According to sources close to Sheep Esports, midlaner Jonathan "Backlund" Bäcklund has reached a verbal agreement with GameWard (GW) and will be making his comeback in the LFL next season. GameWard also made an offer to Tautvydas “Toffe” Gegeckas, who eventually joined BDS Academy, as previously reported by Sheep Esports. The 2025 mid/jungle duo is now secured for the Boulogne-Billancourt organization, with Valentin "Stormax" Garnier already reported.

An experienced leader

At 24, Backlund can now be considered a veteran in the ERLs. The midlaner, well-known for his Yasuo, already won the LFL, in Spring 2023 with LDLC OL and has played competitively since 2018. At the time, and until the end of 2019, he played for mid-table teams in Wildcard leagues such as the LCL and the TCL. After a short spell in the Superliga, Backlund made his debut in the LFL with IziDream for Summer 2020 where he finished fifth for his first split with the team, and eighth in the second.

Backlund bounced back in the NLC, in 2022, giving his career a new lease of life with Dusty. The team finished third in the Spring and evolved to win the Summer split, even reaching the European Masters’ quarter-finals and competing toe-to-toe with the LFL back-to-back champions at the time: LDLC OL (2-3). So much so that the French team has even recruited Backlund to start the 2023 season.

A stellar 2023 Spring with LDLC

In the LFL, they were nearly unmatched in Spring, losing only seven games all split — out of 24 — and lifting the trophy in the end. While the Foxes collapsed for their last season in the league, in Summer (9th place), Backlund bounced back again with Dark Passage in the TCL this summer by finishing second and even reached the EMEA Masters’ last 16 (0-3 against Team GO).

On the other hand, GameWard failed to reach the EMEA Masters main stage this year. With an eighth-place finish in the LFL Spring Split, the team was not off to a good start despite lower expectations than most of the league’s teams. Still, GW got back on their feet for Summer, with a qualification on the edge for EMEA Masters’ LCQ. GameWard were the only team from the LFL that failed to qualify for the Swiss Stage, with a 1-2 loss against Movistar KOI. With the French league being stronger than ever, and the addition of a former LFL champion, it will be interesting to see if the organization can reach new heights in 2025.

GameWard’s reported 2025 roster:

Top: ?
Jungle: Valentin "Stormax" Garnier
Mid: Jonathan "Backlund" Bäcklund
ADC: Matias “Matias” Manchin-Opheltes
Support: Théo “HONOR” Magania

For more roster changes, check out our Transfers Hub.