After years in regional leagues, Kristian "TynX" Hansen was finally on the stage of the LEC in 2021. "It feels so damn good to be here," he says in an interview at the beginning of the season. He wants to prove himself in the European League of Legends league, play for a long time. But the dream quickly bursts.

For the e-sportsman, the LEC was already over after one season. After being kicked out, he felt terrible. And he is not alone in this.

Young young talents usually work for years to get one of the 50 places in the teams of the LEC. There you will have the opportunity to compete with the best, improve yourself - and the chance to qualify for the World Cup.

But for many newcomers, the dream of the LEC ends after just one season. One of them is TynX.

The 23-year-old Dane pursued the typical career of a so-called rookie: his performance at the European tournament European Masters attracted attention in 2020 and was acquired by the German organization SK Gaming for the LEC at the beginning of 2021.

Rookies in the LEC: Unexpected ejection

"I knew the coach of SK, we had worked together before," TynX tells in an interview with the German Press Agency. SK had brought four new players on board at the end of 2020. That seemed to work: the team made it to the playoffs, finished sixth.

Despite the comparatively good result, TynX was released by SK after one season. "It was quite a shock," he says. "Mainly because we had done better than expected." The explanation for the expulsion was very vague.

After being praised for his development after the playoffs, he was told after four days in training for next season that it was not working after all. "I didn't have the mental attitude to question the decision, so the conversation was over quickly.»

TynX, first of all, criticizes the management. "Normally you should give your players a reasonable window of time so that they can look for something else." For him, however, it was communicated too late to find an alternative for the summer. "That ruined a whole season for me.»

SK: TynX did not adapt quickly enough

TynX did not adapt quickly enough to the changing game, says Alexander Müller, Managing Director at SK.

Unfortunately, his performance decreased over the course of the season. This was also discussed very clearly with him. He had homework for the break: "He should work relatively hard on his game so as not to lose the connection," says Müller. "But unfortunately, his style of play was still not on par with the competition after the break.»

In the team, a dynamic developed that the management could not stop. "The whole team made it clear relatively quickly that they wanted a different solution. And we then also openly communicated to him that the trip to the Summer Split as a starter will not continue,"says Müller.

A change between spring and summer is also far from ideal for the organization. "You absolutely want to prevent that," he says. The fact that TynX could not switch to another top team was due to its performance.

Rookie management in the LEC "not good"

Like TynX, several LEC players have fared well in the past. Paweł "Woolite" Pruski had already played in the predecessor league of the LEC, the EU LCS, in 2014. When he made it back to the LEC in the summer of 2019, however, he was also replaced after a split.

"It was a hard time for me. I had no motivation, " says the 26-year-old Pole in an interview with dpa about the end of the LEC team Rogue. "For two weeks I was at home and did nothing, except to think about the fact that I just got into the LEC and now I have to start all over again.»

Again and again, teams fail to integrate newcomers. This is often not due to the players, but also to the structures. "It seems like every other rookie who joins a team is breaking down," TynX says. "It's sad to see.»

So it was with the German Steven "Reeker" Chen, who had to leave MAD Lions after one season. Here, Till Werdermann, MADs Director of Team Operations, admitted in an interview with "Inven Global" that it was less about a "wrong" player, but about a wrong handling of the team by the coaching staff.

For TynX and Woolite, one of the biggest problems: expectations. "The teams are not exactly good at dealing with young talent," Woolite says. They wanted to get results quickly, but they would not have patience. The risk with young players is now present, but the teams assume that it will still work. "It does a lot of damage to the rookies in the long run," Woolite said.

Rookies in the LEC: responsibility in organizations

In an interview with "Dot Esports", long-time LEC player Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu of Rogue had also expressed concerns. Instead of giving the young talents time to develop, teams would always exchange players and then expect different results - which ultimately has a negative impact on the quality of the league.

"It's an insane mental burden for the players," Woolite says. "You constantly get the feeling that you can be replaced at any time if you let up a little.»

This leads to the fact that many players overexert themselves and are already burned out when it matters. "In League of Legends, you can just disappear in a moment if you don't adapt," Woolite says.

Return to the LEC with hurdles

Also, the re-entry into the LEC is often difficult for the young players, they have to prove themselves completely anew. "In the past, the success rate was not particularly high," says TynX, assessing the chance of a return.

This is also due to the fact that the dropped players have a bad reputation attached to them. Teams would then prefer to rely on a new player without LEC experience. "It's extremely hard to get noticed again," Woolite says.

Meanwhile, both players have found places in the regional leagues. Woolite has been under contract with Misfits Premier in the French League since the end of 2020. TynX has been playing with the young team of MAD Lions in Spain since May. His goals would not have changed after the end in the LEC: "It would still be pretty cool to participate in a World Championship.»

Even though the regional leagues are becoming more and more professional and attractive, in the end the ultimate goal always remains, especially for the young players: the LEC and the chance of an international stage at the World Cup. And TynX is sure of one thing: "If you're a good player, you can make it back.»