As the League of Legends season gears up, a worldwide AD carry shakeup is beginning. And in its center lies relegated Copenhagen Wolves marksman Aleš “Freeze” Kněžínek.
The Czech AD carry has received inquiries from multiple North American teams, including Team Liquid and Team SoloMid, as well as newly formed Immortals and newcomers Renegades. European team Elements has also taken interest in the player.
But for now, he’s not decided where he’ll go.
Kněžínek made his interest in moving to North America public, telling the Daily Dot in a Sep. 17 story: “It is possible to join a North American team and I am very open to new places.” He also confirmed he had received “several offers” and that he would be making a return to the League Championship Series (LCS), whether in Europe or North America.
Team Liquid initially inquired on Kněžínek’s talent to the Copenhagen Wolves management on Sep. 19. But neither party came to a deal.
Team Liquid co-owner Steve “Liquid112” Arhancet confirmed his team’s interest in the player. “Prior to resigning Piglet, an inquiry was made to [Copenhagen Wolves CEO] Jakob to inquire on Freeze’s interest in playing in NA and his thoughts on Team Liquid,” Arhancet told the Daily Dot.
The venture-capitalist owned franchise Immortals approached Kněžínek in early October to inquire about bringing him to North America for its new team, led by player manager Kang “Dodo8” Jun-hyeok and CEO Noah Whinston. Immortals declined to comment on this article.
That was followed by LCS newcomer Renegades and league stalwart Team SoloMid. Renegades offered a higher base salary to Kněžínek than other teams: more than $10,000 a month on top of the Riot Games guaranteed $12,500 per split, according to sources close to the team.
As for SoloMid, Kněžínek will participate in the team’s AD carry tryouts in the coming weeks, as it looks to build its team around mid laner (and Kněžínek’s former teammate) Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg.
At home, Elements has discussed a spot on its roster for Kněžínek. Kněžínek is interested, according to sources close to the player, but he’ll most likely make a move for North America unless his current plans fall through.
Josh Raven contributed to this report.
Photo via Riot Games/Flickr
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