Since Immortals’ return to the League of Legends Championship Series in 2020, the organization’s been aiming to establish its identity within the North American scene. From experimenting with a retro marketing aesthetic to dabbling in geolocation by moving operations to the Great Lakes area, Immortals has put in plenty of work to establish its brand in the region. But perhaps one of the most impactful decisions Immortals has made in recent years is its decision to invest in developing top laner Mo “Revenge” Kaddoura.
“This year is a really important year for me to really show my skill and show people that I’m not a bottom top laner,” said Revenge. “No matter the results, I think that eventually will show this year.”
Immortals’ new look for 2022 included changes in the mid and bot lane roles with the rest of the team’s players remaining the same. Former TSM mid laner Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage and LCS veteran bot laner Jason “WildTurtle” Tran were brought into the lineup in hopes of helping Immortals finally live up to the dark horse narrative that followed the organization last year.
Immortals have yet to pick up their first win of the year so far at the 2022 LCS Lock In tournament, but Revenge remains confident that he and his teammates can turn things around in preparation for the regular season.
New year, new mindset
In an interview with Upcomer at the start of 2021, Revenge was vocal about his goals to continue improving his play while pushing himself to engage with the community and continue building his platform; he wanted to play on a team that people got excited to watch. After ending 2021 by narrowly qualifying for the LCS Championship as the eighth seed, Revenge is going all-in on reminding people why Immortals has placed so much trust in him.
“I just felt like I needed to prioritize my gameplay a bit more,” said Revenge. “I think that the brand stuff will continue to develop…I haven’t been in esports for too long as a pro player and I’m still learning what energy I have to give and the mental space that I have.”
The extra work Revenge put in during the 2021 off-season was no joke. During his break, he managed to get two different solo queue accounts in the North American ladder’s top 10. He also spent nearly a month in South Korea to practice in a more competitive environment and gain different perspectives.
“I averaged playing about 19 games a day there while I was there for 27 days,” said Revenge. “I was playing quite a lot in this offseason and just practicing new meta champions, new styles. I’ve been grinding quite hard.”
On a team level, the new Immortals squad is coming together nicely while navigating the natural bumps that come along with forming a new team. Despite not playing together for even a full month, Revenge has already noticed the influence the two veterans have had on the team, and claimed they’re a great fit for the close-knit culture the team fostered last year. Even without producing the desired results right off the bat, Revenge is still confident that the team will eventually hit its stride, and hopes fans can remain faithful in the team.
“I genuinely I know things will get better,” said Revenge. “Lock In is a great way to try things as well as get more experience playing on stage together. We’ve only been a team for less than two weeks, so I think it’s only natural that we won’t look that great at the start.”
“We’re definitely still working on our mistakes and growing as a team. I think that we’re going to ramp up a lot during this year and that this beginning showing at Lock In definitely isn’t the best representation of what we are as a team and our strengths. You guys should keep rooting for us and we’ll show you guys what we are.”
