SLY Wakz: "Without results, people lose interest. If you no longer have fans, you simply cease to exist"

It is one of the enduring curses of the French esports scene. After seven seasons in the Ligue française de League of Legends (LFL), Solary have never qualified for the EMEA Masters. In recent years, the frustration has only grown for the "team of friends", as they have come agonisingly close, repeatedly finishing as the first non-qualified side. In Summer 2025, Solary placed fifth while only four spots were available.

A year earlier, in Summer 2024, with the floodgates wide open and a record six slots allocated to the LFL, Solary finished seventh. Last winter, the organization achieved its best result to date by placing third in the LFL—its first-ever podium finish. Yet, for the first time since the league expanded to ten teams, only the top two earned a ticket to the EMEA Masters. Once again, it was not enough. The club that once jokingly claimed to be “playing for the title”, until the joke slowly turned into a burden, has still been unable to break through its glass ceiling.

In 2025, the team invested more heavily than ever before in both players and staff, without managing to lift the curse. The lessons drawn from that failure were numerous, and decisions were made collectively at the very top of the organisation ahead of the LFL Invitational, which begins this Wednesday at 7 p.m. CET for SLY with a match against Yumeea. After a year and a half as team manager, Romain "Caëlan" Albesa has voluntarily stepped back from the LFL project.

Another co-founder has returned to the forefront to take on the role of Head of LoL: César "Wakz" Hugues. A member of the roster during the team’s early days between 2019 and 2020, the AD carry later distanced himself from day-to-day operations and primarily contributed through casting Solary’s matches. “I didn’t want to be the guy who comes in and dictates his point of view, thinking he’s right just because he has experience,” he explains.

This shift primarily reflects the club’s desire to re-anchor its project in a more tangible, personal dynamic. “Creating an emotional bond, especially with the fans, is much easier when it goes through someone who genuinely represents the project,” says the AD carry, who will stream the team’s matches on his Twitch channel. This return to basics for one of France’s pioneers of personality-driven esports is also driven by financial considerations. The club is facing difficulties following the loss of two sponsors—Aldi, which has withdrawn from esports, and Cetelem—as well as additional costs linked to the renovation of its new facilities, estimated at €400,000, as detailed by Solary CEO Baptiste "TiiisBa" Doussaint on X. To stay afloat and replenish its finances, Solary has had to identify new levers.

The team recently announced the arrival of a new partner, Winamax, but is also seeking to diversify its revenue streams. “One of the solutions lies in merchandising,” Wakz emphasises. “Because I’ll be much more emotionally invested, we believe the audience will feel stronger emotions as well. When you like a team, you’re more inclined to support it, to buy a jersey. If we have 15,000 viewers on the stream, we’ll naturally sell more jerseys.” This alternative model, which reduces dependence on sponsorships, is one that only the most popular teams can truly rely on. It has notably proven effective for Karmine Corp, as 40% of the Blue Wall’s revenue in 2023 came from merchandise sales.

To lay the foundations of the new Solary project, Wakz began by consulting others. “One of the first things I did when I took on the Head of LoL role was to speak with people I consider extremely competent in France.” He notably exchanged with Wadi "Wadi" Benarbia, who has been involved in Karmine Corp’s coaching staff since 2023, and Quentin "Zeph" Viguié, Karmine Corp’s current assistant coach in the LEC and a former member of Movistar KOI—“two profiles who have both succeeded and delivered strong results.”“Every time Zeph has worked with a roster, he has outperformed expectations, in my view. I place enormous value on his vision and his understanding of the game,” Wakz adds. These discussions helped confirm his ideas regarding the construction of the coaching staff and logistical matters.

The Head of LoL therefore identified two main priorities. The first was to assemble a trusted staff that shared his vision of the game, with at least two key figures. Wakz sought specific profiles, starting with a “figure of authority” as Head Coach, “someone who truly has the final say and is respected by the players.”“The closer you are to someone, the more human the relationship becomes, and that can make it harder to maintain authority,” he believes. Wakz also acknowledges that Solary may have “tended to be a bit too nice” in the past. The team therefore retained Danny "Dan Dan" Comte, who was already in place last year.

To preserve the balance and the spirit that “defines Solary’s strength,” the streamer also wanted “people who are very close to the players” in managerial and assistant coaching roles. “It’s crucial for players to feel they’re in an environment where they’re confident and at ease, where they can speak freely without fear of potential consequences,” Wakz explains. Fabrizio "Gine" Ginestroni and uko have thus joined the project as assistant coach and manager, respectively.

The second priority was ensuring that players would be physically present. “The project immediately becomes much more human, and it’s far easier to resolve issues when you’re face to face,” he says. “It allows you to spend far more time with the players and feel closer to the team. It also generates more enthusiasm around the roster. By interacting with many people, the team sees the reality of the organisation and develops a stronger attachment to Solary.”

The approach to building the roster was also different. For the first time, Solary worked with a dedicated scout, Blazzios. He identified relevant players and passed them on to DanDan and Gine, who then analysed and validated—or rejected—the profiles. “Thanks to this method, there were many players we considered that I would never have thought of,” Wakz admits. Although, with the exception of Kang "Jool" Dong-soo, the final selections are relatively well-known on the ERL scene, Solary had numerous options throughout the offseason.

Rather than assembling a team of star names, the club opted for “complementary profiles that work well together and are hungry.”“One of the mistakes we’ve made in the past is recruiting names—players who are strong or who used to be strong—rather than players who are genuinely motivated,” Wakz concedes. “That can be the case for some players coming down from the LEC, who may be less driven to give everything. On the other hand, when you’re climbing, your eyes are fixed on the LEC and you’re willing to give it your all.”

Despite a significantly reduced budget compared to 2025, Solary managed to field a competitive roster. “We’re lucky in our misfortune because all budgets have gone down,” Wakz explains, having revealed on stream that he personally contributed over €15,000 to complete the roster’s budget. “We managed to sign Piero (Kim Jeong-hoon), who would otherwise have been completely out of reach.” With a lineup rounded out by Felix "Kryze" Hellström, Lanzo "Zicssi" Ciajolo and Berat "Aetinoth" Tıknazoğlu, Solary has been ranked third by the twenty teams competing in the LFL Invitational.

The hardest part, however, still lies ahead: ensuring that this promising 2026 roster does not meet the same fate as those that came before it. The challenge will be to resolve the issues that inevitably arise over the course of the year, while adhering to this new philosophy and management balance. “It’s essential to perform this year. That was already my view last year,” Wakz concludes. “We need to give something back to the fans. Financially, it’s extremely difficult. I don’t know whether, in two or three years, if we don’t achieve esports results, we’ll still be able to compete in the LFL. Without results, people gradually lose interest. And in esports, if you no longer have fans, you simply cease to exist.”