Berlin, Tuesday 18 August. There is a mural at the entrance of the Riot Games Arena now. Caps is on it, surrounded by his trophies and some of the champions that built his legend. On Tuesday afternoon, in front of his family, he added the last brushstroke himself with a can of spray paint: his signature, writing the "S" of his name from the bottom up.
That day, Rasmus "Caps
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The Berlin studio had been turned into a small museum for the day. Along the walls hung the jerseys Caps has worn across his career, going all the way back to his 2018 Fnatic kit — pulled out of storage in Denmark and brought over by his mother, who had kept them at home all these years. Around them, the Riot Arena had been dressed with the defining photographs of his ten years on stage.
The speeches came one after the other. Riot's Global leadership called him "a defining figure in Western League of Legends history", and Maximilian Peter Schmidt (EMEA's LoL Esports Director) framed the induction less as a reward than as a mirror: Caps, he said, showed a generation of European fans that a player from the region could stand on the biggest stages in the world "not as an outsider that hopes to belong, but as somebody who is capable of defining those moments."
The most personal tribute came from G2's general manager, Romain Bigeard, who has spent the last five years next to him. "I don't remember what I thought of you before being your manager — probably the same as everyone: that you are a generational player on top of being a kind human," he said, before running through five years of shared travel from Europe to China to Brazil. His conclusion:
Yep, you deserve all this love. All of it.
Then came the trophy, lifted under the lights of a studio that has hosted so many of his best nights.
Riot admitted on stage that finding a present for Caps had been a genuine problem. Quoting Romain directly: "This young man only plays League of Legends. He doesn't buy or want things. I can't even get him to buy a new suitcase to travel to tournaments with."
So they went the other way. Caps was offered an all-expenses-paid trip to the Riot Games campus in Los Angeles — a place he has somehow never set foot in — with private AMAs and meetings with the developers who have shaped the game he has been playing for half of his life. A full Hall of Legends-branded travel set was thrown in, suitcase included. Message received.
"I love experiences," Caps said.
This is the game I've played like half of my life at this point, so getting to meet all the people behind the scenes is always fun.
Facing the press, Caps was asked what he still needs, and the answer never wavered: Worlds. "My mind is definitely always on the Worlds trophy. That has been a dream of mine ever since Season 3 Worlds. Hopefully this is the year — and I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied with it either."
On joining Faker in the HoL: "Faker and Uzi were two of the players I looked up to the most. Getting to compete against them was already a massive honour. Now joining them, I'm not even sure what to say." His favourite memory remains MSI 2019, "finally being on top of the world."
And when asked what he would want to be remembered for if you stripped away every trophy: "Someone who just enjoyed it and had fun, and someone who kept fighting even when the odds were stacked against us. It's all about the joy — otherwise the days get very, very long."
He closed with a thank you to Riot, to his family, and to the fans:
It's been an amazing 10 years to be here and compete, and you guys are what makes it amazing.
The full G2 roster and staff were then invited on stage for a group photo. Caps signed a framed jersey, then pressed his hands into a mould that will immortalise him in stone as a Hall of Legends member — twice, in fact, the production team asking for a spare.
One group was missing, though. No player from another active organisation — and no LEC pro — was in the room. For a ceremony honouring the greatest player Europe has ever produced, it felt like a bit of a shame.
The two champions that will carry Caps' Hall of Legends skins have not been officially revealed. A Riot update pushed out by accident, however, leaked the campaign's assets: a Tristana sculpture and artwork of Caps performing his iconic "claps" celebration on the center of the mid lane. The Rift itself will be redecorated in his image.
That, along with the documentary, arrives on 10 September. Which leaves Caps with a more pressing job in the meantime: a suitcase to finally replace, and a Worlds ticket to go and win.
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