While Naak Nako already looks like the rookie among rookies, Hid0 raises the bar even higher: just six months ago, the young Maltese had never played a competitive split in his life. Even worse, the rookie started taking the game seriously around the summer of 2022, and is expected to make his LFL debut a year later, with only one competitive season under his belt.

But where did Hid0 come from? The player first made a name for himself in SoloQ, where he reached 1200 LP at the beginning of March 2023. Afterwards, NORD Esport, a new NLC structure coached by Nicolas “Nico” Perez & Malaury “Malau” Restouble, decided to give the player a chance, directly in the NLC, without going through the lower divisions.

Strategy and Performance in NLC

On the botlane, Hid0 plays alongside Simon “Seneca” Bucht, who is also completely new to competition. Nico & Malau decided to take under their wing a team of inexperienced players to progress them as much as possible in one season, and Hid0 and Seneca seem to be the perfect candidates for the job.

NORD's season was marked by inconsistency, with the team alternating between weeks of 2 wins followed by others with 2 losses, but Hid0 quickly took on a predominant role in the game and the team’s victories. Particularly comfortable on Xayah - his former coach says he has one of the best Xayah in the ERL - the Maltese turned into a kill machine, ending the season with 3 pentakills and nearly 30% of his team's inflicted damage, a sign of his importance in NORD.

With his team, Hid0 reached the NLC playoffs in his first split, but didn’t stop there: In the playoffs, NORD successively beat Ruddy Esport 3-1, then Verdant 3-0, two teams against whom NORD had lost during the regular season. Against Verdant, who were first in the regular season, Hid0 put on a monumental performance in the 3 games, finishing the match with a total KDA of 37/2/24, and 953 damage per minute. An exceptional match for a young player who was only playing his second BO5 of his career.

In the finals, NORD again stumbled against Nativz, as during the regular season, but the most important thing was securing a place in the EMEA Masters, despite all their inexperience, ahead of teams that seemed better equipped to qualify! It was a significant achievement, and Hid0 experienced his first European competition at the beginning of his competitive career.

In the EMEA Masters, NORD unfortunately didn’t measure up in their group, and lost in a tiebreak to We Love Gaming, but NORD had already proven their worth before that, and this Summer was a resounding success for such a young team, which few people saw capable of competing with the top of the NLC.

Outlook and future developments

Hid0, in particular, caught the eye of Aegis, who seems to be rebuilding its roster around young talents: Alongside the Maltese, the team with the shield is also expected to sign Andrija "Nafkelah" Kovačević, a very promising young player who has already evolved on the French scene, with Tony Parker Adequat Academy in the LFL Division 2 in 2022.

While the gamble of signing a player with such little experience in a league as competitive as the LFL may seem risky, Hid0 could hardly have done better to prove his worth with NORD last season. He will be one of the sensations of this LFL 2024, which has so many, and promises once again to dominate the top of the ERL for another year.

Between experienced players and bets on the future, the LFL 2024 is shaping up to be particularly interesting to follow. Will it be able to dominate the European second tier again and keep its title at the EMEA Masters?"