Welcome to a new series where we examine statements figures in the competitive scene make and determine how ridiculous they are. For this first edition, the one and only H2K mid laner Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten is the player in the spotlight. In an interview with TheShotcaller.Net’s Darius Matuschak that was released yesterday Febiven was asked if he would like to play with Konstantinos “FORG1VEN” Tzortziou-Napoleon; here was his response.

“You’re known for having a strong personality, a former H2K player who goes by the name of FORG1VEN is also known for having a strong personality. Could you imagine having to play with him?



No, I absolutely couldn’t. I’d see no chance of that happening. If FORG1VEN would still play for H2K, there’d be no way I’d play for them as well.”

If you would like to read the full article check it out (here) and again full credit to Darius Matuschak.

The fact that Febiven said this is does not personally surprise me very much. However, what I am more baffled by is the reasoning he gave behind why he would never play with Forgiven. Febiven goes on to say that

“I’d be fine playing with him, but he probably wouldn’t be fine playing with… The whole team really. This guy requires so much from his team, he requires a playstyle that his good for himself, good for his farming, good for his kda. I don’t think he’s a good fit for any team.”

Let’s just examine all the teams that Forgiven has been a part of in the LCS. Firstly, there is Copenhagen Wolves in Spring 2014 where they took 6th in the regular season making playoffs. Then SK Gaming in Spring 2015 where they took 1st in the Regular Season and then took 4th in the playoffs. They barely lost both series that they played and Forgiven received the MVP award of those playoffs despite not winning either series. Then When Forgiven leaves SK the next split and the team goes to complete shit getting relegated to the Challenger Series.

In Summer 2015 Forgiven Joined Gambit with the powerhouse bot lane of Edward “Edward” Abgaryan and Forgiven. Unfortunately, this dominance would end when Forgiven was suspended for 4 games and then benched for being toxic. This pretty much ended any chance that Gambit had to make the playoffs and the team finished 8th in the Regular Season.

Then Forgiven landed on H2K, was the main carry on the team, propelling them to 2nd place in the Regular Season. Their playoff run was inconsistent and saw them very closely loose both best of 5’s 3:2 to Origen and Fnatic respectively. H2K’s shortcomings were not Forgiven’s fault however. For the first time in his career Forgiven was the team player; opting in to play utility carries like Sivir; as opposed to hard carry champions he was known for. Forgiven was very unselfish in those series and trusted in the team to help win those games. His teammates “Jankos”, “Ryu”, and “Odoamne” are all famous chokers and were the main factors in why H2K barely lost each series. That storyline is true for H2K even today as they have been struggling to stay on top of their group due to inconsistent performances from Jankos and Odoamne. Forgiven chose to take a break from the game after several years of giving it his all only to come up ever so short.

Forgiven then had a short stint on Origen when they scrambled to find a replacement bottom lane. Later he describes that he was “betrayed” by Glenn “Hybrid” Doornenbal and was kicked from the team publicly for “lack of motivation.” Summer 2016 H2K called on him to come out of hiatus to utterly dominate. H2K rolled through the rest of the split and Forgiven was wrecking people left and right and finished the split in 4th place. H2K humiliated Fnatic in the most one sided 3:0 I think I have ever witnessed a European team suffer to a non-Korean team.

H2K then AGAIN come up just slightly too short against Splyce and had to beat Unicorns of Love in the third-place match to qualify for Season 6 Worlds. At Worlds H2K destroyed their group, admittedly the weakest one in the tournament, going 5–1 and earning first seed into the bracket stage. Forgiven was once again the clear star of the team carrying through to the semi-finals where they just could not overcome Samsung Galaxy.

After examining the career that Forgiven has had Febiven’s reasoning behind why he would not want to play with Forgiven makes no sense.

