Sniper has been left having to answer questions about his League of Legends future after a 100 Thieves joke turned into a reality.
Heading into the 2024 World Championship, 100 Thieves young gun Rayan "Sniper" Shoura thought he'd lighten the mood — especially considering the gloom around the Americas reshuffle next year — by joking he'd pack in his short-lived LoL career should the LCS third seed fall to a wildcard team in Play-Ins. Mostly, everyone laughed and moved on. It just sounded so unlikely.
Then, surprisingly, it actually happened. 100 Thieves collapsed in spectacular fashion. A stunning 1–2 loss to future Americas League partners Movistar Rainbow7 sunk the North American team into the losers' bracket and though they were able to hold on by sweeping Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS gaming, the LCS representatives were then ignominiously dumped from Worlds by PSG Talon. Suddenly, NA was down to two before Swiss Stage had even begun.
The total failure left 100T's young top laner, who's still just 17, fielding questions he never thought he'd truly have to answer. One stood out: Would he be walking away from LoL like he'd suggested at the Worlds media day.
Unsurprisingly, Sniper was very firm in his response, which he told LCS journalist Aarsh Nagpal as he packed his bags in Berlin. "I want to keep playing."
The native NA top laner then repeated that he "doesn't want to retire," alleviating any possible fears he'd actually have walked away permanently. "I freaking love playing League... I just hate seeing the other team win, so I'm gonna keep playing no matter what until I'm the best version of myself."
The LoL star added he'd be getting right back into the swing with a bootcamp in the Netherlands with ex-100T teammate V1per before fronting for preseason.
Sniper needs to 'get his mindset back'
When he returns ready to play in the 2025 LoL preseason, Sniper knows exactly what he's going to work on too — consistency.
While the young gun's Spring campaign with 100T (his first in NA's top league) was a standout, he then preceded to get "drastically worse" in Summer and couldn't escape the slump he tumbled in to. "I disappointed not only myself but my teammates and everyone else," Sniper admitted.
To avoid the same failings, both at on the international LoL stage and even before that in the domestic league, the Canadian solo laner is going to take the time to review his first year of pro play in an attempt to get back to basics.
"I'm super grateful, but disappointed... I should've done so much more for my team overall if I'd just stayed the same from Spring to Summer, if I kept on improving. From now on I have to just write down everything I know and just get my mind back in the [mindset] where I was playing so good."
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Another go around with 100 Thieves most likely
100 Thieves has Sniper signed for another season, so he should play under the 100T banner again in next year's new-look Americas campaign. However, some in the LCS world have raised question marks about how long Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag's organization will remain in LoL.
When Brazil, Latin America, and NA combine in January, some franchised orgs may use it as a chance to hit the eject button. 100T is among those still on the fence, though it should eventually green light another LoL campaign.
Sniper, Lim "Quid" Hyeon-seung, and Bill "Eyla" Nguyen will form the core 100T roster should the org stay, at least until offseason swaps; all three are signed to 2025.
Elsewhere on the roster, Frank "Tomo" Lam and Kim "River" Dong-woo carry November 2024 expiry dates on their NA deals. Tomo's deal expires today after 100T management actually shaved the final 14 days from his contract following their Worlds loss. River should leave in two weeks.
Sniper would easily be one of the hottest free agents on the Americas market in the eventuality that 100 Thieves does walk away (or sells their young stars). In particular, FlyQuest would be interested considering Bwipo's likely to leave. Shopify Rebellion may also come sniffing.
For Sniper, it's an easy decision though, with the 17-year-old eager to stay with the same roster. "I really enjoyed playing with everyone, and I want to play with them again, especially River and Eyla. They always try to help me, or if they don't know a way to express that they get their frustration and give me a reality check that I'm playing bad and I need to step it up."
The new-look Americas League will begin in early January with preseason events. esports.gg will cover all the LoL action once it gets underway.
