Less than a week after the announcement of their 2022 LEC roster, G2 Esports have confirmed that mid laner Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther will be re-signing with the organization on a four-year contract.
G2 have everything to prove in 2022. A lackluster showing in the LEC Summer Split saw the team fail to qualify for the League of Legends World Championship for the first time since 2016.
This failure came after acquiring AD Carry Martin ‘Rekkles’ Larsson at the beginning of 2021, building a supposed ‘superteam’ that comprised some of Europe’s most decorated players. Rekkles has since left the team for Europe’s regional leagues, joining French org Karmine Corp in the LFL.
Shakeups were inevitable after such a fall from grace for the roster. But G2 kept the faith in their star midlaner Caps, alongside veteran voice Marcin ‘Jankos’ Jankowski in the jungle – with the two being the only remaining players from the 2021 roster still on the team.
Caps has been one of Europe’s best-performing players since his debut in 2016. He’s reached two Worlds finals and brought home Europe’s first-ever Mid-Season Invitational victory with G2. He’s also the undeniable face of the organization – streamingly regularly from his Twitch channel and appearing in innumerable video content pieces for G2.
The franchise star
G2 clearly have faith in Caps as their franchise player – so much so that he has re-signed with the team for the next four years. This doesn’t necessarily mean he will remain with the team for that entire period, though.
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4 MORE YEARS OF CLAPS 👏 pic.twitter.com/HbzuBQ1ZLA
— G2 Esports (@G2esports) December 9, 2021
A player can still be bought out of their contract at any point, as in the case of ex-Rogue jungler Kacper ‘Inspired’ Słoma. Inspired left the LEC for North America’s Evil Genuises at the start of the 2021 offseason, despite having signed a two-year contract extension with Rogue in the LEC.
The signing proves G2’s faith in Caps as the core piece of their new era. G2 acquired a rookie bot lane for 2022 comprising AD carry Victor ‘Flakked’ Lirola and support Raphaël ‘Targamas’ Crabbé.
They also signed ex-Schalke top laner Sergen ‘BrokenBlade’ Çelik for the 2022 season. The organization has received some criticism for its hesitance to bring up talent from Europe’s regional leagues. But this year, they have proven they’re willing to invest in rookie talent.