It's about time. After losing three LFL finals, BDS Academy have won their first title in the French division of League of Legends. The Swiss org beat Karmine Corp Blue 3-1 on the Montpellier stage in an uncontested series. Turkish support Polat 'Parus' Furkan Çiçek even took the liberty of underlining the ease of this first triumph: "it was close to easy, not gonna lie". Indeed, the match seemed to be without appeal: BDSA won the three rounds in 24, 22 and 27 minutes. It was an unexpected butchery, especially after the rout in the previous series, in which KCB had dealt them an even harsher sentence (3-0).

A "180°" reappraisal

That's why head coach Danusch 'Arvindir' Fischer is not shying away from the fact that this victory is a real 'relief': "I think our approach was really wrong in the first game (0-3 against KCB). It wasn't even really a draft problem. It was just that the way we played and the way we thought they would play was completely wrong, 180 degrees wrong. We learnt a lot from that defeat, just as they learnt a lot from losing to us in spring. I don't think it's a coincidence that, in both splits in the LFL and now in the LEC too (G2 Esports), the team that had to climb from the lower bracket ended up winning the final. I think that's actually an advantage."

Jungler Rudy 'SkewMond' Semaan has had to rethink certain priorities, particularly his picks. "For my part, I've had to rethink my champion pool compared to the first best-of-five, says the Frenchman, who switched from Viego, Taliyah and Sejuani in the defeat to Maokai and Brand on the win, this Saturday. But also the way I play around the botlane and, above all, my confidence. I don't think I came into the first series against KCB with the idea that we were going to stomp them. I think that's what really changed compared to today. This time, we really read their game, we worked out what their weaknesses were, what ours were... And I also came into the game with a lot of confidence."

From toil to triumph

For Arvindir, it was also a question of returning the favour to an org that has placed its trust in him, despite a recent experience with KOI, which was not necessarily very convincing (from summer 2022 to the end of 2023). "A big thank you to BDS for making this line-up possible. But also for the freedom and opportunities we've had as a team, particularly to schedule things, the way we wanted to. It's not always easy to give your full trust, but I'm very happy that we've been given it, and I'm even happier that we've been able to pay it back today."

Since its arrival on the League of Legends competitive scene, the Swiss org had to battle hard to finally achieve success. In their first year, in 2020, BDS won the LFL Division 2 - the second tier of French competition - but since then they have never triumphed. Even despite three top 2 finishes in the LFL, a top 2 at the EMEA Masters, a top 2 and three top 3 in the LEC. While the progress and development of the two teams they manage is clear to see, this victory is, undoubtedly, the first result of the organisation's hard work and good choices.

The throne and the crown

For Skewmond, this victory had a special flavour. The Frenchman had to prove that he had not stolen his newly-acquired title of MVP for the Summer Split. A title that would undoubtedly not have had the same flavour without the final victory. With humility, the jungler believes he deserves this distinction, which has relatively been contested on social media. "Honestly, I think I deserved it, yes. I'm not going to have hot takes but 113 (Doğukan Balcı) did a really good split too. In the jungle, I think apart from our direct confrontations in the regular season, he also played some very good games and really carried his team... If I had to give one player from our team, Reeker (Steven Chen) also had some really good games, he would deserve it too."

This opinion is shared by his support, who is full of praise for him: "He's improved enormously since the Spring Split, says Parus. He's probably even the best mechanically and, to be honest, I think he has the potential to be the best player in the ERL. He's really not bad." The statistics prove them right, as Skewmond is the best in his role in six of the ten data points highlighted on Sheep Stats this summer.

The EMEA Masters and, what's next ?

Hard to take the time to celebrate as BDSA must immediately get back into the swing of things for the EMEA Masters. The competition between the region's top national teams kicks off just two days after their victory in the French league. However, Parus is not worried about the first stage of the tournament. "To be honest, I don't know any of the players in the team we're facing on Monday (EGN Esports). I don't want to disrespect them, but I have the impression that we're in the middle of a snowball, so I'm not really worried about the Swiss Stage. We're not likely to be really pushed before the BO3 and BO5."

Although they are keeping their feet on the ground, Parus and Skewmond are already hoping for a chance in the LEC in 2025. The jungler is aiming even further ahead, and hopes to take part in international tournaments. What could be more normal, for the two MVPs of the LFL in 2024. "I think Fleshy and I really have what it takes to join Europe's elite, says Parus. I even think we're better than at least half of those who are already in LEC. In my opinion, apart from Jun, Labrov and Mikyx, there aren't many of them who deserve their spot."