We sit with Santorin to discuss his reflections on his career, his goals for the future and retirement, and what final impressions he has of the North American League of Legends scene.
Long time NALCS stalwart, Lucas “Santorin” Larsen, announced his retirement a few weeks ago. He’s been a fixture of the North American scene since 2014 and has been a part of some of the region’s most memorable performances both domestically and internationally. Before he rides off into a much deserved restful retirement, we sat with Santorin one last time to talk about his career, future, and his final thoughts on League of Legends and North America.
It's been a bit since your announcement to the community, and it probably feels brief to you, but how does retirement feel now that you’re in the thick of it?
Santorin: Happy, I guess? For me it’s always been in the back of my mind. I’ve missed spending time with my family and friends, and that’s the biggest part of my career that I wish I could’ve had more of. Having your cake and eating it too, ya know? But I’ve really enjoyed my time as a professional player and I’m really excited about being able to go back to my friends and family and prioritize them since I hadn’t really done that in about 10 years.
I’m in Denmark now with my fiancée, Kelsey, and we’re just gaming and spending time. So, the start of retirement has been great. Though, bittersweet with me sitting at home watching Worlds. I still have that part of me that would’ve liked to participate in that.
How long has this decision been resolved for you?
Santorin: Honestly, I’m not sure it wasn’t ever on my mind from my first day in America. For me, looking all the way back, when I was seventeen, I had this thought of, “I’m going to try this League of Legends and see if I could pursue it for a year before going back to school.” Then my career started to take off a bit by joining TSM, and things became more than I ever expected.
A few years back, I ended up being caught between my feelings for missing my family and friends and being a professional. And things started to hit hard when my grandmother died and I couldn’t go to her funeral. Due to my career, I didn’t get to spend time with her during those last few years like I would’ve liked and then not being able to make the funeral just really put that thought in my mind of “I really wish I didn’t have to make this sort of decision,” ya know? I still think I would’ve made the choices I made, but you gain a perspective of what you miss out on after a while, and that’s where I’ve been at.
That’s a heavy experience to go through. We rarely get to hear about how player’s families interact or support them through their careers, so what has that been like for you and what sort of talks did you have with them before resolving your retirement?
Santorin: My family has always been so, so, so supportive throughout my entire career. Literally they would let me play for an eternity if I wanted to. And I think that’s also why it’s been even harder for me to continue to be a Pro. It’s felt like they’ve always been giving me everything they can to help me stay on this, and I haven’t been really able to return the kindness. Because they’re being so kind, it made me want to retire more to return that favor. But, yeah, they’ve been so great through my whole career. And I’m just so excited to be able to spend time with them.
I remember when I was a kid, and I’d be spending time with my parents all day, and I’d just get to that “these people are annoying” kind of point. But then I spent all this time away from them and I really started to miss them. Sure they can be annoying sometimes, but that’s only because I was with them 24/7 and I’m in puberty or whatever, right? But then you get that perspective and you’re like, “Shit. I really miss these people and they’re one of the biggest parts of my life.,” and so getting back to them has always been in the back of my mind. Especially so during COVID because I was stuck in America for the longest due to the travel restrictions and couldn’t even get back to them during my usual off times to see them.
And then there’s Kelsey, who I’ve been in a long-distance relationship with for 8 years now. We couldn't really get to the next step in our relationship due to my career. So, getting to be back home and have her more as a part of my day to day and not just a phone call in the evening has been great.
We’re glad to hear you're happy to be back with them. Thinking about your career and future now, we’ve seen plenty of players retire and then months later they’re back in as a coach or analyst before eventually finding their way back to a roster as a player. It might be early to ask, but is there any potential we see you still involved with professionally League of Legends in any capacity?
Santorin: I’ve thought about it a lot, and right now, I’m going to say I’d never return to Pro Play. Unless, wherever I end up living with Kelsey allows me to play from there. Let’s say it’s in Canada or Denmark, then I’d probably see if I could continue playing Pro, but right now, I want to spend as much time as I can get with her. So, that’s probably why I’ll say no for now. If I tried to juggle being a Pro within the EU scene, the way I am, I would treat it so seriously that I’d give myself no free time. Then I have those feelings about what I’m missing out on. So, it all just has to line up just right for me to want to pursue being a Pro again.
Thinking about your last moments with DIG, what were talks like with them before your announcement?
