Los Ratones

Origins and Name

The idea for Los Ratones was first discussed by Marc 'Caedrel' Lamont on a Twitch stream on 1 June 2024. He mentioned competing in the Northern League of Legends Championship alongside fellow content creators Tim 'Nemesis' Lipovšek, a former LEC player and two-time Worlds participant, and Simon 'Thebausffs' Hofverberg, a former LEC guest caster and analyst. The project was formally announced on 15 November 2024, with Caedrel serving as head coach. The initial roster included Nemesis as midlaner, Thebausffs as toplaner, Veljko 'Velja' Čamdžić as jungler, Juš 'Crownie' Marušič as ADC, and Carl 'Rekkles' Larsson as support. Rekkles joined from T1 Esports Academy in the LCK Challengers League.

The name Los Ratones first appeared on Caedrel's YouTube channel on 17 September 2023. He typed it as his team name while playing the esports manager game Teamfight Manager on Steam. This name from a gaming session became the identity for his real-world competitive team.

Domestic Dominance in the NLC

Los Ratones entered the Northern League of Legends Championship for the 2025 season. They immediately established total dominance in the Winter Split. The team went undefeated in the group stage with a 4-0 record and also went undefeated in the playoffs with a 4-0 series record. They secured their first domestic championship with a 3-0 sweep against NORD Esports in the finals held in Nottingham.

This success continued into the Spring Split. Los Ratones had another undefeated 4-0 record in the seeding phase. They lost to NORD Esports in the upper bracket semifinals but finished the bracket stage with a strong 14-2 game record. They won their second consecutive NLC title in Copenhagen, defeating The Ruddy Sack and then NORD Esports, both by 3-0 scores. In the Summer Split, they again went 4-0 in the seeding phase and won their first three playoff matches without a loss. They completed their historic year with a 3-0 finals victory over Verdant in Stockholm on 30 August 2025. This made Los Ratones the first team in NLC history to win all three splits in the same competitive year.

Conquering Europe at EMEA Masters

Los Ratones qualified for all three EMEA Masters tournaments in 2025, the premier competition for teams below the LEC. In the Winter Split, they were placed in a four-team double elimination bracket group with Karmine Corp Blue, Nightbirds, and E wie einfach Esports. They advanced to the quarterfinals alongside KCB. In the playoffs, they secured a 3-2 victory over Turkey's Papara SuperMassive and a 3-0 win over Greece's Team Phantasma in the semifinals. They faced Ici Japon Corp of France in the final and won 3-0, securing their first EMEA Masters title and becoming the first organisation based in the United Kingdom to do so.

They repeated this success in the Spring Split. After a 2-1 group stage, they beat NORD Esports 3-0 in the round of 16 and BoostGate Esports 3-2 in the quarterfinals. They then won their semifinal and final matches without dropping a single game, achieving a 6-0 game record across both series to defeat Barça eSports 3-0 in the final. This made them the first team since Karmine Corp to win the EMEA Masters tournament more than once. Their run ended in the Summer Split. After a 3-1 start in the swiss stage, they lost two matches but qualified for playoffs with a 2-0 win. They swept Team Vitality Bee 3-0 and beat Galions 3-1 to reach the semifinals, where they suffered their first elimination series loss, a 0-3 defeat to Karmine Corp Blue.

The Scrim Stream Revolution

Los Ratones changed professional League of Legends practice by live-streaming their scrims, or practice matches. This was a radical departure from standard procedure, as these sessions are typically kept private to protect strategies for official games. On scrim days, Los Ratones would regularly attract tens of thousands of concurrent viewers across the streams of Caedrel and the players.

The fan reception inspired teams in the League Championship Series, FlyQuest and Cloud9, to also stream their own scrims. The practice gained such attention that LEC Commissioner Artem Bykov announced a trial phase from 13 to 23 March 2025 to allow LEC teams to stream practice matches under specific conditions. Similarly, then-LTA Commissioner Mark Zimmerman announced on 21 March 2025 that teams in that league could scrim teams from Tier 2 leagues if schedules aligned. A planned scrim stream against LEC team GiantX on 9 March 2025 was cancelled due to a Riot Games rule preventing the livestream, though the team later streamed practice matches against Vietnam's GAM Esports in July 2025.

The Path to LEC Versus

A key goal for the team was to reach a Tier 1 league. In an update video on 30 March 2025, Caedrel disclosed that one of Los Ratones' goals was to be part of a Tier 1 region. Due to the LEC's franchising rules established in 2019, direct entry was impossible without purchasing a slot from an existing club or forming a partnership. Caedrel also considered the alternative of competing in the North American Challengers League to contest for a guest spot in the LCS.

Their performance made this dream a reality. On 23 October 2025, Riot Games announced that Los Ratones would compete in the first split of the 2026 LEC season, known as LEC Versus. They received this invitation by virtue of being the best performing team across all EMEA Regional Leagues during the 2025 season. They were joined by the 2025 EMEA Masters Summer split champions Karmine Corp Blue. This invitation also made Los Ratones eligible to qualify for the 2026 First Stand Tournament in Brazil.

LEC Debut and Final Campaign

In the LEC Versus tournament, Los Ratones had a 5-6 win-loss record. They lost their first four games, putting their campaign in immediate jeopardy. The team then rallied for a string of four consecutive victories. Two of these wins came against established LEC giants Movistar KOI and G2 Esports, demonstrating their capability at the highest level.

However, their hopes for a playoff spot ended on the final day of the group stage. A loss to Team Vitality, combined with unfavorable results from other matches, meant Los Ratones narrowly missed the playoffs. Their journey in the top tier was brief but memorable.

Showmatches and Early Success

Before their official league debut, Los Ratones made a splash in showmatches and early tournaments. They entered their first tournament as an organisation in November 2024, joining the second season of the NNO Cup. They went undefeated in the winning bracket with a 12-2 game record, winning all their best-of-five series to claim their first title. Notably, Caedrel played support for the team in this event as Rekkles was unavailable.

Their live debut came at the second edition of Red Bull League of Its Own on 29 November 2024 at the Accor Arena in Paris. They faced a T1 lineup featuring Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok and emerged victorious. They returned for the event's third edition on 29 November 2025 at the SAP Garden in Munich. There, they recorded a 1-1 record, losing to a Karmine Corp team featuring members of Karmine Corp Blue but winning against T1, which then included Faker and its new ADC Kim 'Peyz' Su-hwan.

Disbandment and Lasting Legacy

Days after their final LEC game, Caedrel announced the disbandment of Los Ratones on 12 February 2026. It was revealed the team had planned to fold after their final EMEA Masters split if they did not receive an LEC invitation for 2026. Thebausffs had announced his return to full-time streaming the day before.

Los Ratones is remembered for several areas. They are widely credited with introducing and popularizing the streaming of practice matches, a practice that influenced league policies. Riot Games' Global Influencer Manager Brandon Ho stated the impact Los Ratones had on the community would forever outshine any final standings. LCS commentator Joshua 'Jatt' Leesman called them a compelling story, likening them to the early days of TSM and Cloud9.

Their devoted fanbase, compared to those of Karmine Corp and Movistar KOI due to Caedrel's influencer status, boosted viewership for the NLC and LEC. Fans wore team merchandise and held signs at major international events like the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational and the 2025 World Championship. The remaining players from the roster later competed in the 2026 EMEA Masters Winter Split under the name Witchcraft, with former champion Gabriël 'Bwipo' Rau replacing Thebausffs as toplaner, though they failed to advance from the group stage.