It seems that Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg did a good job of keeping his retirement plans under wraps - to the point that 100 Thieves themselves didn't know until an hour before he went public with the news.
Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg retires from League of Legends
Bjersen announced his retirement last week, in a statement posted to his Twitter account on April 7.
“I worked harder than a lot of people, I wanted it more than a lot of those people, and I was willing to sacrifice time with friends, family, personal interests, hobbies, really just anything,” said Bjergsen. “For a long time I’ve felt, and even told the people around me, that if I didn’t feel like I could give my absolute all towards winning and being the best… then it would be time to stop, and it feels like that time is now.”
It marked the end of a 10-year-long career in League of Legends, during which time he was often regarded as one of the strongest players in the world. The player has a series of high-profile victories under his belt, most notably from his time at TSM, where the team dominated the LCS scene - boasting three back-to-back LCS trophies from 2015-2017.
Given his popularity among fans, it seems that Bjergsen was keen to keep the news about his upcoming retirement to himself in order to prevent leaks. And in a surprising twist, it seems that he didn't inform 100 Thieves themselves until the last possible moment.
That's according to the 100 Thieves podcast, in which CEO Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag revealed that he heard about Bjergsen's retirement just one hour before the video was posted to social media.
"We were at the golf course when I got the text," said Nadeshot. "Jacob, our head of esports saying ‘Bjergsen just informed us that he’s retiring, and he’s going to release a statement within the next hour."
Nadeshot went on to explain that he understood Bjergsen's decision, and his desire to keep the announcement a secret. Had Bjergsen told 100 Thieves earlier, they would have begun searching for a new mid-laner, which would inevitably mean that the news would leak.
He did, however, note that it put the organisation in a "tough spot," and that he personally would have handled things differently.
“I don’t think anybody did anything wrong," said Nadeshot, "but in a certain circumstance hypothetical I really wish he would’ve told us earlier.”
There's no ill will between Nadeshot and Bjergsen, however - a fact that the CEO was forced to emphasise after the podcast clip was shared widely on social media.
"Leaks are never fun and a player with such a rich and storied history like Bjergsen deserves to deliver his goodbye the way that he feels is best," said Nadeshot. "Doesn’t change the fact that 100T and myself were personally affected by the decision so we talked about it candidly and briefly on the show. Nobody is hurt, we’ll be fine. Bjergsen is the GOAT and it was a pleasure and an honor to have him wear our jersey and play underneath our banner even if it was only for a split."
For his part, Bjergsen admitted that he "could have handled it differently while still likely not having it leak," and apologised for the secrecy.
It's the end of an era, but the show must go on. If you're looking to bet on League of Legends, you can follow along with everything in League of Legends esports via our upcoming League of Legends match schedule. And to make the most of your League of Legends betting experience, why not sign up to claim your free 100% bonus?
