The 2023 season of Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski ended at the hands of a familiar rival. Fnatic defeated Team Heretics 3-1 in the lower bracket semifinals of the LEC Summer playoffs. On the line was a place in the LEC Finals. Despite their Cinderella run, one of many in the split, Heretics couldn't get it done when it mattered most. However, it was what Jankos said in his post-game interview that garnered the most attention.
“I didn’t plan on losing, so I didn’t plan on my future,” Jankos said. “I don’t know how much I have left. I’m not sure if I’m even gonna be competing next year or not. Maybe, maybe not, who knows? I have a lot of time to reflect, and I’m just glad that I was able to help Heretics and my teammates," Jankos told Georgia “Troubleinc” Paras. It was a shockingly blunt admission that this may be the end of the line for Jankos In a way, it mirrored a similarly candid admission made by LeBron James after the Lakers crashed out of the NBA playoffs. Of course, it's not the first time that Jankos has completed walking from the LEC. After being cut by G2 at the end of the 2022 season, Jankos appeared to have accepted that he would be teamless before an offer from Team Heretics came through late in the offseason.
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Jankos' Retirement Would Redefine The LEC
Jankos is one of the most enduring figures in the LEC. He first joined the league in 2014 Team ROCCAT and would later reach the semifinals of Worlds 2016 as part of H2K. However, he is of course best known for his time on G2. Joining the now perennial champions ahead of the 2018 season, the jungler became the backbone of one of Europe's greatest-ever teams. He has five LEC titles and an MSI title to his name. He part of the legendary 2019 G2 roster that came so close to a perfect season, falling just short at Worlds.
While the 2023 season on a chaotic, yet highly entertaining, Team Heretics roster was far from his best, Jankos leaving the LEC would be seismic. He is an institution in and of himself. However, he is also humble. If he believes that Heretics, or any other LEC roster, would be better without him then he would step aside. This LEC offseason will likely be one of the biggest in recent memory. Astralis is reportedly selling their spot in the league. Meanwhile, there are likely going to be major changes within organizations like Team Vitality. There will be a lot of uncertainty. However, here's hope that we get a little more time with such an iconic player.
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