Per Sheep Esports sources, Emil "Larssen" Larsson has reached an agreement to become NAVI's inaugural LEC mid laner, staying with the organization following its acquisition of Rogue's League of Legends structure. As part of the deal, Larssen accepted a significant salary reduction — especially notable given that he was one of the highest-paid players in the LEC at the start of 2025, according to a Sheep Esports report. Larssen's new deal will be closer to the average LEC salary.

To understand how Larssen earned such a lucrative contract, it's worth looking back at his professional career.

After finding success in ERLs with Rogue’s academy team, Larssen was promoted to the LEC alongside teammates Finn "Finn" Wiestål and Kacper "Inspired" Słoma. From that point until 2023, Larssen established himself as one of the best mid laners in the LEC — and one of the few capable of defeating Rasmus "Caps" Borregaard Winther. He won the LEC in Summer 2022, which led to his third consecutive Worlds qualification.

A massive offseason

Despite that success, Rogue struggled to remain a top team in 2023, but Larssen was still considered a top-tier mid. At the end of the year, he became a free agent and held up the offseason almost single-handedly, as many teams delayed signing other mid laners until they had explored the possibility of acquiring him.

During that period, Larssen had advanced talks with several teams, including FlyQuest, Golden Guardians, Team Vitality, and SK Gaming (prior to SK's budget cuts). This helped put Larssen in a strong negotiating position. Ultimately, he re-signed with Rogue on a four-year, high-value deal.

Despite underwhelming performances in the last two years — including failing to make playoffs again — Larssen has remained on that same contract. Given how both the market and his value have shifted, it was reasonable for NAVI to seek a lower deal, which Larssen understandably accepted.

NAVI's debut roster

Larssen is the second player finalized by NAVI, with the org having locked down toplaner Adam “Adam” Maanane, as reported earlier this week. With their pick of the litter from Rogue's competitive division, retaining the veteran centerpiece of their roster — a player who's been with the team for the entirety of his time in the LEC — is understandably attractive.

While it may appear that NAVI is simply taking over Rogue’s roster, sources close to the situation have confirmed to Sheep Esports that the organization has been exploring options for the botlane. However, finalizing those deals takes more time than assuming the existing contracts of Rogue’s players, which the organization took over as part of the LEC spot deal.

Sheep Esports will continue to report on NAVI's offseason decisions about its debut roster in the LEC. To keep track of the LEC roster moves in the offseason, check out the Sheep Esports Transfers Hub.