekkles and company booked a spot in the playoffs. It was clear from the start that the Swedish franchise would struggle and it was true. Fnatic were battered by Royal Never Give Up.
2018 - MVP Season
Despite not playing a lot of events, this was a year to remember for Rekkles and we can freely say that it was in 2018 where he reached his peak.
First place and a dominant showing at EU LCS Spring 2018 was a great pillar for the entire season. From our perspective, fnatic played an excellent event at Mid-Season Invitational 2018. Despite finishing third, they played their hearts out.
EU LCS Summer 2018 is where Martin shined again. Once again, they stomped everyone in order to secure the second trophy of the season.
2018 was the closest thing to a World Championship for Martin – a 5-1 record in the group stage hyped up European LoL fans. In the playoffs, fnatic dismantled both Edward Gaming and Cloud9. However, in the grand finals, fnatic was on the losing side of things against Invictus Gaming. All in all, a second-place at World Championship is something Rekkles should be proud of.
2019 - Hot and Cold
In early 2019, fnatic struggled. A very long (5-month) layoff made things even more difficult. The third-place finish at LEC Spring 2019 was not something to be proud of.
After that, the Swedes had a decent run at Rift Rivals 2019. Back to the European scene, fnatic seemed to bounce back from a poor start by winning LEC Summer 2019. Sadly, they suffered a narrow defeat in the grand finals as G2 edged them out with a 3-2 victory.
By winning LEC Regional Finals 2019, hopes were once again high as fnatic qualified for the Worlds. This time around, fnatic had it easy in the group stage despite playing against SK Telecom T1 and Royal Never Give Up. In the quarterfinals, Rekkles and co. were matched against FunPlus Phoenix who ended their dreams of lifting the World Championship trophy.
But.. the 2020 season is far from over and fnatic have been showing demonstrable form. Come the next World Championship, we might see them surprise us yet again.
Do you enjoy reading about the best and brightest in esports? Check out our other pieces in our Life and Times series:
READ MORE:
- The life and times of Doublelift – Part 1
- The life and times of Doublelift – Part 2
- The life and times of s1mple – Part 1
For more League of Legends, esports and gaming, keep it here, with EarlyGame.
