After establishing his reputation as a stereotypical toxic European Mid laner in the off-season, the EU LCS rookie Rasmus “Caps” Winther certainly had a point to prove as he stepped onto the stage for the highly anticipated clash between Fnatic and G2 eSports. Squaring up against the inconsistent prodigy of the 2016 Spring Split, Caps proceeded to steamroll G2’s Luka “PerkZ” Perković, solo killing him twice in dramatic fashion during the second game of the series.
Before becoming LCS-eligible with the celebration of his 17th birthday in November, Caps played with Mousesports in the European Challenger Series 2016 Summer qualifiers, before moving to Nerv for six games in the EU CS. Just a few weeks into the split, Caps moved to Turkish squad Dark Passage for the final week of the regular season and eventually helped them earn a summer championship.
As with every young player in the Challenger scene, Caps spent the majority of his competitive break working towards the opportunity to represent one of the biggest eSports organisations in the world. It was during this period that Caps irreparably tarnished his reputation, displaying an abhorrent attitude towards fellow Challenger hopefuls.
@TabzzLoL yeah, nice attitude imo pic.twitter.com/Bs3I2z4v1t
— EKD (@ekdsb) November 29, 2016
I’m god damn doomed. pic.twitter.com/ra2CsrRW0F
— Mantas Sukevicius (@Hadowlol) November 6, 2016
The League of Legends community, whilst scornful, was willing to forgive the rookie and commit his toxic behaviour to the long list of eSports memes – granting the youngster with the chance to overwrite the negative comments he received in the past few months.
“Something I didn’t realise before joining Fnatic is that being a pro player is more than just performing in-game.
“I need to also be a good person and set an example to others too.”
Rasmus “Caps” Winther
Caps first performance in the Fnatic jersey certainly had its ups and downs. After losing the first game of the series fairly convincingly at the hands of G2 eSports, Fnatic launched a spirited comeback in the second game, led by the performance of their rookie Mid laner.
Trapped under tower in the opening stages of the game, Caps – playing the power-pick of Ryze – looked to be at the mercy of PerkZ’s Syndra, seemingly on the verge of conceeding the first kill of the game. As the G2 man went in for the fatal blow, Caps reacted with an instantaneous flash towards his opponent, snaring him under the tower to secure an unlikely kill.
#EULCS pic.twitter.com/sJAmeHeVDo
— lolesports (@lolesports) January 19, 2017
Just moments later, Caps showed his proficiency on Ryze once again, miraculously surviving a gank before perfectly calculating his skill rotations to outplay Perkz, surviving with just a minute slice of his health bar remaining.
Despite his strong showing in lane, Caps’ performance still showed room for improvement. His confidence and aggression were ultimately his downfall on occasions, arguably costing Fnatic the series towards the end – flashing into four people for a kill on a support during a siege might not be the smartest decision.
Caps is certainly an exciting prospect for Fnatic fans, though perhaps the title of “Baby-Faker” is a little strong… why must Fnatic fans retain an obsession for comparing their Mid laners to Faker? The inflated ego of the recently departed Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten proved to be damaging for Fnatic, the fanbase will be wise not to exaggerate Caps’ talents and allow him to develop naturally over the course of the season.
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