Wunder (gamer)

Martin Nordahl Hansen, better known as Wunder, is a Danish professional League of Legends player. He began playing in the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) with Splyce in 2016. After two seasons with the team, he signed with G2 Esports. In his four years with the team, he won four consecutive LEC titles, was a five-time LEC All-Pro, won the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational, and was a finalist at the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. He was transferred to Fnatic prior to the start of the 2022 LEC season.

Wunder
Hansen in 2021
Current team
TeamFnatic
RoleTop Laner
GameLeague of Legends
LeagueLEC
Personal information
NameMartin Nordahl Hansen
Born1997 or 1998 (age 24–25)[1]
NationalityDanish
Career information
Playing career2014–present
Team history
20144everzenzyg
2015SK Gaming Prime
2015Team Dignitas EU
2016–2017Splyce
2018–2021G2 Esports
2022–presentFnatic
Career highlights and awards
  • MSI champion (2019)
  • 4× LEC champion
    • 5× LEC First All Pro Team
  • Rift Rivals champion (2018, 2019)

Professional career

Early career

By July 2014, Hansen was on a team that reached the top eight of the European Challenger Series, and in 2015, he played for Team Dignitas EU in the Challenger Series.[2] However, after a new age restriction was imposed by Riot Games, he was unable to compete with the team in the Challengers Series playoffs.[3]

Splyce

After an ownership change and rebrand, Hansen competed under the Splyce banner.[2] He competed in the European League of Legends Championship Series (EU LCS) in 2016. His performance in the 2016 Spring Split was underwhelming, having the lowest KDA, a statistic referring to the number of kills and assists a player gets per death, the most deaths, and the least assists among all EU LCS players that played all 18 matches. However, by the end of the regular season, he had the most kills among all players that played his position, known as a "top laner", was named to the LCS All-Pro team, and reached the EU LCS playoff finals.[4] Following an appearance at the 2016 League of Legends World Championship, Hansen re-signed with Splyce.[5] However, he struggled throughout the 2017 EU LCS season and left the team at the end of the season.[6][7]

G2 Esports

In December 2017, G2 Esports announced that they had signed Hansen for the upcoming EU LCS season.[8] In 2018, he was named to the EU LCS All-Pro team in both the Spring Split and Summer Split, won the 2018 League of Legends Rift Rivals event,[9] and qualified for the 2018 League of Legends World Championship.[7][10]

The following year, he won his first League of Legends European Championship (LEC; formerly EU LCS) title, after G2 Esports defeated Origen, 3–0, in the 2019 Spring Split finals; Hansen was voted the most valuable player of the series.[11] Hansen then picked up his first Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) title, after defeating Team Liquid, 3–0, in what was the fastest best-of-five final in League of Legends history, at the 2019 MSI.[12][13] In the 2019 Summer Split, Hansen was once again named to the EU LCS All-Pro team and won his second consecutive EU LCS title, after defeating Fnatic, 3–2, in the playoff finals.[10][14] G2 Esports qualified for Worlds 2019, marking Hansen's third straight appearance at the event. Heading into the tournament, ESPN ranked him as the eighth best player in the world and the best Western top laner at the World Championship.[15] G2 Esports advanced to the World Championship finals, where they faced FunPlus Phoenix on 10 November 2019. In the first game of the series, Hansen died a tournament-high seven times, and ultimately, the team lost the series by a score of 0–3.[16]

Hansen continued to consistently perform at a high level throughout the 2020 LEC season.[17] He won two more LEC titles, bringing his total to four consecutive LEC titles, after G2 Esports defeated Fnatic in both the Spring and Summer Split finals.[18][19] He and the team competed in the 2020 World Championship; Hansen was ranked as one of the five best top laners heading into the World Championship by ESPN and the second best European player overall, behind Rasmus "Caps" Winther.[17]

