Sjokz announces return as LEC host
Michal Konkol/Riot GamesAfter an extended absence for the first half of the split, iconic esports host Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere will return to host the LEC for Week 5 of the Spring split.
Fans of the LEC will have noticed one of the broadcast’s most iconic voices has been notably absent so far this spring. Sjokz, who has hosted in European League of Legends since the days of the EU LCS, did not appear on the broadcast for the first four weeks of competition.
She announced at the beginning of the season that she would be taking the first week off the broadcast to deal with a personal tragedy, but that she would “evaluate afterward” as to when she would make her return.
Hi everyone, my mum’s funeral was tuesday. I‘m currently dealing with the administrative fallout of her passing, which is pretty heavy, on top of working through my grief.
The LEC has been extremely accomomodating and I won‘t be on LEC week 1 for now and will evaluate after. ❣️
— Eefje Depoortere (@sjokz) January 6, 2022
In a later tweet, she confirmed that she would return to the broadcast for Week 3, and would be appearing on a bi-weekly basis in order to allow her to continue dealing with the fallout of issues in her personal life. However, when Week 3 of the broadcast finally rolled around, Sjokz was still notably absent.
She took to Twitter to clarify that her absence was due to contract negotiations with Riot and that her team had not yet managed to find a “mutually acceptable agreement” with the LEC. The responses to the tweet were flooded with support, with fans even spamming her name in Twitch chat during the LEC broadcast for Week 4.
I will not be hosting the LEC this week. My team and I have not yet found a mutually acceptable agreement with Riot. We are hopeful we can find common ground soon so I can appear back on the show.
— Eefje Depoortere (@sjokz) January 27, 2022
However, the time for chat spam is past as on February 10 the LEC announced that Sjokz would officially be returning to the broadcast for Week 5.
It’s as yet unclear as to what her agreement with the LEC will be, and whether she will continue to follow the bi-weekly schedule set out in earlier tweets or return on a full-time basis.
She’ll arrive just in time for the start of the second round robin, and will be sharing the stage with the LEC’s regular cast alongside a rotating crew of guest casters. Previous guests have included LPL casters Robert ‘Dagda’ Price and Oisín ‘Oisín’ Molloy, and NLD/LJL color caster Alex ‘Nymaera’ Hapgood.