Every sports fan has their favourite player. Carlos “ocelote” Rodríguez Santiago may not be my favourite in terms of skill, but he is one player who I look up to for all he has done so far in his career. Originally known in the MMO World of Warcraft, Santiago made the permanent switch to League of Legends in October of 2010.
Mostly known for playing mid lane for European team SK Gaming, he led the way in creating a team that rivaled that of consistent powerhouse Fnatic. Although known as being one of the most vocal and mechanically skilled players on stage, he has actually never won anything. Santiago, being as ambitious as he is, decided to leave SK Gaming in December of 2013 and create his own brand and professional team.
The product of his labour, G2 Esports, is no longer just a LoL team. G2 made headlines when they became the first team to have a professional squad for mobile game Vain Glory. Although retired from professional play, Santiago has built up an empire, which is doing fantastically in nearly every game they have a foothold in.
G2 recently secured first place in the European LCS, going 15–3 in the standings (which is amazing, considering they barely made it into the EU LCS this split). G2, one of the strongest organizations out there, is still headed by Santiago.
As one of my favourite players, and now as one of my favourite brands, I hope to see Santiago and G2 continue on their path of dominance. It would be fitting for the “El Classico” rivalry between Fnatic and Santiago’s team to resurface—only, this time, the age-old battle between these two teams will finally go in favour of Santiago.