The counter finally ticks over for
Los Ratones in the
League of Legends EMEA Championship Versus (LEC). After four straight BO1 losses against Fnatic, Karmine Corp Blue, KC and GIANTX, the Rats finally found their way to the enemy Nexus, doing so against Team Heretics, who are also struggling at the start of the year.
Marc Robert “Caedrel” Lamont’s team can finally breathe, as they were the only LEC squad still without a win. After the victory, the English streamer appeared visibly emotional, even though he knows it was only one BO1 among many, and not against a top team in the league. Still, he felt the work and effort put in by the players deserved to be rewarded.
LR are one of the two guest teams of the year in LEC Versus, alongside KCB. After a stellar 2025, in which they won the NLC three times and the EMEA Masters twice—only missing out on the Summer final—their trajectory this year is going in the complete opposite direction. LR could very well be experiencing their final two weeks, as Caedrel has already confirmed the team will not compete in the ERLs in 2026.
A Sign of Relief
On his stream, Caedrel also spoke about his toplaner, Simon “
Baus” Hofverberg, who has been struggling recently: “
I can’t tell you how many hours he’s put in over the last four weeks,” he said, adding, “
We’re trying so many things and you get so frustrated trying to fix these problems together, and you finally see a sign of relief.”
It’s safe to say the team has faced some difficulties at the start of the year. Baus has been solo-killed in each of the five BO1s played by LR, Veljko “Velja” Čamdžić ranks second-to-last in kill participation among the league’s junglers, just ahead of Mehdi “Boukada” Lahlou, while Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek leads the league in CS per minute and is also second in damage share among his team’s midlaners.
Los Ratones still have six BO1s left to play in this LEC Versus. First, they’ll face Shifters on the evening of January 26, followed by Movistar KOI, G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, SK Gaming, and Team Vitality. Of the 12 participating teams, only the top eight advance to the playoffs.
Currently, LR sit at 1-4, while the teams in eighth place are at 2-3, so they’re not far behind. However, the remaining opponents aren’t easy, making it challenging—but not impossible—for LR to make it out of the group stage.
