- Closer and Abbedagge can now explore new opportunities
- Both players are still officially part of 100 Thieves
- It seems this is a part of the organization’s new vision for 2023
After failing to make an impression at the League of Legends World Championship 2022, 100 Thieves is going to be making some big changes.
Closer and Abbedagge Can Look for New Teams
The long break between competitive seasons is a time when esports organizations take in the lessons learned from the last season and start planning for the next one. This often includes making big changes to the roster composition with players entering the team or leaving in search of new opportunities. This is also the case for 100 Thieves who, according to recent rumors, are letting their 2-star League of Legends players explore new opportunities for the 2023 season.
Can “Closer” Çelik and Felix “Abbedagge” Braun, the team’s current jungler and midlaner, respectively, have allegedly been allowed to explore different options for the next season. Despite defeating Team Liquid and qualifying for the World Championship, 100 Thieves did not manage to find success during the tournament. In fact, the team did not manage to go past the group stage. Not only that, but it didn’t even score a single win during the stage.
The information that Closer and Abbedagge have been given the option to explore new possibilities was first reported by independent journalist LEC Wooloo on Instagram. However, at the time of writing this article, both players are still officially part of the organization, meaning 100T might change its mind and keep both players.
What Is 100T Planning?
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that 100T is looking for a change. It also shouldn’t be surprising that the organization has marked out Abbedagge as a potential need for replacement, as the player simply did not have any significant achievements compared to his peers this season.
However, Closer leaving 100T would shock the community. Over the year, the 24-year-old player has shown consistent performance compared to his fellow players and never gave up even when the game seemed already lost.
But despite his performance, it seems these decisions go far up in the organization. 100 Thieves recently parted ways with its League of Legends General Manager Christopher “PapaSmithy” Smith on October 17. This came as a surprise to many, as PapaSmithy led the LCS team to a Championship title and multiple Finals since he started working for 100T in 2019.
However, it seems that his departure from the organization was the first signal of 100T’s new vision for the next year. “It was clear that the shared vision of the kind of League of Legends program we wanted to build together in 2019 no longer fit the goals and aspirations of 100T for 2023,” PapaSmithy said on Twitter after he left the organization.
Whatever 100 Thieves are planning for the next year is yet to be seen, but considering the large roster and staff changes it’s undergoing, means it would be something big. Whether this will be a good or bad thing remains to be seen.
