Crowned as the grand champions of the Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC), Marc "Caedrel" Lamont's team, Los Ratones, is now headed toward the EMEA Masters. Placed in the same group as Karmine Corp Blue, the team faces a tough challenge ahead, but confidence remains high. In an exclusive interview, Tim "Nemesis" Lipovšek, the team's pivotal star midlaner, discusses a wide variety of topics, including his joining Los Ratones, a potential entry into the LEC, the creator-focused future of LoL Esports, Fearless Draft, and the team's chances at EMEA Masters.

Twitch Chatter McDonaldsArabia claimed that your team would retire by the end of the year and suggested you focus on streaming instead of trying to go pro again. Do you think Los Ratones can prove him wrong at EMEA Masters next week?

Tim "Nemesis" Lipovšek: "[Chuckles] We're aiming to win it. That's how we'll prove him wrong. But even if we do win, this guy—he's blind. I don’t think he wants to change his mind. He’s probably already made up his mind, so there’s nothing we can really do to change that.

Speaking of content rosters, Los Ratones has been the most successful "streaming team" so far. We've seen what happened with Ruddy, and there's the Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng team in NA, though they seem unlikely to commit to the NACL. What makes Los Ratones different from these other rosters?

Nemesis: First of all, having Caedrel helps a lot. He’s the biggest coach, streamer—whatever you want to call it—in the scene. He’s very knowledgeable and can do a lot of different jobs. Then, I think our roster is just really well built. We have so many names that people want to watch, which makes them excited. There’s a good mix of personalities, so we can create a lot of different content while also showcasing strong gameplay.

I’d also say we take this much more seriously. We planned it for a long time. Caedrel put together an entire staff team working behind the scenes—handling YouTube videos and other content that people see. That’s not us players doing it; it’s a whole team of people who don’t always get mentioned.

Many were surprised by Ruddy’s failure, especially with names like Luka "Perkz" Perkovic and Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski—players who were Worlds finalists and MSI champions. On paper, the raw talent was there. Do you think the commitment and seriousness you mentioned was the biggest factor that set you apart from them?

Nemesis: It’s definitely about commitment. We take this very seriously. As for other teams, I don’t want to speak for them, but my impression is that some might have thought it would be easy or wanted to focus on other things on the side. And that’s fair—it’s their choice at the end of the day. Most streamer teams don’t really get paid, right? So for a lot of people, especially those who aren’t big streamers, it’s not easy to take this super seriously and do nothing else in life. People have their own priorities to manage, and that plays a big role.

You’ve been a fan favorite since your Fnatic days, but you’ve been away from the pro scene since November 2020. So, why join Los Ratones now? What convinced you to come back? Was it the streaming aspect, or did Caedrel show up with a sack of gold like in the movies?

Nemesis: No, no gold, no big speech—nothing like that. The moment he asked, my answer just felt natural. It made sense for what I want to do in life and for the vision of this project. The reality is, I didn’t want to join bottom-tier teams or do something I didn’t believe would work out. I’m going to prioritize myself over what other people think—because, in the end, it’s my life. And for me, Los Ratones was the perfect project, the one I’d been waiting for all these years. It was a no-brainer.

You’ve mentioned before that even as a kid, you told your teachers you wanted to be the best and become a pro player people looked up to. After being away from pro play for over four years, did you miss it? Was it always in the back of your mind, something you wanted to return to?

Nemesis: I’d say the answer is both yes and no. I missed certain aspects of pro play that are really fun, but it’s not all just butterflies and good things—there are tough parts too. I definitely missed the good parts of being a pro, but over the years, I also considered a lot of other options. I had around ten team offers in the last five years, and I came close to joining some of them. But in the end, I’m really happy I waited this long. I have no regrets about not playing, and right now, this just feels perfect.

A lot of people are already wondering if Los Ratones could join the LEC in a year or two. Would you say this is your dream project to make that jump back to the LEC someday?

Nemesis: Right now, 100%. I can't say for sure about how I'll feel in two or three years from now, but at this moment, absolutely. If Los Ratones gets into the LEC in 2026 and the team—players, Caedrel, everyone—wants to move up, then I’d 100% join as well.

Earlier this week, Riot blocked your planned scrim against GIANTX’s LEC team due to streaming rules. What’s your take on this? Do you think these regulations need to change, especially with Los Ratones being a streaming-focused team that could join the LEC in the future?

Nemesis: We can't keep doing things the same way as we have for the past five years—it’s gotten too repetitive, especially for viewers. For example, this year, many people in the scene really like Fearless Draft and want it to stay, so we should be open to change. Ideally, it would be good for everyone if we could stream scrims in the future. But for now, we’ll just wait and see what they decide.

Do you think streaming scrims should be more widely adopted? FlyQuest has tried it in NA, but no other teams have really pushed for it. Would it benefit the scene?

