Team Heretics into 2024, the stages of grief

Team Heretics’ 2023 Season was a rollercoaster of ups and downs. From looking impossible to get to Season Finals to keeping hopes alive to unfortunately falling short at the very last throw of the dice, TH’s 2023 run has been a story of learning what it means to compete in the LEC.

The organization joined the LEC in 2023 looking to start a new legacy in the European scene after having dominated the LVP and having won the EMEA Masters title in 2022 Summer.

Considering the promotion of Jakob "Jackspektra" Gullvag Kepple into the LEC roster as the basis the organization would work upon, Heretics had a clear plan in their minds. Having bought the spot from Misfits, they decided to keep Mertai "Mersa" Sari to consolidate a strong botlane.

With the addition of Lee "Ruby" Sol-min from the Prime League into the midlane, the legendary and veteran player Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski into the jungle and the unexpected Japanese toplaner Shunsuke "Evi" Murase from LJL organisation DFM, they formed a squad able to surprise the rest of the LEC teams and secure themselves at the very least a playoffs spot.

Nevertheless, things didn’t develop as hoped. In Winter Split Heretics finished with a record of 4-5, falling in the last match against BDS. As it later turned out to be a recurring Achilles heel, Team Heretics threw a commanding position. This time it was due to a pick on Jackspectra and an amazing flanking TP from Adam, which gave BDS the ability to mount a comeback.

In the group stage, Team Heretics didn’t manage to solve the problems they were facing in the BO1 phase, which led them to just winning one single game out of the 2 BO3s (1-2 against VIT and 0-2 against SK). This meant that Heretics’ Winter Split was over, and that Spring Split would be a second chance for the newly formed roster.

In Spring, other teams seemed to be adapting and finding their own playstyles, however, Heretics seemed to be falling behind. Despite having commanding early games, especially thanks to the brilliant performances by Jankos, they had difficulties transferring those leads into objectives and, therefore, struggled to close games out. Likewise, the laners were not able to generate their own leads consistently.

This was mostly noticeable on Evi’s case, who looked somewhat lost without his signature K’Sante. In the last game of the regular season though, Evi was able to lock it in, obtaining a crucial win against SK to get a 3-6 record in Spring and earning them a tiebreaker against MAD, which they would go on to lose after some very sloppy gameplay from both teams and multiple wasted opportunities from both teams, until MAD found an edge to close out the game.

Although Heretics’ roster on paper wasn’t aiming for a LEC win, it was supposed to at least reach the Group Stage and win a BO3 series. Having said that, the poor results were undeniable and Team Heretics needed to have some kind of plot twist if they wanted to stay alive.

After not making the cut two times in a row, Heretics had to make some adjustments if they were willing to fight for a Season Finals qualification, and they had to be made immediately.

Therefore, Heretics decided to change their carry players, bringing Victor "Flakked" Lirola Tortosa from the academy team and Vincent "Vetheo" Berrié from XL. But these changes brought up a few questions: Was Flakked better than Jackspektra? Was Vetheo going to step up after placing 10th twice? And the answer was, yes. Team Heretics ended the BO1s in Summer with a score of 5-4, qualifying themselves for the Group Stage for the second time in 2023.

Despite their improved gameplay, they fell against BDS in the first match. From now on, every match was a do or die situation as Heretics were facing elimination, and they could miss out on Season Finals and going to Worlds. This time though, the story from Winter didn’t repeat itself.

When it was most needed, something in Heretics’ mentality changed. After dominating KOI in a very one-sided BO3, they went on and took revenge against BDS to advance to playoffs. The following match would decide if Team Heretics would qualify for the Season Finals and keep the fans’ hope alive or if their season would come to an end at that moment.

But their rival was none other than Fnatic, which had undergone a similar situation and were eager to fight with all they had. In a very tense series which had a lot of back-and-forths, Fnatic came out victorious and Heretics once again were so close, yet so far from living up to the expectations.

Sadly, Heretics’ season came to an end in the Summer Split as they missed out on the opportunity of fighting for a spot at Worlds due to their low Championship Points total.

After not meeting the organization’s and the fans’ expectations, many ask themselves what went wrong during Heretics’ first year in the LEC. There might be some regrets, especially considering that the team was very close to the success they were looking for in a fair number of games.

Had Heretics adapted more to the BO1 format, they might have been able to reach the BO3s and showcase a better performance. Had they decided to make roster changes earlier, they might have been able to arrest control of the situation sooner and redirect it.

Nobody knows exactly what could have been the key to success. Nonetheless, Heretics has grown as an organization and will use the lessons from the past to build a brighter future. Their first rodeo has not been in vain, but a platform to launch a promising project to a higher level. In 2024, the organization has gathered a roster of giants who have experience, prowess, and a clear destination: victory.

Coming into 2024, Team Heretics has a clear path, and there is no room for error. While Jankos and Flakked will stay in the roster, the new members of the squad are the ones who give this roster a sense of being.

Martin "Wunder" Nordahl Hansen and Luka "Perkz" Perković will form Heretics’ topside alongside their former teammate Jankos, bringing back to live one of Europe’s most legendary trifectas: G2’s 2018 topside. These two strong solo laners with the help from Jankos, were responsible for the terror that RNG experienced in 2018 at Worlds. When paired up together, these 3 players have already shown us that they can carry numerous games on their own, as well as being able to absorb and create enough pressure to let the botside carry them to victory.

Nevertheless, this topside isn’t what it used to be. Wunder has been at the bench for 2 Splits after a disastrous Winter Split in Fnatic. Perkz has also not met the expectations in Vitality. What’s more, he has been the one who received most criticism from the fans throughout the year, and he has also been accused of being the main reason for Vitality’s poor performance multiple times. It is yet to be seen if they will be able to regain the form we all know they can attain and convert these negative experiences into a willpower and thirst for the victory.

The last remaining piece of this roster is Norman "Kaiser" Kaiser, who will be joining Flakked in the botlane. Kaiser has also experienced glory in the past, in his case with Mad Lions. After leaving the organization which brought him 2 LEC titles and appearances in multiple international events, Kaiser joined a dysfunctional VIT, who disappointed the fans.

However, it was at his time with Vitality where he met and developed synergy with Perkz, which will be useful for 2024. After failing to meet expectations in 2023, Kaiser is looking to reconquer the European scene, this time alongside Flakked. Although we don’t know how the “Flakked-Kaiser” duo will work, both players are quite flexible and willing to adapt to each other’s needs, as well as to the team’s playstyle overall.

Finally, we can conclude that 2024 is looking promising for Team Heretics. Its roster is built upon synergies and players who have already lifted the trophy, but who must conquer their fears from 2023. This is a great opportunity for the players to position themselves back at Europe’s highest level and reintroduce themselves at the international events. Only time will tell what Heretics’ destiny will be, but a fight for glory is guaranteed.