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Getting into casting at just 15 years old, Danish talent Andreas ‘Duckling’ Gents is one of the youngest talents in EMEA League of Legends esports. But what he might lack in experience he makes up for through hard work, passion and a love for the game. In fact, he’s doing more than most, juggling his studies while running a team in the Danish league, working for a Leicester City fan channel and now casting in the 2025 NLC. He once spent one whole summer vacation flying back and forth to Berlin to guest in the NLC, which left him drained at the start of his next school year, but it was worth it, he tells Dom Sacco, in this interview on his background and an exciting year ahead.
Hi Duckling! Thanks for joining me today. How’s it going?
Thanks for having me. It’s going well, I’m enjoying my time here, you know, getting back into the swing of things with the NLC and having my first exam period of uni has certainly led to a chaotic start to the year! But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it and the atmosphere around the NLC is better than I’ve ever experienced, so I’m enjoying every minute of it.
It’s so exciting. We’ve got a great NLC 2025 broadcast talent line-up, Jamada and Trouble are back and we have a real mix of experience. I noticed when I linked to previous talent interviews I’d conducted, I didn’t have interviews with you and Solari, and I wanted to rectify that. So it’s good to talk to you now. What a line-up and what a start to the NLC in 2025 with record viewership.
I think it’s brilliant, we’re getting some eyes on the scene now to a degree that we have never seen before, which is really nice.
I think as well it’s breathing fresh life and motivation into every single part of the NLC. The environment cultivated behind the scene is really one of motivation and drive, not just for us talent but for the production as well – everyone associated with it. Those I’ve talked to in any chain of this product are really working day and night to make sure we put the best end product out there.
It feels really good to see these new viewers come in, not just to watch Caedrel. I did notice a surprisingly large amount stick around for the rest of the day after Los Ratones played to check out the rest of the competition. They were asking questions in chat about the players and it feels really nice to have Caedrel and IWillDominate/The Ruddy Sack point more eyes in our direction.
So it’s really good to get all these new viewers in and I’m happy to see them not just turn up for their own team, but also in seeing how the rest of the teams are, and learning more about the league as a whole.
“As the youngest guy on the NLC team at 21, one of my big things is the natural excitement I have, I want to see every team succeed. Trouble mentioned it’s important not to overhype everything, because if everything is hyped 100%, nothing is hype. I think that’s a very good point, but just know deep down even if I try to hide it, I I’m secretly cheering for every single team to perform or outperform the expectations laid out for them!”
Duckling
Yeah, it’s creating a knock-on effect. Verdant founder Sami said that they had around 650,000 viewers last week, which is amazing for a grassroots UK esports organisation. I also feel like the UK and Nordics feel more together now, the teams feel more unified.
I think people have realised how big of an opportunity this is, so everyone wants to make the most of it, and wants to make sure that whatever we put out there is the best and I think that goes for everyone associated with the league.
I think that has led to more togetherness, because you know we’re all in this to make the league grow at the end of the day and for each team to see themselves succeed.
But seeing the league succeed as well is often a part of that, so I think there’s good unity right now and it’s really good to see this high spirit in and around the NLC.
If we go back then Duckling, I’d love to hear about your background. You were the youngest caster on the EMEA Masters in 2022 at 18 years old, and started out as a social media manager at Tricked.
Yeah. I actually started casting at a local CSGO tournament LAN, and really found it fun. Then I found something called Square One, as you might remember from back in the day. I found them just when they started out and I actually cast their first ever final along with Trajan when I was 15 and having voice cracks and all this!
That then led me to covering the Danish scene, which I’m very happy I did for a few years until I got my big break in 2021, where Guldborg picked me up as his duo for the Danish league and really showed me the ropes, the structure and style and the technical things needed to be a commentator at a higher level.
That all led into 2022 when I got my NLC Division 2 debut and then I somehow snuck my way into EU Masters without having ever covered an ERL, which I think is probably also the first time that has happened, unless maybe you count another big league like the LPL or whatever.
So that was a breakout year. Then most of the summer I was guesting in the NLC, going to and from Berlin with the wonderful people, Jamada, Troubleinc, Archarom etc, all these guys were very welcoming to me. I’m very happy to get to work with some of them again now.
So were you more of a Counter-Strike person than League of Legends?
Nah, I mean I’ve played League since I was nine, but I’m Danish as well so Counter Strike is in Denmark’s DNA. I watched a lot of Astralis when they were reigning the world. Even my dad did back then – it was something that really got esports into the mainstream in Denmark.
I could go to my grandparents and when I talk to them, even about my League of Legends thing, they would always ask about Astralis, so of course I kept an eye on how they were doing. And I find Counter-Strike to be a fun esport to watch – I have some few friends in Denmark to go to events with.
So I like Counter-Strike, but League is my game. I love League of Legends.
That’s interesting you’ve been playing it since nine, because my oldest boy is eight and he really wants to play it more, but maybe when he’s a little older. He’s played the training a little bit. What advice would you give to him? What were the sort of challenges when you first started playing League?
