This Saturday, Nicolaj "
Jensen" Jensen announced his retirement after roughly a decade as a professional
League of Legends player. The 30-year-old Danish midlaner spent his entire player career in North America, from 2015 to the end of 2024, becoming one of the most successful players in NA history. He qualified for Worlds eight consecutive times from 2015 to 2022 and competed at two Mid-Season Invitationals — first in 2019 with
Team Liquid, then in 2024 with
FlyQuest.
Jensen began his career in 2014 as a coach for SK Gaming during the EU LCS. At just 19 years old, he helped the team reach the Spring Finals and secure a third-place finish in the Summer Split. During his time as a coach, he worked with several notable names, including Simon "
fredy122" Payne — now head coach of Natus Vincere in the LEC — and Dennis "
Svenskeren" Johnsen, who would later become his teammate in North America. In 2015, Jensen transitioned to a role as a player, joining
Cloud9 in the NA LCS. Despite a rough Summer Split, the team won the NA Regional Finals and qualified for the World Championship, held in Europe that year.
He remained with C9 through the end of 2018, qualifying for Worlds four years in a row, though he never managed to win a domestic title with the organization. In 2019, he joined Team Liquid and immediately found success, winning the LCS Spring Split and qualifying for his first MSI. TL made a historic run, reaching the final after a shocking semifinal upset over Invictus Gaming, though they ultimately fell 3–0 to G2 Esports. That same year, he also won the Summer Split and qualified for Worlds yet again.
In 2022, Jensen returned to Cloud9, the team that had first welcomed him to NA, and finally claimed a domestic title with them by winning the LCS Championship— securing his eighth and final consecutive Worlds appearance. In 2023, he spent a less successful year with Dignitas before moving to FlyQuest at the end of the year. With FlyQuest, he reached the Spring Finals and attended MSI in China.
He was later replaced by Song "
Quad" Su-hyeong just ahead of the Esports World Cup and
returned to Dignitas for one final run before his retirement.
