Report: Jakob ‘YamatoCannon’ Mebdi to leave Fnactic
According to a report by LEC Wooloo, Fnatic League of Legends head coach Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi will soon leave the team. Fnatic will reportedly give the position to its academic coach, Gonçalo “Crusher” Pinto Brandão.
YamatoCannon helped Fnatic reach the League of Legends World Championships during his two years at the helm. Although the team did not claim any title under the 26-year-old’s guidance, Fnatic performed well, finishing in second and third place. His contract with the organization expires on November 2021 and reportedly will not be renewed.
Crusher became a coach for the academy team Fnatic TQ on January 3. He helped the group win the regular season and playoffs of the SuperLiga spring and secure a spot in the European Masters.
Rekkles returning to Fnatic
Although YamatoCannon is leaving Fnatic, an old player is reportedly returning to the team. Martin “Rekkles” Larsson left Fnatic for G2 in 2021 after a defeat to TES at Worlds 2020. Two years have passed, and Rekkles will reportedly play for Fnatic in the 2023 LEC.
Rekkles’ time with G2 was not terrible, but it was not good either. The iconic ADC player finished third in the Spring Playoffs, almost missing out on Worlds in the Summer of 2021. G2 seemed to have put a lot of hope in him, but Rekkles failed at making the team the best in the world.
Rekkles said he had only received six percent of his paycheck after being benched. The Swedish player went to Kcorp after feeling he “had to quit G2.” His tenure with Kcorp ended with an early defeat at LFL Summer Playoffs.
Rekkles discussed his tenures at G2 and Kcorp during a stream. He claimed G2 was attempting to limit his choices and made it hard for him to leave. The 26-year-old said he had a better time in Kcorp, saying that “the vibes are good.”
“I didn’t want them to get money for me, and I’m sure they didn’t want to let me go to whichever team I wanted. I know for a fact they didn’t want me to go to whichever team I wanted,” Rekkles said.
Now that Rekkles has left Kcorp, fans wonder which team he may join next. A recent tweet from Wooloo shed some light on this situation.
“[Sources] Bot laner Rekkles will return to Fnatic as ad carry (real),” Wooloo wrote.
There is a high chance that Fnatic will welcome Rekkles back as their ADC player, Elias “Upset” Lipp, has left the team. Upset confirmed his departure on Twitter.
“Sadly the circumstances around this off season did not allow me to go to one of my desired places to compete. I will be grinding a lot of soloq here and in korea in the new season and probaly gonna stream quite a bit of it. I am confident in my return in great form,” Upset said.
Fnatic releases music album
Although the situation has not been great for Fnatic, the team recently launched a music label, Fnatic Music, along with its first album, Fnatic Island Vol. 1.
Over 40 famous LoFi hip-hop artists contributed to this album, which provides “Lofi beats to chill & game to.” The album has 77 minutes of runtime and is full of all-instrumental music.
“Fnatic Island Vol. 1 soundtracks our esports journey through 31 laidback beats inspired by our history, our players, our community and the wider gaming scene,” Fnatic announced.