Nemesis: The way I see it, the future of the League esports ecosystem—however you want to call it—is going to be creator-led and community-led. Whether that means streaming scrims or something else, I don't know, but I definitely think things will have to change, as they already are.

With EMEA Masters coming up soon, what are Los Ratones' chances in the tournament, in your opinion?

Nemesis: The more polished answer would be that we're a top three team. But my real answer is, we're going to win it. That's what I think, yeah. There's nothing really else to add.

Caedrel is very passionate and has shown some stress over the NLC finals and now EMEA Masters. With the tough EMEA Masters format, where losing two best-of-three matches means elimination, how do you feel about the format and schedule? Do you think it will be easy, or will there be challenges?

Nemesis: I was a bit surprised that it ends that quickly—usually tournaments don't end in six days. I'm not really sure, I guess we'll see how it goes. As for the format, I like that it's at least best-of-three, but I would probably prefer best-of-five. I think, especially with the Fearless Draft, best-of-fives are very skill expressive, and they can show really cool stuff, more so than best-of-three. But yeah, I mean, we have a lot of good players, and we have players who have played so many years already. Whatever the format is given to us, we just have to adapt to it and perform. That's our job.

Have you had the chance to look at other teams aside from the ones you've scrimmed? Do you have a top 3 or top 5 of teams that you think could contend with Los Ratones?

Nemesis: I definitely know some teams. I'm not 100% an expert regarding EMEA Masters participants, but based on everything I've seen and what my teammates are saying, we’re thinking the two French teams, Karmine Corp Blue and Ici Japon Corp, are pretty good. This Arabian team, Geekay Esports, that we just scrimmed today, is also probably decent. Besides that, I’m not really sure, but maybe the first-place German team could also be pretty good.

What about Los Heretics? They've got some interesting players like Kacper "Daglas" Dagiel, Khalil "Rin" Sahraoui, and Norman "Kaiser" Kaiser. How do you rate their roster?

Nemesis: Yeah, that's a pretty good roster too. I would say the teams I mentioned, including Los Heretics, are probably the best teams at the tournament alongside us.

Are there any players, either from solo queue or scrims, that you think could be LEC-ready in the future, outside of Los Ratones?

Nemesis: I don't think I have anyone in mind. I feel like there haven't been a lot of players rising up in the last few years. The number seems to be getting smaller and smaller. A few years ago, I definitely had some players in mind, but nowadays, not really.

With the opportunity to do a Golden Road this year, having won the NLC playoffs and with EMEA Masters still ahead, do you think Los Ratones could win all three EMEA Masters this year?

Nemesis: I think it's unlikely because it's a very hard thing to do. You can have an off day, or maybe a patch doesn't suit you. I would say the chances are probably higher if Riot keeps Fearless Draft everywhere for the rest of the year, but that's up to them, I guess.

Veljko "Velja" Čamdžić mentioned that Fearless Draft was the best addition made to League of Legends in recent years, in his opinion. There are also rumors about Riot potentially making it a permanent feature. What are your personal thoughts on Fearless Draft? Do you think it's the best addition?

Nemesis: I’m not sure if it’s the best addition ever, but right now, with what we have, 100%—I think Fearless Draft has almost no downsides, only upsides, especially for viewership. People need to understand that the most important opinion should be for viewers, not pro players. We always have to prioritize viewers over what makes pro players happy.

In general, I just love playing Fearless Draft. It adds so much room for expression, whether it’s through the draft itself or how it makes players think about more scenarios. I also think Riot can’t make enough changes per patch or balance the game in a way that satisfies both professional play and solo queue. We need something like Fearless Draft because, even if you have overpowered champions, like two per role breaking the meta, after one game of Fearless, they’re out. You still have a chance to come back in a series, even if you're 0-2 down. So, I just think Fearless is an amazing addition to the game.

There’s been some light controversy around the recent changes to lane swaps, with Riot trying to stop them. Some people think the changes were too extreme. Do you think removing lane swaps was the right decision?

Nemesis: Personally, I think lane swaps had to be removed in the long term. I definitely see a lot of problems with them. They make the laning phase even less important than it already is, nd they make the experience of professional matches more boring, as people are just sitting under towers for five minutes on each side.

The problem I have is with how Riot has adjusted them—it’s been very poorly done, in my opinion. They rushed the decision to put it in the patch. The way lane swaps work right now isn’t great. I’ve had games where we were just invading enemy camps, but I’m losing XP in the mid lane because it somehow detects a lane swap, even though it’s not happening, and the timers are probably off. So, I think Riot should have thought about this more carefully. They shouldn’t have implemented such a poorly executed way to stop lane swaps, but in the long run, I think it is a good decision to remove them.

What differences did you experience when joining Los Ratones, compared to the other teams you've been with, like MAD Lions and Fnatic?

