The rumours were true – one of the best pairings in UK League of Legends are back together again.
British jungler Nubar “Maxlore” Sarafian (right) has joined EU LCS team Misfits, and in doing so reunites with top-laner and fellow Brit Barney “Alphari” Morris (left).
The pair previously played together with Team Infused, who went undefeated during the ESL UK and Ireland Premiership summer 2015 split.
Maxlore replaces South Korean jungler Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon, whom Misfits have let go following communication problems.
“Despite his fantastic individual performance, KaKAO had trouble contributing to communication,” Misfits said in a statement.
“While the staff and him tried their hardest to improve his English and in-game communication, it was not improving fast enough and we foresaw this problem continuing in the Summer Split. This meant we had to part ways with KaKAO. This decision was not made lightly, but we believe it is a change that will help us fulfill our goals and meet the fans’ expectations.”
“Nubar shares a desire with Misfits to make the push to qualify for Worlds and we are looking forward to accommodating that.”
InnerFlame, Misfits
Misfits secured a top-four finish in the EU LCS spring split playoffs, but the org said they ‘failed to meet the expectations’. They say that their goal is to make it to Worlds.
General manager InnerFlame added: “Maxlore performed highly in the latter half of last split with strong performances against the strongest teams in EU LCS.
“Nubar shares a desire with Misfits to make the push to qualify for Worlds and we are looking forward to accommodating that.”
Maxlore, whom Misfits describe as a ‘fantastic European talent’, commented: “I’m really happy with the opportunity Misfits has given me. I’m really excited to play with my new teammates and I’m confident that we can make it far. I’ll do my best to achieve both my goals and the goals of Misfits.”
Maxlore has played for Roccat since the start of this year.
Alphari also played with the Renegades Banditos in the UK scene, before they found new owners and rebranded to Misfits. After winning the ESL UK & Ireland Premiership, they then progressed to the EU Challenger Series and qualified for the EU LCS in one go.
We can’t wait to see Maxphari (sorry) back in action in the LCS summer split.
For old time’s sake, here’s an old interview of the duo from when they were playing in the UK scene:
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