“he probably wouldn’t be fine playing with…the whole team really”

Like what is Febiven talking about? Has he not spoken to the rest of the teammates on H2K who literally just played a split with Forgiven. It is entirely possible that Febiven has taken most of his assumptions from talking with Forgiven’s former teammates on H2K. Though these are the same guys who said they would never want to play with Forgiven again after he left the team in Spring and claimed they could do better without him. Expect H2K clearly could not play to the same level without Forgiven and begged him to come back and play for them. So just how much can you really value to statements that these same guys make about him after Forgiven once again chooses to leave the team?

“This guy requires so much from his team, he requires a playstyle that his good for himself, good for his farming, good for his kda. I don’t think he’s a good fit for any team.”

I really don’t even know where to begin with this next statement. Febiven seems to be under the impression that Forgiven would actually hurt any team that he went to; despite the fact that his record shows the exact opposite. SK were relegated after his departure, H2K became middle of the pack when he left, Gambit couldn’t make the playoffs. Forgiven has elevated every single team that he has played on because he is just that good of a player. That is besides the fact that Forgiven showed in Spring playoffs that he was capable and willing to be more selfless and play for the team instead of demanding to be the hard carry. The fact that Febiven is under the impression Forgiven can’t function in any team demonstrates how poor the support structure of teams Febiven has been on has been.

“He’s been on what, ten teams at this point? That’s not a good sign and it wouldn’t be a good decision for a team to pick him up. That’s why he’s not playing anymore as well, because his reputation is just so bad.”

I think I laughed when I read this point because of how naïve it sounds. I understand the point that he is trying to make here. He believes that since Forgiven has moved around a lot he seems unstable to insert into your team. I did some research and found out that yes Forgiven has played on a lot of teams, though most of them don’t even count. Forgiven has been playing competitively for a long time and players shuffling around teams that aren’t in the LCS is extremely common. Especially in the early days of League when the LCS was just being implemented. Forgiven has been playing so long that he has racked up a lot of team credits as many players who have been playing longer than Febiven have.

Aside from that reality barely any of those teams really count at all. Most are Greek teams of semi-pro players back in season 2 and 3. If we narrow it down to only LCS teams that have competed in EU LCS and CS Forgiven has played in five teams. Honestly Origen does not even count as a team that Forgiven has played in since they kicked him after 2 weeks. We can all see how Origen treats their players even now and with that in mind I will say that Forgiven gets a pass on that one. So, Forgiven has only actually legitimately played on 4 LCS teams.

There are so many examples of players who have moved around just as many teams who don’t have this stigma. Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong has been on 5 different teams in his career. Believe it or not Mata has never stayed on a team for more than a year. By Febiven’s logic Mata is not a good player to pick up because he moves around a lot; even though Mata is one of the greatest individual players and team leaders the game has ever seen.

There are former teammates of Febiven’s who have been on just as many teams. Matin “Rekkles” Larsson has played on 4 LCS teams if we use the same system that we have for Forgiven. Kim “Yellowstar” Bora has played on 8 teams throughout his career and was one of the most respected in game leaders during his time. Lee “Spirit” Da-yun has been on 5 different teams throughout his career yet Febiven said nothing about playing with him.

The fact that Febiven is of the mindset that he would never want to play with a player like Forgiven actually illustrates how poor of a teammate he is. Just because Forgiven has had a troubled career and a pretty bad rep he will never consider being on the same team. In other words, Febiven will never play on the same team as one of the greatest Western AD carries of all time because it would be a little difficult: This is so immature. Duncan “Thorin” Shields recently talked about how the UOL organization is crippling their talent by not trying to work with talented players due to a poor reputation. The same thing is going on with Febiven on H2K. Febiven’s unwillingness to see if himself and Forgiven, two extremely talented players, could work well on the same team and be successful internationally cripples his chances to succeed.

This just goes to show how foolish a lot of these players sound when they actually don’t know anything about the scene in which they play. Febiven’s experiences in League have only been between two teams; H2K and Fnatic. In that time, he has experienced so little that it is funny when he comes out and makes these statements that are so opposite to reality.

Just goes to show that players say the darndest things.