Hansen was named to the All-Pro team in the 2021 Spring Split, becoming the first top laner in the LEC with at least five All-Pro selections in their career.[10] However, by the end of the 2021 season, it was clear that Hansen's performance had been steadily declining. He ended the season with a 2.6 KDA, compared to his 3.9, 3.4, and 3.0 KDA in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively.[20] In October 2021, G2 Esports founder and CEO Carlos "ocelote" Rodríguez Santiago announced that the organization was looking to either bench or trade Hansen prior to the beginning of the 2022 season.[21]

Fnatic

In November 2021, Fnatic acquired Hansen from G2 Esports, with an reported approximate buyout of €600,000 (US$679,230).[1] Hansen struggled in the 2022 Spring Split, posting the second worst kill-participation percentage among all top laners in the LEC through the regular season.[22] In the playoffs, he played a league-high 32 different champions.[23] After stepping down from LEC competition, Wunder returned to play for Fnatic as a substitute in the LEC Season Finals 2023.[24]

References
  1. "Report: Fnatic agree to acquire Wunder from G2". Reuters. Field Level Media. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  2. Chouadria, Adel (9 July 2016). "Splyce's Wunder: "In mid and late game, we're the best team in the league right now"". ESPN. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  3. Lingle, Samuel (14 April 2015). "Dignitas EU retools with all-Danish lineup, move Brokenshard to head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  4. Raven, Josh (26 August 2016). "Wunder is the player to watch in the EU LCS Final". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  5. Volk, Pete (29 November 2016). "Splyce retains roster for 2017 season". The Rift Herald. Polygon. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  6. Chouadria, Adel (9 March 2017). "Wunder: Splyce's strategic woes are 'easily solvable'". ESPN. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  7. Rand, Emily (26 October 2018). "Wonderboy: the rise of G2's Wunder". ESPN. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  8. Newell, Adam (8 December 2017). "G2 Esports reveals its roster for 2018". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  9. van Hulst, Pieter (9 July 2018). "How the EU LCS reigned supreme at Rift Rivals 2018". Red Bull. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  10. Seeger, Brieuc (23 March 2022). "The history of LEC All-Pro teams". Upcomer. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  11. Collins, Yinsu (4 April 2019). "Alphari: Origen will beat G2 in the LEC in the future". Red Bull. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  12. Erzberger, Tyler (19 May 2019). "G2 Esports put on masterful performance in MSI final". ESPN. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  13. Amos, Andrew (19 May 2019). "G2 smash Team Liquid to become the MSI 2019 champions". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  14. Chen, Ethan (9 September 2019). "G2 Esports defeat Fnatic to win LEC Summer Split Finals". Upcomer. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  15. "Top 20 players at the League of Legends World Championship". ESPN. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  16. Yim, Miles; Vella, Matt (10 November 2019). "League of Legends World Championship: FPX sweeps G2, 3-0, to win Summoner's Cup". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  17. "Top five top laners at the League of Legends World Championship". ESPN. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  18. Collins, Yinsu (19 April 2020). "Wunder hits back at 'doubters' after G2 pick up seventh European title". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  19. Lupasco, Cristian (6 September 2020). "G2 Esports win eighth LEC title after sweeping Fnatic in 2020 Summer Finals". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  20. González Rodríguez, André (22 September 2021). "G2 coach GrabbZ on Wunder: 'He was one of the most consistent performers in scrims over the years'". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  21. Enriquez, XC (12 October 2021). "G2 Esports will "bench and look to trade" more than half of their League of Legends roster". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  22. Esguerra, Tyler (24 March 2022). "Old rivalries, new heroes: How G2 and Fnatic's perpetual LEC feud will rage on 2 fronts of Summoner's Rift". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  23. Cowley, Ric (14 April 2022). "G2's incredible 12-0 LEC 2022 Spring Playoffs run by the numbers". Red Bull. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  24. Wynne, Jared (28 August 2023). "This is why Wunder is playing for Fnatic in the LEC Season Finals". gameland.gg. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
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