G2 Esports have given ADC Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen and support Alfonso “mithy” Aguirre Rodríguez permission to explore their options for 2018, two weeks ahead of their contracts ending.
Rather than only allow the players the chance to talk to other teams once their contracts ended on Nov. 10, G2 has allowed the pair to field offers early. That way the players can either choose to join a new team as soon as their G2 contracts end, or stay with G2 without a break in employment.
Related: EU LCS changes coming for 2018 season, franchising in 2019
Zven and Mithy have been at the heart of G2’s dominating EU LCS form the past two years and are arguably the best ADC and Support in the EU LCS. The news was revealed in an unusual video, with owner Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez filmed informing the pair of the team’s decision.
Ocelote shed more light on this move on Reddit.
“Far prior to this announcement, North American organizations have contacted us in order to purchase the rights to speak with some of our players.” The former LCS star said. “Some of these offers have been unreasonably high…we believe there is a chance that we’ll keep working together next year. However, we want to make sure that both players feel 100% convinced of staying and ready to compete at the highest possible level.”
With the addition of major sports franchises to the NA LCS, as well as the well-funded OpTic Gaming, four teams are looking to build new squads from scratch. It stands to reason that those teams would look outside of NA and attempt to sign the top talent from around the world. Zven and Mithy could well be at the top of many shopping lists.
Related: Welcome to the NBA LCS
Zven and Mithy originally joined during the 2015 EU LCS Summer Split from Origen and cemented themselves as the EU LCS’s best active duo lane, winning three titles with G2 Esports since joining the team.
If the pair do leave G2, the team would need to revamp the core of their lineup if they hope to keep their championship streak alive.