In a stunning professional League of Legends roster shakeup, Team Heretics mid laner Perkz has reportedly been benched from his starting position on the team today.
Heretics is set to make a move toward rookie mid laner Zwyroo as Perkz’s replacement, according to a report from Sheep Esports. Perkz played just one split with Heretics, and in that less-than-impressive four-week affair, Heretics finished in seventh place in the LEC with a regular split record of 4-5, then were promptly bounced from the Winter Split playoffs, losing both of their playoff series. In the winners bracket, Heretics were swept by Team BDS, and in the losers bracket, they were knocked out completely by SK Gaming after going up 1-0 in that series. Across those two playoff matches, Perkz posted a KDA of 2.7, as well as negative early-game gold and XP differentials, according to League stats site Games of Legends.
Zwyroo, despite being a 25-year-old player with years of pro League experience, has never played in the LEC. He’ll reportedly make his rookie debut in Europe’s most prestigious league with a Heretics roster that is largely made up of veterans who have decades of experience between them. Furthermore, Zwyroo’s appearance on the roster would break up a once-formidable mid-jungle duo of Perkz and Jankos, who wreaked havoc together on G2 Esports in the late 2010s but failed to capture that magic in 2024. Granted, the sample size for their comeback tour was exceptionally small, but with Heretics choosing to move on from Perkz, it appears to be over for the duo—which was really a trio if you account for top laner Wunder, who also helped G2 reach the Worlds finals back in 2019.
If this move is confirmed, it won’t be the only roster tweak Heretics has made in between the Winter and Spring Splits, either. The team also signed veteran support Trymbi to its starting roster in February, replacing another veteran in Kaiser, according to a previous report from Sheep Esports.
The 2024 LEC Spring Split is set to kick off next week on Saturday, March 9. Heretics will play the opening match of the spring against Team Vitality.