After nearly two years of Atletec's presence in LFL Division 2, the team unfortunately had to withdraw from the competition due to financial reasons. For a deeper insight into the life of an esports team manager, we spoke with "Blazzios", the team manager during their last split in the summer of 2023, which to date, has been Atletec's best result, finishing second in the playoffs.

Can you introduce yourself and talk about the start of your career in esports?

I started working in esports as a commentator for an organisation called Omerix. From 2021, I began a career in recruitment and relations in League of Legends esports. During the Covid period, I was employed in the logistics department of a hospital. By the end of 2022, the ambition to launch myself into esports had grown, while maintaining a job to cover my expenses. I joined the organisation Cicadas Gaming as a volunteer, with a project to launch a cyber-café. Then, during the 2023 off-season, I joined Atletec as a team manager.

How was your recruitment process at Atletec?

It was quick. They were looking for a new manager, so I applied. I already knew "Cook", the head coach of the team, who was a former colleague and supported my application. As we know in esports, networking is crucial. For almost the entire Spring Split, Cook had to take on both the coach and manager responsibilities. He realized he couldn't continue like that. Given our history and similar profiles, everything materialised quickly!

Can you describe your role within the structure?

The role of manager is perhaps the most complex because it touches everything. If I had to summarize it, I am the project manager for the League of Legends section. I handle the management of the group, but I'm also involved in recruitment, including scouting, headhunting, talent detection, etc. That's how I would define my role as team manager, although it can vary depending on the person and the structure. It's important to note that I began discussing and working with "Cook" on the roster composition just before my officialization. However, he did most of the scouting work and contacting certain players, which was difficult for me as I wasn't officially on the team yet. I especially want to thank Atletec for trusting us and giving us free rein to build the team. They took the risk of hiring Cook and me and letting us manage things our way!

What was the reasoning behind recruiting CRoNiiK and Kamiloo?

I had a desire to form an international roster. The observation was simple: we had profiles of talented young players like Myrtus, who did trials mid-season but needed to work on his English communication. As we wanted Atletec to be a training project to send these young players to the highest level, it was in our interest to train profiles like Myrtus or Kamiloo. We tested several combinations for the mid-jungle duo, considering staying with an all-French roster. However, CRoNiiK convinced us. Regarding Kamiloo, he was already a possibility for the Spring Split. Unfortunately, the process was a bit chaotic, and he ended up signing with PCS. Nayas, the positional coach who arrived with us, helped us a lot in coaching Kamiloo. It was a gamble I personally made, as we had more experienced profiles, but as with Nayas, I had no doubt about Kamiloo's evolution.

Have the arrival of new members like you and Nayas enabled the team to instil a new way of working?

Before we arrived, Cook was stretched thin, and Grizzor, being completely volunteer, couldn't fully invest in the project. As soon as we arrived, we were able to clarify our working methods, implementing new processes inspired by Romain Bigeard, who remains the "goat". Nayas worked a lot in collaboration with Cook, conducting regular follow-ups of the players he coached, such as Deimos and Kamiloo, to stabilize our gameplay. As Cook was alone before we arrived, he couldn't vent his frustration during defeats, as if the office saw that the head coach was starting to lose his cool, it could cause concerns, which is normal. My role was to discuss with him to allow him to release pressure and especially to keep the leaders informed of what was happening during scrims, why we lost that game, etc.

You finished second in the LFL2 Playoffs despite a 6th place in the regular season, how do you explain this result?

Our situation was very particular. We had two high school players who were taking their baccalaureate and a player, Rift, who had to do his civic service in Switzerland. So he had to juggle hours of scrims after working all day in a nursing home. It's also important to note that the quality of training wasn't optimal, as we trained in the evening at 7 pm, so there were fewer teams to scrim. Thanks to Wizards in Superliga 2nd Division for helping us throughout the season, even if training at that hour was suboptimal. This situation created a lot of instability within the team. Most of the players were tired from their day, causing poor form during scrims and making the data from some training sessions almost unusable. So we missed a lot of victories, we qualified on the last day against JL. The goal was met, we were in the playoffs. We knew that once the regular season was over, it would be different, as our entire team would go full-time. In the end, we saw the difference. On the rift, they played fearlessly, and I think that may have disoriented some teams. We managed to create our own style of gameplay based on skirmishes and teamfights, which got us to the final against TDS. It wasn't easy, far from it, as we went through by playing three tough BOs against very good teams!

The season ends and on October 11th, the news drops: Atletec leaves LFL2 for financial reasons. How did you learn about this?

It was very particular, because in any case, the players and the staff were looking to explore their options, as is almost always the case at this level. For my part, at that time, I had discussions with the office to find out what they planned to do. Initially, the Atletec project was supposed to be a transition year, where they wanted to train young players without great pretensions, so that the following year, they could reinvest and have a big season. In the end, they told me that potentially it didn't fit into their budget, and they might have to give up the slot, and that we should explore our options. So, I looked around. Even though I wanted to stay at Atletec to really build something, having arrived at the end of the split, I felt I owed them that much. In the end, there was this late Atletec statement, perhaps due to the Coupe de France closing the debates, leaving me a bit on the sidelines. Unfortunately, when I thought I could continue with them, some managers had secured their place in teams, and there can only be one project leader. It's true that I could have done like everyone else and talk to other teams, but I was fully invested in my competition. I think we allowed them to leave with their heads held high. During the season, there were some difficulties, but we qualified, then finished second.

To conclude, can you give me your opinion on the next LFL2 season? In your opinion, what will the level be like?

I think we will have a great competition with at least eight very competitive teams, and two less performing teams perhaps due to questionable management or a smaller budget. This Division 2 will therefore be very interesting to follow! I especially think that the Ici Japon roster can be very strong. Unfortunately, I will probably follow the competition from my couch, hoping to find a team that will trust me again! I think I still have a lot to contribute. My scouting is ready, and I am always looking for projects!