League of Legends superstar Luka “Perkz” Perković has been searching for new opportunities outside of G2 Esports. The 22-year-old has played both mid-lane and bot-lane for G2 Esports since October of 2015 when he was just 17 years old. Since then Perkz has quickly become one of the best players in Europe and has had numerous international success. After spending five years on G2 Esports, Perkz is now exploring his options in North America.
ESPN journalist Jacob Wolf reported that FNATIC was interested in securing Perkz, but the team was denied transfer talks by G2 Esports. While Perkz is talented in both the mid-lane and bot-lane role, he is looking to return to the mid-lane for the 2021 season. This has left a lot of teams in North America willing to sign blank checks for him to join.
According to resources, G2 Esports and Perkz have been actively engaging with four different teams currently in North America. Those teams are Cloud9, Evil Geniuses, 100 Thieves, and TSM. All four are looking for replacements in their mid-lane position, but it appears that Cloud9 are the front runners. Cloud9 recently released start top-laner Eric “Licorice” Ritchie and are looking to replace mid-laner Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer. If Cloud9 sells both players, they could make enough to secure Perkz to their team.
Perkz buyout rumored at 5 million
Perkz is still currently under contract with G2 Esports until the end of 2022 on November 11. This makes his buyout rumored to be over 5 million dollars. North American League of Legends teams is already setting records with how much they are currently spending on players. Team Liquid recently signed a 4-million-dollar deal with mid-laner Nicolaj ”Jensen” Jensen over three years. They are also looking to sign former Origen top laner Barney “Alphari” Morris for over a million a year.
The 100 Thieves team has been aggressive so far in the free-agent market this year with their Valorant roster. However, with them recently buying a Call of Duty League franchise, they may not be able to afford Perkz’ buyout. TSM could potentially sign Perkz as well, since their mid-laner Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg recently retired to take the role of head coach. Free agency officially starts on November 16 at 7 PM ET.
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Published: Nov 10, 2020 04:36 pm