Nemesis: First of all, even though we play online, we meet up quite often as well, so that aspect isn’t as different as some might think. We've already met up twice, and we’ve only been together for a short time, so I think we’ll meet up more in the future. That helps a lot, so it’s not just online.

The biggest difference for me is that we're more of a player-led team. On LEC teams, it often feels like there aren't many player-led teams. You feel like there's a certain responsibility you have to fulfill, but you can't always voice your opinion in a lot of matters. There are people above you making decisions, even if they might not understand the game. But in Los Ratones, as players, we have a lot more say in the direction we go, and it's not influenced by people outside who don’t know the game as well.

I heard a player mention that they never learned anything from their coaches, as many of them were not ex-pro players and had poor knowledge. How do you feel about having Caedrel as your coach, given his extensive experience as an ex-professional player and his knowledge of the game?

Nemesis: First of all, he’s obviously very smart about the game. You can see that just by listening to him on stream when it comes to almost everything. That’s why he’s probably the most successful coach-streamer we have right now. It definitely helps that he was an ex-professional player for many years and played at the highest level. This is very important because, I mean, if a coach is Bronze elo, like, I’m sorry, but they’re not capable of coaching Challenger players. It’s just not possible. I’ve never seen it, and I never will. The level gap is just too big at that point.

So yeah, the difference is very noticeable. I’ve definitely worked with both good and bad coaches, and you can tell very quickly who has knowledge about the game and who can actually work with players and who can’t. In my career, I’ve definitely preferred coaches who were either high MMR players in solo queue or who were professional players before, or something along those lines.

Do you think there are coaches in the LEC or other leagues who may not have the necessary knowledge to be in such positions?

Nemesis: 100%, because this industry is all about non-experts hiring non-experts, so it’s just going to happen over and over again. I definitely think the majority of LEC coaches, or coaches in general in this scene, are paycheck stealers.

Do you have a past or current teammate that you think is underrated? Who do you feel was the most underrated person you’ve worked with in your career?

Nemesis: Most underrated? It’s a very hard question because, honestly, I would say most of the teammates I played with had huge fan bases or were praised at certain moments. So, I have a really hard time answering that. I think the majority of teammates I played with were very good at the game, or are still very good, and people have acknowledged that at some point.

How do you manage to balance streaming, managing your Patreon, scrimming, playing solo queue, and all the other things you do with your personal life? Do you find your job complicated given how many hours you spend working?

Nemesis: It depends on the person and how they want to structure their day. For example, I could just stream six hours a day and then go do whatever I want, and show up the next day to do the same thing. But I don’t have that type of life. I have a set routine that I follow every day, and it involves doing things that I think are beneficial. For example, I’ll work out in the morning or be careful about my diet. Outside of the game, I also do things like watching other streamers, watching YouTube videos, or studying VODs. So, my days are pretty full. I probably have a couple of hours, maybe two or three hours a day, where I can do whatever I want, but it usually ends up being League-related anyway. So, in some way, I’m still doing work-related stuff, I guess.

This question is from Odeya, a former LEC Stats Producer. You’ve had two Pentakills in pro play, one on Kayle and one on Kassadin, both in 2018-2019. After your break since Fnatic, when do you think you’ll get another Pentakill? And if you had to guess, what champion do you think it would be?

Nemesis: That's a really good question. I would love to say this year, but I also have a lot of players on my team who, you know, really take kills and are charismatic. So, it’s not going to be easy. But I guess this year, and I would say a champion that I could see myself getting a penta on is maybe like Tristana. She has very easy resets, so yeah, something like that.

Los Ratones has a massive fanbase, especially for a team that's not in the LEC. You guys even had more viewership for your finals match than the LTA North America, which is surprising. How do you feel about being a public figure with so many people watching? How do you balance that?

Nemesis: Honestly, I don't really feel it. Even though we might be kind of famous right now or have a lot of people watching us, I feel like, at least for myself and maybe some of my other teammates, we don’t really feel it. We’re just ourselves, like we were one or two years ago. We’re just focused on having a good time, playing well, and learning. Yeah, that's just how we do it, I guess.

There was some discourse on Twitter a few weeks ago about the "Kpopification" of esports. This term refers to how some fans are becoming very dedicated to specific players, similar to stand culture in K-pop, with things like fan art and extreme support. What are your thoughts on this evolution of esports, where fans are getting more invested in players?

Nemesis: Esports is going to be more community-based, so I definitely think this is probably going to happen more and more in the future. I’m totally fine with it as long as it doesn’t cross a certain line where it becomes unhealthy or too parasocial or something like that. But until then, I’m very happy to see people supporting others.

How's the investigation going regarding the person who sent the meowing clip to Caedrel?

Nemesis: Still working on it...

Do you have anything you want to say to the fans before we close off?

Nemesis: We're gonna win EMEA Masters."