Fnatic have officially bid farewall to mid-laner Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther after over two years of service, in which he helped the team secure two EU LCS playoff victories in 2018 and a grand final appearance at Worlds 2018.
The move was expected after reports from ESPN linking Caps with a move to LEC rivals G2 Esports, but fans were still disappointed to hear one of the fan favorites and standout performers would be switching allegiance.
The 2018 EU LCS Summer Split MVP was the best in his role in Europe throughout 2018, and at only 18 years old is arguably the brightest prospect in League of Legends.
In the official post, Fnatic described Caps as someone who “helped us define the Fnatic way”, with “endless belief in his own ability and his own potential.”
In a report from ESPN’s Jacob Wolf on November 20, sources claimed that Caps would be moving to G2 Esports, with G2’s Luka ‘PerkZ’ Perković remaining with the team but role-swapping from mid to the AD Carry position.
According to reports, G2 have already confirmed the signing of Mihael ‘Mikyx’ Mehle from Misfits, although have made no official announcement at the time of writing.
"If I had not joined Fnatic, I would probably not be here today – for that I will always be grateful.
But I have made the decision to move because I want to make the very most out of life and, right now, I see myself doing that elsewhere." – @FncCapsLoLhttps://t.co/WJejbi1WL3 pic.twitter.com/a9sk4u0zD9
— FNATIC (@FNATIC) November 25, 2018
After the move, fans begin to speculate that the loss of arguably the team’s best player may have been because of financial pressures.
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However, Fnatic founder and Chairman Sam Matthews dispelled these rumors on Twitter, saying that the organization will invest double into League of Legends over 2019.
Just to clear up any rumours. This was not a financial decision, Fnatic's yearly investment in LoL will over double in 2019.
— Sam Mathews (@sammathews) November 25, 2018
Unfortunately, Matthews also inadvertently leaked Caps next move in a farewell tweet, saying he hopes G2 will treat him well.
Image via Reddit.
Caps also gave a statement on his departure from Fnatic, thanking them and saying that if the situation had been different, he would have stayed with the organization for the rest of his career.
“If I had not joined Fnatic, I would probably not be here today – for that I will always be grateful. Through multiple iterations in staff and players to get there, we had two incredible years.
I am very confident that I would have loved staying at Fnatic for the rest of my career. But I have made the decision to move because I want to make the very most out of life and, right now, I see myself doing that elsewhere.
Nonetheless, I know Fnatic will perform well in the years to come and I personally hope this could be the beginning of an even better performance from LEC internationally.”
The first split of the newly franchised League of Legends European Championship (LEC) begins on January 19, where fans can expect to see Caps in G2 colors facing off against his old team.