Santorin: Honestly, I hadn’t talked to many at all within the team besides who needed to know in management. I was always afraid of a leak getting out there if I told too many people. I remember Bjerg announced his retirement the same day he told TSM because of that, so I kept things pretty close and only let those who needed to know in. So, it was pretty awkward those last few days when things got confirmed publicly where folks around the team were like, “Wait you’re retired?!”, but everything was treated well. I think my biggest regret in the process wasn’t telling Jensen. And that’s, of course, nothing to do with him and everything to do with me just trying to keep it a secret.
Thinking about your other teams and your career, you’ve been a part of Worlds caliber teams, teams that fought in the middle of the standings, and teams that faced relegation. Are there any big stand out moments for you personally where you’re wanting people to remember you for a certain period of your career? Or are there any particular moments you remember that might go overlooked?
Santorin: First, the biggest for me is IEM in 2015. That’s where I got to meet Kelsey, and of course we won the tournament. But I never really think about that moment in that way, and I just think about it as the first time I got to meet her in person. Nothing can describe how it is to both win the tourney and then meet your future fiancée in that same moment.
Other times though, it’d have to be every time I lost in relegation. I know that’s weird but it’s because I was able to push through all those struggles. And I’ll be honest, there were times where I was like, “Why the hell am I doing this?” I think I ended up losing 5 relegations in total, and it just wore on me. But, getting back up matters a lot to me, so I feel like looking at those moments in my career is a huge indicator of me as a person and player.
Lastly, those years that I played my best League. From 2020, 2021, and 2022. It makes me kinda sad that I couldn’t continue my form into 2023 with DIG, because I really wanted to end strong. That was always on my mind. I wanted to end on top, ya know? It’s something that I’ll always wish I could’ve done more with DIG because I felt like there were times where we had it. Sadly it didn’t work out. But I’m satisfied with the work I put into my final season.
Thinking about some hot button issues that have been discussed the past few years, the NALCS is in a tumultuous time. Storied orgs like TSM and CLG are gone, NA is in the midst of another Worlds attempt and things look rough after the exits of TL, GG, and C9. The pathway to Pro Play for upcoming players is starting to muddy with the Challenger League and Amateur scene taking a sideline for orgs and Riot. Now that you’re outside it all, what are your opinions on the state and future of League of Legends now that you’re stepping away from it?
Santorin: That’s the scariest part of League of Legends right now. Throughout my career, I’ve seen plenty of organizations pay way too much money for individual players or full teams, and you can’t help but wonder “How is this going to be profitable?” or “How is this going to be sustainable?”, or my favorite, “How is the region going to improve from this?” and things always had that ‘win now’ mindset, but those same teams, usually, don’t win everything. So, I feel like it was inevitable at some point that salary differences were going to weigh heavy and no matter what org you are, it’s not going to be a sustainable business model. Which is why I fear for the LCS within the next few years. I think things are going to be drawn back a bit more. But, of course, we don’t really know until we see it happen.
Let’s say the rumors are true and organizations are spending less money. Okay, does that mean that every team is going to be spending less? Or does it mean that some teams will be spending the same while everyone else spends less? That might create that situation where there’s one or two really good teams, while everyone else is much closer in competition. And let me interject and say, I’m not against super teams but I don’t think they’re a fix, I had that on TL and we kinda sucked. (laughs) But all I’m saying is that we might see the scene in that sort of light where the really good and really cohesive teams were able to pay their way into the better players while other orgs might be picking up players that’ll have to work harder to find that.
Then there’s also that other part of the coin of, “How many Pros are going to retire because of the lower salaries?” And I know this might sound bad, but I think that’s going to be a big factor behind things. I know it sounds a bit selfish of me, but that's kinda why I’m glad I’ve gotten out when I have. It’s not something that I considered in the beginning, but getting a feeling about my retirement and then seeing all the rumors about funding leaving the scene kinda made me go, “Huh. This kinda feels good.”
But yeah, the scene will definitely take a hit in the short term. I just hope a lot of good Pros that are around now are able to take that financial hit and stay around because you’re still going to be playing Pro and you’re still going to be doing something that no one else can do. And, hopefully, there’s plans to help regrow and repolish League of Legends for the future and then we’ll see a bigger scene again.
NA’s scene in particular has been divisive the last few years with the conversations about imports, NA player effort, the region’s culture, the list goes on. With all but NRG being sent home from Worlds, those conversations are circling back around. NRG’s Palafox has made the comment recently that a part of the problem has been the region sending the same faces time and time again into international tournaments. What are your thoughts on what really holds NA back from international success?
