League of Legends esports just lost its most exciting team, proving once again that hype can be a bad thing

If I've learned anything about the games industry over the past few years, it's that there's such a thing as too much hype. Just take a look at Highguard, Wildlight Entertainment's ill-fated fantasy shooter that made its debut as 'the big trailer' at The Game Awards, but then released to mixed reviews. As soon as Marc 'Caedrel' Lamont's Los Ratones secured its spot in the League of Legends European Championship, I felt myself wince slightly - the hype was real, but the potential backlash even more so. I've followed the star-studded team since day one, and I've truly enjoyed watching Simon 'Baus' Hofverberg's solo bolos and Martin 'Rekkles' Larsson's Janna, but it always felt like there was an inevitable end - be it Baus' jovial threats to return to full-time streaming, or the sense that, for every flawless NLC and EU Masters run, there had to be a loss. It begged the question: can League of Legends' stream team sensation recover from losing? Unfortunately, the answer appears to be a no.

Los Ratones' LEC debut didn't exactly go well. It began with a particularly ugly loss streak that blossomed into a few significant wins that somewhat reignited our hope. When it came to making the playoffs, however, a disappointing showing against Team Vitality, followed by an unfortunate series of results elsewhere, left the squad in ninth - the worst possible outcome. The online hate exploded - Los Ratones was a team of frauds; trash; one-hit wonders: a whole lot of backlash. It reminded me of G2 Esports' LoL Worlds fumbles, amplified exponentially. I found myself questioning what the League of Legends all-star squad would do next: I didn't expect the journey to just… end.

On Friday February 13, the team uploaded a video that's simply entitled 'THE END OF LOS RATONES.' As I'm sure many people did, I initially dismissed it as bait: as a backstage documentary recapping the end of the team's run in the LEC. I didn't think it was the squad disbanding, even if the project was only supposed to last for a year or so. Turns out I was wrong.

"I'll cut to the chase," Caedrel begins. "Los Ratones will be shutting down." Citing the amplification of hate during the team's LEC run, as well as poor performance, he states that "I think everyone knew that the story was coming to a close, because there wasn't much more for us to do. I think if there was more for us to do, we wouldn't do it. This was genuinely just it." The primary reason for the team disbanding, however, is simply that "we wouldn't want to do this with anyone else" - no roster swaps, and no team changes: something that can prove a blessing, or quickly become a curse, in the competitive space.

He admits that it's "taken a while to accept," but states that "the [Los Ratones] project was something that I'll absolutely never forget." It's something I'll never forget, either. I've praised Caedrel for reinventing how esports teams can be run: showcasing scrims on stream, providing us a small window into what happens behind the scenes. Inevitably, the shiny newness was going to wear off; it was all going to be about how the team weathered that storm. I'm sad to see that it couldn't.

But equally, I agree with Caedrel: I couldn't see Los Ratones with any other players. Call it lightning in a bottle: the perfect match - what made Los Ratones special was its players. Roster changes, while initially exciting and potentially beneficial longer term, feel like they'd have gone against the ethos of what made the team unique. It's a conundrum I'm not envious of, but I can respect what Caedrel is saying. A Los Ratones without Bausy in the top lane, or Tim 'Nemesis' Lipovšek's stone-cold killer vibes in the mid lane wouldn't have been Los Ratones at all.

But a part of me is just sick of seeing hype ruin things. The internet has become a firestorm of late: you need to be part of the excitement, or be ready to fuel the hate. It was 'cool' to hate on Highguard, it was 'fun' to hurl abuse at Los Ratones in the LEC chat. There's a wider commentary to be made here about how gaming and esports is changing; and perhaps how the internet is changing, too. One minute you're flavor of the week, the next you're either a punching bag or you've been forgotten. It's genuinely quite depressing to watch.

Los Ratones, with its star-studded roster and largely flawless 2025 run, was bound to end up as the butt of the joke, and that's what's happened here. You can be disappointed without being cruel, and I'd think we'd all do well to remember that.

But, while it's the end of the era, that's always the start of something new, and I'm excited to see what comes next. Perhaps we'll see the squad reunite for a Red Bull League of Its Own further down the line, or perhaps we won't. Either way, that Bausy Faker solo bolo will live in my head rent-free for the rest of time.