Mentioned in this article Games: League of Legends Teams: Splyce

Hans Christian “Liq” Durr, the Europe esports director for Splyce, has officially stepped down from his role after posting an emotional letter to the team’s fans. In the public letter, Durr addresses his team’s success and business strategy, along with the reason he is leaving— a probable relocation away from Germany.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Hans Durr: “…the future of Splyce will not be in Germany and I am simply not ready to relocate in 2018.”[/perfectpullquote]

“Two months ago, I decided to inform Marty that I will be stepping down from my European Esports Director role at Splyce as soon as the LCS Season is over for us,” he writes, “Because the future of Splyce will not be in Germany and I am simply not ready to relocate in 2018.”



Splyce’s history is indeed storied. In addition to numerous championships in titles like StarCraft II and Halo, the team managed to take second place in the EU LCS Summer Playoffs, granting the team an entry into the prestigious League of Legends World Championship. This year, however, the team hasn’t done quite as well, finishing tied for fifth place in both splits.

It isn’t a poor showing that is sending the team manager packing. His letter explicitly mentions that “the future of Splyce will not be in Germany.” There have been several conflicting reports flying around recently about Splyce—both from ESPN. In one, Splyce has asked to relocate to London following the upcoming EU LCS format change and regionalization.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]As esports goes mainstream, it will increasingly disfavor “hometown” operators and push for a global approach.[/perfectpullquote]

In the other, however, Splyce has bid to leave Europe entirely and join the NA LCS as a new franchise, likely somewhere in the Northeast – Splyce’s executive team is based in Rochester, NY and has significant funding from Delaware North (an investment group that controls the Boston Bruins and famous TD Garden). Regardless of which report turns out true, Durr directly addresses the overall rumor, all but confirming that Splyce’s LCS team is leaving Germany.

The reality is that as esports goes mainstream, it will increasingly disfavor “hometown” operators and push for a global approach. Both Riot Games and Blizzard Entertainment are hard at work creating franchise systems for their respective leagues and the overall strategy for pieces that don’t fit into the new puzzle at this point appears to be throwing them out.

Managers such as Durr with substantial experience should have no problem finding a new home—Berlin will still host six EU LCS teams—but there’s no promise that the new system will maintain the status quo.