Santorin: I think that’s a hard question. But, generally speaking, I think every time I got to bootcamp in Korea or another region, me and whatever team I was on would improve really really quickly because we were playing in better competition, and on the backfoot in most situations. I remember with TL, when we went to bootcamp and then came back, we smashed everyone on our return. But then, we suddenly sucked. Which I’d attribute to the lower level of practice because in NA the mistakes you make aren’t going to be punished as hard as they are elsewhere. It’s kind of like that major region versus minor regions discussion. Minor regions might have that one really good player that can take it to NA or EU internationally, but the team overall has less cohesion, so they’ll ultimately lose. The same goes for NA and EU against Korea and China. Korean and Chinese teams are just built to be more cohesive units from the start, so couple that with their better practice environment and they’ll have an edge. So, that’s some of it.
But, then there’s also that other aspect like Palafox mentioned. Where we send those same players over and over. And I’ve seen those guys improve from year to year. But I’ve also seen us send over the same faces that don’t improve and just play very stale. Then we sometimes find ourselves in situations that sadden my soul. We send over new faces, with the biggest one I can think of being APA where he literally joined TL as an alternate, and then he goes to Worlds filling in and gets smashed. Like, of course he’s going to perform worse. He’s new to playing against the best competition in the world, and then you see these Reddit threads that are calling him bad or washed, with fans giving up on him early. Then there are threads that are complaining that TL is sending a team of four Korean players as an “American” team. It’s messy and boils down to “Do you want the best team right now, or do you want what’s best for your region in the long run?” because you can’t expect a fresh player to do well, learn, and win Worlds all at the same time. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. So, I’d personally say stick with the player like APA, let him bring back what he learned from the tournament and scrims, and see what he can do in the long run. Maybe next year he will start playing well and develop into something that’s great for the region.
I don’t think there’s ever going to be a situation where a new player comes in, smurfs, and carries your region to Finals. There are going to be players that come in and do extremely well, but those are very rare. And it’s hard because I don’t really know a fix for that. I just hate that feeling. Every year, I’m just happy to see new faces playing and playing well. We have talent like Jojo who, unfortunately, didn’t get to go to Worlds this year and I think that would’ve been a great experience for him. But, yeah, I think fans just have to be more lenient with their impressions of their native talent, and organizations also have to afford that player time to learn, retain, and work through what they experienced. It takes longer than just a couple of weeks to figure that sort of stuff out sometimes, and then that’s not even talking about things like stage jitters and what not so.. It’s tough, just be more patient, ultimately.
Any words of advice for your colleagues still duking it out on the Rift, or any potential Pros that want to reach the Pro Scene despite League of Legends’ ‘decline’ in North America?
Santorin: Always focus on yourself. There will be players that will be like, “Oh yeah I don’t care as much because League of Legends is dying anyway” or “We’re not getting paid as much, why try?”. At the end of the day, you’re being paid as a professional and you’re being paid to be and become the best version of yourself. So, you should act and pursue your career like a professional. No matter what’s going on in the industry, you can still act and be a professional regardless. And then at some point, you might find yourself in a really good situation with a great organization or on a great team with a great opportunity or pay. You just have to not lose focus on your bigger goal and make excuses.
Great perspective. Before we leave, I want to end you off on a holistic or maybe even philosophical question for you. What has all of this, every moment, meant to you?
Santorin: Everything. I think I wrote something in my tweet where I’ve talked about going Pro and the only thing I was thinking about was making LEC or LCS, and I didn’t realize how many amazing experiences or people that I’d get to have and meet through this journey. I’m happy when I look back and think about all that I was able to go through, the new people, the travel, the experiences. I never would’ve had that had I taken the ‘go to school’ or ‘get some kind of job’ routes. In some ways, I feel like I took some of it for granted during, but looking back, I’m just so appreciative of it all. I’m definitely going to miss it and miss all the people. It’s the opposite side where I’m going to miss them like I’ve missed my family, ya know? But, yeah, I’m really happy to have played Pro.
For anyone that finds themselves in position to pursue League of Legends professionally, or any other game with a good scene, it’s definitely something I’d say is worth it. All of what has happened to me can happen for you if you really work at it. But, of course, I’d never say quit studying or quit your job without a contract in hand. I’ve seen some folks quit the bigger things in their life before they have written contracts on what is supposed to happen for them. So, always make sure you’re secure with a backup option before you take a leap, but if it works out, it’s one of the coolest things you can experience.
Thanks again for this last year Santorin. From all of us at DIG we wish you the best. And we look forward to seeing what comes ahead for you personally or maybe even professionally at the end of it all.
If you’d like to follow Santorin across social media, you can find him at the following links:
