Back in a healthier environment, Lucas "Santorin" Larsen is ready to take on the entirety of the Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC), with two exciting upcoming matches against Verdant and possibly Los Ratones. Hailed as one of the strongest contenders in the league, NORD Esports continues its rampage in the regional league as it aims to dethrone the rats and claim the seasonal trophy in Nottingham. In the second part of this exclusive interview, the jungler touches upon his return to professional play, discusses NORD's chances in the league, and compares playing remotely to his old days in the LCS.

When you retired, you mentioned wanting to spend more time with your family and fiancée after years of long-distance and competing abroad. How has life been since leaving the LCS and Dignitas in 2023? What have you been up to?

Lucas "Santorin" Larsen: "I've been streaming consistently, but that's about it. A lot of people might not know this, but Kelsie and I got married last year, which was amazing. Since then, I’ve mostly been streaming and spending more time with family, something I felt was missing the most over the last ten years. That was the main reason I retired—I wanted to finally live with Kelsie and be closer to my parents. I left home at 17, and at the time, I was playing in the U.S. while my family was in Denmark. Then, a bit later in my career, when I met Kelsie, she was in Canada, so it definitely felt like my life was all over the place, both figuratively and literally.

I still felt I could keep playing professionally, but I wanted to do it from Denmark. That’s why I said I wouldn’t play in major leagues like the LEC, LCS, LCK, or LPL again. Now that I’m in NORD, I’m still competing, but it feels more semi-pro than fully professional. It’s different because I was used to being with my team 24/7, where all that mattered was improving at League of Legends. Now, other things—especially family—are just as important.

You mentioned earlier that you wanted to play from Denmark and manage your life better, especially for your family, but you also tweeted about missing competitive play. Can you share more about that and how it feels to be back, even though your "stage" is now your desk at home?

Santorin: From the day I announced my retirement, I already missed pro play. It’s one of those situations where you want it all—you want to play and be close to your family. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. At this point in my life, I value family more than my competitive needs, but that doesn't mean I’ve lost my drive.

I was really happy when I heard Caedrel (Marc Lamont) was making Los Ratones because it meant I could play competitively from home, stream my games, and still be with my family. It’s exactly what I wanted. Of course, the league isn’t as strong as LEC or LTA, but that’s actually a benefit. It gives me more time to take care of my body and see my family since I don’t have to work 12-13 hours a day or constantly watch VODs to keep up.

On the other hand, I’m pushing myself harder because I really want to win and compete at EMEA Masters and beyond. I can feel my past self coming back. I’m trying to contain it, but at the end of the day, I’m just happy to be able to do this from home. This is an opportunity I wouldn’t have had before because you couldn’t stream competitive games then.

I hope this change is implemented in more places because it’s been great. I remember when LCS and LEC had Pro View, and I thought it was such a cool addition. It sucked that you couldn’t hear team comms, but seeing how a player plays, what they focus on, and how they handle fights was amazing. I was sad when they removed it, probably because it was too costly. But now, you can not only see the perspective but also hear comms and reactions. Being included in drafts and all that adds so much for fans. It’s not just behind the scenes—it really lets you dive into what it’s like to be a competitive player, which I think is really cool.

If an LEC team approached you tomorrow and asked you to join, would you say no, or would you consider it?

Santorin: If it’s in Germany, no—100%. There’s no chance I would consider it. I’ve talked about this with my family, especially Kelsie, since she moved across the world to live with me in Denmark. I would never make the move here and then leave her to go to Germany—that’s just not happening. We’re really happy here, and there’s no chance I’d move again.

The only way I’d consider it is if I could play all scrims from home and fly in just for matches, but I don’t think that would work for anyone. I really believe being there in person matters. Team bonding and knowing each other as individuals help a lot with competition because you need to have each other’s backs and work toward the same goal.

I’ve learned that over time. When I started playing pro, I was just glued to my monitor, trying to be the best player I could be, but I didn’t focus enough on my teammates. I wish I had known what I know now back then—it would’ve made me a better player and a better teammate way faster.

One of your former teammates, Bjergsen, was someone who played a big role in shaping your career. Since he retired a while ago, have you had the chance to reconnect with him?

Santorin: I believe he’s still in the US, so I actually haven’t seen him in person for quite some time. I don’t even really know what he’s up to now—I just know he’s not very involved in esports anymore.

But when someone like Bjergsen (Søren Bjerg) has been around League for so long, it’s understandable. Even for me—I wasn’t around as long as he was, probably a couple of years less—but when you’ve spent so much of your life in this game, you eventually realize there’s more to life than just League. I assume, like most retired pros, he reached that point where he wanted to explore something else.

For me, though, it was mostly about family. When you grow up with your family, you don’t really think about how much they mean to you. But when you’re on the other side of the world and barely see them, you realize how much you miss them. So one of the biggest positives of being back in Europe is finally getting to spend time with them again.

How do you get yourself ready for an NLC match compared to the LCS, where you’d be at the studio with your team? Is there anything special you do to get in the right mindset for a match when you’re just at home on your computer?

Santorin: It’s actually kind of funny. During COVID, we had to play the summer finals from our bedrooms. So when we lost 3-2 to TSM, I was just sitting in my room thinking, "This isn’t the same." You could see my bed behind me and everything. Normally, you’d be on stage in front of a crowd, which gives you a completely different energy.

But I’ve found that sticking to the same rituals helps me stay in the right mindset. I still follow my routine—having green tea, getting some sunlight, eating a couple of hours before the match, and having bananas between games. Just keeping those little habits helps, even though it’s not the same as playing on stage. I’m never going to pretend it is. Still, it’s nice to have some consistency, and I’m really excited about the chance to play at offline events.

How did your boot camp in Germany with NORD go?

Santorin: It was really nice seeing everyone. Honestly, it’s kind of weird playing on a team without actually interacting in real life. Some of the people I’d never seen in person before, while others I had played with before. But it was great. One of the big reasons I joined NORD was because every player and the management seemed like genuinely good people. It’s been really enjoyable playing with these guys—when something goes wrong, everyone just tries to help each other out. There’s not a lot of negativity. Seeing everyone in person really took our friendship to the next level, which I think was really valuable.

When did NORD approach you to join the team? Did you already know about Los Ratones forming, and how did the off-season go for you in terms of offers and rosters?

Santorin: They approached me toward the end of November, so everything happened pretty quickly. Since I retired, I’ve had some offers, but I never really took them seriously because they involved moving or big commitments. I was at a point where I wanted to focus on streaming and content creation, so that became my priority.

When NORD reached out and said it would be a content/competitive team, I got really excited because it meant I could experience the best of both worlds. Los Ratones had already been announced by then, and everyone knew about it. When I heard about their rosters, I got even more excited because it meant I’d be playing against LCS-level players.

Competing against players like Rekkles (Martin Larsson) and Jankos (Marcin Jankowski) makes it feel much more competitive. Before, I was worried about joining a league where I didn’t know anyone—it wouldn’t feel as meaningful if I won. But now, winning against players and teams like that will actually mean something, which makes me even more excited.

What do you think of the level of the NLC in terms of all the teams? There's a lot of talk about top teams like NORD and Los Ratones, and then teams like Ruddy, but after that, the overall level seems unclear. What's your perspective, especially with your experience?

Santorin: Right now, it feels like Los Ratones and NORD are the two best teams in the league, with Ruddy in third. But it’s still early in the season, and things could change by the time we hit playoffs. Ruddy could improve, or maybe we or Los Ratones drop off slightly—you never really know. But I do think those three teams will be the top three.

In our last couple of official matches, I didn’t even drink my green tea before the game because I didn’t feel like I had to. That might say something about the rest of the league. Individually, the level of play is high, especially among the top teams. But when it comes to team coordination, it’s not at the LEC or LTA level yet. As a new team, it’s hard to reach that level in just two months, especially without competing against top teams—we don’t really get LEC scrims.

Most players in the league are very talented individually, so I can’t just walk into the enemy jungle and expect to get easy kills—they’re going to play well. But team coordination is something we all need to work on. On my team, everyone already knows a lot about the game, and we’re all helping each other improve, which is the whole point of playing on a team. I’m excited for us to level up and hopefully beat Los Ratones next time. Going to the EMEA Masters will be really exciting because we’ll face even better teams.

After your bootcamp and everything, what do you think are your chances of beating Los Ratones in the rematch?

Santorin: I think our chances are actually very good. When we first faced them, I’m not gonna lie—they straight up stomped us. We don’t need to sugarcoat it—we got gapped. But that kind of thing can happen in best-of-ones, or even in a best-of-five. I remember best-of-fives where we started 2-0 and then lost the last three games. In those first two games, we’d be up like 20 kills to 0. Sometimes you just have really, really good games, and I definitely feel like Los Ratones had a really good game against us.

It really depends on who steps up that day and how we’ve been improving in the weeks leading up to those matches. I feel very hopeful right now, and I do think we’re getting better, which is a good sign. I’ve been on teams before where we started strong but then felt like we were getting worse and worse, and that’s the worst feeling. It’s much nicer to start slow and then improve consistently. So it’s all about keeping that growth going, and on paper, we should be a stronger team than Los Ratones. But at the end of the day, it’s really about who shows up.

Is there any team that you feel could get in the way of NORD and prevent you from reaching a rematch against Los Ratones?

Santorin: When I watch the other teams play, I do think that individually, they can definitely compete against us. But when it comes to team macro or decision-making, I feel like we’re a level above. That being said, I’ve seen a lot of upsets over my career, and I’m never going to count any team out. Now that the games matter more and we’re in playoffs, I’m going to drink my green tea and make sure I’m in the best shape possible. But I do think the chance of them beating us is low. Still, I’m not going to count them out because they are good individual players.

What are your thoughts on Fearless Draft, especially since it’s something you never got to experience in your career?

Santorin: I love it, honestly. I wish they’d done it much earlier because as a competitive player, there have been so many times when I’ve thought, "This guy is playing the same three champions the whole tournament, and he’s smurfing so hard in those champs, but I’ve seen him in scrims, and that’s literally all he can play." So, this will definitely expose some players, but others will shine more because there are players with really big champion pools who play a lot of champions well. But there are also those who can only play one playstyle, like front-to-back carries or whatever. Now, suddenly, they have to go into game five with eight champions banned from their role and another three to five targeted at them. It’s really going to force players to dive deep into their champion pools.

I think it’s exciting. Every World’s meta has had the same champions over and over, and sometimes it just gets boring. But now, you can be more creative and experiment with different drafts. It’s going to make coaches work a lot harder to figure out what works and what doesn’t. You don’t have much time to make your picks on stage, so you could easily mess up, but that’s what makes it entertaining. I’ve actually enjoyed scrimming a lot more because now we get to play all these different champs and show we can play more than just Sejuani or Trundle.

But then there’s the old part of me that thinks, "Damn, I know if we get these specific champions, we’ll probably beat any team any day of the week." Now, with Fearless, those champions could be banned in a best-of-five. It adds extra pressure on everyone to play a lot of champions at a high level and have a deep champion pool to draw from.

Do you have anything you'd like to say to the fans?

Santorin: I just want to say to all the fans that I'm really excited to be back, even if it's not the same league as before. It's something I’ve missed a lot over the past year and a half. Whether you support me now or not, I just hope you’re still enjoying competitive games. I hope you’ll enjoy following my journey in the NLC."