Wickd: “I am a better player than sOAZ”

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A recent substitute space at Fnatic may be the first step back towards LCS for the danish toplane legend.

By Mads Illum Dalsgaard – mads@esm.dk

The spring season in European LCS starts in a few days, and 11 Danes are listed as starting players or substitutes on the 10 EU LCS teams. One of the Danish players is the 22-year-old Mike “Wickd” Petersen. A role as substitute in Fnatic, may have opened the door slightly for a return to the League of Legends pro scene.

“Wickd” joined Fnatic in the beginning of January, and although his contract primarily runs to the end of Spring Split in 2017, it is a good chance for “Wickd” to prove that he is once again among the best toplaners in Europe.

“I’m ready to step in when they need me,” says Mike “Wickd” Petersen to Esportsmagasinet and continues:

“I chose to be sub for them because they had not found one and roster-lock approached. I have a good relationship with most of the players and i would like to help them – so I said yes.  Of course, ” says “Wickd” and says that he remains a resident of Denmark, where he will continue to stream on a daily basis.

A star in decay
Mike “Wickd” Petersen is a big name among all who have followed the LoL scene since the game was launched in 2009. He is especially known for his Irelia and for the time with legendary Counter Logic Gaming Europe (CLG.EU), where he, together with Henrik “Froggen” Hansen, won a number of major international tournaments and got a third place in Season 2 World Championship in 2012. He later played for both Evil Geniuses and Alliance, where he won the EU LCS Summer Split 2014.

In recent years, the Dane has not played at the highest professional level, and he is not sure if he will ever return to LCS again.

“I do not know what the future holds. Right now I’m happy with streaming, and i hope to be able to make a living of it. But if I get a good offer from a top team, it might be a possibility to return to the LCS again, “says Mike “Wickd” Petersen.

A team in crisis
Fnatic is one of the most respected European League of Legends brands, and the team has long been among the best in Europe. Since “Huni” and “Reignover” left Fnatic in late 2015 and joined Immortals, and “YellowStar” also slipped to TSM, the team however, found it difficult to find its place. The last few years have been marked by a series og poor performance, but a number of new signings may reverse the negative trend.

In addition to the substitute-sign with Wickd, two other Danes have signed with Fnatic. These are support player Jesse “Jesse” Le and midlaneren Rasmus “Caps” Winther, both of which are expected to be part of the team’s starting line-up.

Team AD Carry is “Wickds” former teammate from Alliance, Martin “Rekkles” Larsson while the jungle-role is taken by Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneider.

The starting toplaner – and Wickds competitor for space – Frenchman Paul “sOAZ” Boyer. A player that “Wickd” has a special relationship with

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No problem with sOAZ
Back in Season 2 and 3 the two players were major competitors, and when CLG.EU and Fnatic crashed together, there was often a major debate about which of the two players who were Europe’s best toplaner. Wickd however, has no problem with the fact, that the former competitor is now on the same team.

“Since I am not going to stay with the guys in Berlin, i dont really feel it that much. It is funny to think that we play under the same organization, “says Wickd.

“I have no problem with sOAZ as a person, but I believe, however, that I am a better player than him.”

You can follow Wickd and the rest of Fnatic, when the European LCS starts Thursday. January 19.