British organization Verdant have signed a roster to play in the Northern League of Legends Championship Division Two in 2022 spring, a tier below the NLC’s Division One, sources have confirmed with Upcomer.
Verdant’s roster will be:
- Top: Alexander “Valkyrie” Bachmann
- Jungle: Roshan “I am Kees” Visser
- Mid: Øyvind “Erixen” Saltrø Eriksen
- Bot: Jonathan “Draconium” Feder
- Support: Olivier “Winter” Lapointe
- Head coach: Ian “Surza” Lux
- Assistant coach: Dan “DanHolt” Holt
- Director of LoL: Richard “Froomie” Froom
- Manager: James “Slimkins” Simpkins
Sources also mentioned that Verdant are doing their best to bring support Winter over to either the UK or Hamburg, Germany rather than play official matches from Canada, though the pandemic could complicate matters.
Other than Winter’s situation, perhaps the most surprising move is I am Kees choosing to roleswap to jungle. Before this, he was a top laner. He played on Norwegian team Bifrost as well as helping LowLandLions promote to the Elite Series 2022 spring.
Erixen and head coach Surza have worked together before on Barrage Esports in the UK League of Legends Championship in 2020 spring. Meanwhile Winter and Surza have worked together more recently on Resolve NA in Challengers Rising and the LCS Proving Grounds. Erixen played for Nordavind (now 00 Nation) in the NLC, as well as the Telialigaen and the Winter Showdown Norway 2021.
Both Valkyrie and Draconium have experience playing in the lower divisions of the Prime League on different teams. Valkyrie recently played on ERN ROAR in the Prime League’s Second Division 2021 Winter Season and 404 Multigaming e.V. in the First Division during summer. Draconium is a newer player with less experience and has played for ECO Prime in the Second Division.
As an organization, Verdant are very green, indeed. Created in 2021, “Verdant stands for Wildlife and Environmental Preservation, specifically within the UK,” according to the organization’s website. “Many of us spend so much of our time looking at screens, we want to provide a spotlight on the world outside our windows!”
Verdant’s first League of Legends roster were meant to play in the UK Esports League qualifiers, but due to the NLC changing hands, said tournament was postponed until further notice. Verdant then participated in the NLC calibration tournament and successfully qualified for the NLC’s second division in 2022.
