For most teams, the 2022 LEC summer playoffs represents a chance to clinch one of the three remaining Worlds spots and lift the trophy in front of a huge crowd. However, for Rogue’s Emil “Larssen” Larsson, it means all that and so much more.
The LEC summer playoffs signifies a unique opportunity to hear his name chanted on home soil; a possible homecoming win in Malmö, Sweden. The Swedish born international has experienced several LEC playoffs final weekends but is ready to do so in front of a bigger audience.
“I don’t mind who I play against,” Larssen said. “I really want to go to Malmö in Sweden and then hopefully I will take it all home in front of the home crowd. For me, it’s like maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity to play in front of a home crowd. It also would be the first big arena I played in. I’ve been in four final weekends now but it’s all been in COVID times so I’ve never played in front of a big arena. [A] big reason I became a pro player was because I saw how fun it looked to play in front of huge crowds.”
The Malmö Arena will host the top three teams from the LEC playoffs and thousands of fans on September 10 to 11.
Work to do for Rogue and Larssen before LEC summer playoffs finals in Malmö
For his dream to happen, Larssen and the rest of the Rogue team must work harder than ever during the LEC summer playoffs. Rogue’s regular summer split was a mixture of ups and downs, straying from the consistent tag many had put on Rogue for the past few years.
The team started the LEC summer split with a 0-2 record but quickly recovered with 8 straight wins. After their loss to G2 in Week 5, it became tough to predict what version of Rogue fans would see in the remaining games. Although they finished the season in third place, their loss against Team BDS in the final week raised concerns.
“This split was a very big rollercoaster that’s for sure,” Larssen said. “I’m usually used to like very clean regular seasons. For like four times in a row, we’ve been like second or first regular season. So this one has been very rocky. We lost like seven games, which I’m not used to. And we lost a lot to bad teams. It’s been a very turbulent split but I’m also happy to like to experience [it] because I really haven’t had a turbulent regular season and I think this will help us for playoffs.”
Rogue face a resurgent MAD Lions in the first round of the winners bracket. A win against MAD will see them lock in a Worlds spot; and face either G2 or Misfits in the upper bracket semifinals. After reaching the finals in Spring and delivering consistent performances year after year, Larssen believes the team can take it one step further with a win this summer.
“I think we have extremely good chances, it’s all up to us,” he said. “If we practice like we should and have the right mindset on stage, I’m sure will take the trophy home.”
The LEC summer playoffs begin on August 26 at 12 p.m ET with Rogue vs MAD as the opening series.
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