I mean it’s so long ago, I remember losing a lot! I had the most fun when I played at the beginning with my friends. I had a friend who really wanted me to get into it, so I played with them and that always made the experience fun, because even if I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, I was having them carry me, guiding me and showing me the ropes. And I think specifically nowadays you need that.
The learning curve is even steeper than what I went through 10 years ago. So I think you need someone who will bear with your shortcomings at the beginning, and do the hard work while you just learn the ropes and accommodate for your lack of skill when you’ve just started out.
I’ll take that on board, thanks. You’re 21 now and you’ve been juggling your NLC casting work with exams. That must be a challenge.
Yeah, I mean I’m someone who can work very intensely but obviously you can’t do that forever, so during these first few weeks of the year, I spent one part of the day really focused on exams, and the other part of the day focused on prepping for the NLC.
I felt a huge responsibility, not just to make sure we focused on the big dogs coming in but I wanted to make sure we also did justice to every other existing organisation in the NLC. And I think we’ve really hit the nail on the head for that right now.
I’ve spent the time making presentations on every single team for us all to have the same foundation and understanding of each and every organisation’s story – how they developed, how they’ve changed, what they’ve achieved throughout their lifetime, and I think that’s crucial in us being able to tell the correct stories about the teams.
Going from covering the teams we’ve had in recent years to these bigger names coming in like Perkz and Jankos and IWillDominate on The Ruddy Sack, we’ve got Caedrel who has brought a lot of these massive names in like Rekkles, and he’s getting these big views.
‘I think people are sleeping on Rich Gang. I think they have a roster with some players who have a very high ceiling, alongside some experienced talent who don’t waver in the face of big names. They are able to just play it like it was any other game. So they would be my favourites to be the dark horse.’
Duckling
What’s that like as a caster, do you feel more pressure, or excitement, or both?
There is clearly more excitement about these big teams, I think it’s a huge thing for me, for example with the Los Ratones roster, with Nemesis and Rekkles. Growing up as a huge Fnatic fan, I’ve been that for 10 years, going to fan meets and meeting them and obviously I have huge respect for what Perkz and Jankos have achieved in the European space, they’re both absolute legends.
So it is exciting, but I do also feel like over the course of these years with some of the players we have in our own scene, you grow a fondness towards them.Then your little local talents, you also want to make sure they get the platform to see if they can step up and play against these world class players.
I couldn’t interview you and not ask you about your predictions for NLC’s Winter 2025 season and how the teams will do, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on that.
I posted a tier list on Twitter and so far that has remained largely true.
I want to say there were a lot of teams with a lot of unknown variables, which was hard to account for, but I think I put Los Ratones and Nord as my two favourites. I think they have the most solidity for now.
I think The Ruddy Sack can be a bit up and down like we saw in week one, it’s hard to account for YamatoCannon stepping in, and that changes things. They did look miles better with LIDER in the team as he dominated that game against Kaos, so I do think Ruddy can challenge.
I think the wild cards in my eyes would be Rich Gang – I think people were sleeping on them and I think they have a roster with some players who have a very high ceiling, alongside some experienced talent who don’t waver in the face of these big names. They are able to just play it like it was any other game. So they would be my favourites to be the dark horse.
Just below that, I think DMG have the potential, they looked good in week one, that rookie was the variable for me. And then Verdant, again big names with Ronaldo and noname, but my question mark was: are they able to deliver? noname seems to be back at his best after a disappointing 2024, so I mean there are a lot of teams and I think even the teams below can surprise. Just take a look at Bulldog right now, I’m really excited for Exofeng, he does look to be a real prospect mechanically speaking, although their games have been a bit up and down so far.
What do you think of the nationality split of players this season? We have three UK players in Kasing, xMatty and noname, plus Irish player hybradge. And Denmark and Sweden have the highest percentage of players with 16% each, according to Liquipedia’s 2025 Winter NLC page.
We don’t have a Danish org in the league, right, so we have to be represented somewhere else, and that comes through our talent.
Just looking at the Danish league this year, it’s really taking a step up in level as well, having a team down there myself competing, it’s certainly a much more rough landscape than it was last year, so I think it is a good mix.
There’s a lot of Norwegian talent too, as you can see on Rich Gang, Swedish talent as well in Lofti from Venomcrest and more.
I don’t think we’ve got any players from Finland this split. I have heard about a name called Menninkäinen from the Finnish scene, who played for DMG during the Aurora Cup I believe, so there is some talent brewing.
Tell us about 2022 – that was a big year for you with your EMEA Masters breakthrough.
Yeah, 2022 for me was a big year. At age 18 getting that breakthrough and so quickly as well. I made my NLC Div 2 debut I think in February and then to make EMEA Masters was a real experience. I think the people I was there with guided me a lot, in particular Troubleinc, who went out of her way to spend time with me reviewing and going through the games afterwards. That was something I really did appreciate.
It was also like a big learning experience for me as a person, my whole summer vacation going back and forth to Berlin was very draining, flying back and forth. And I I was very bad at the start of the school year, the next year, because I was just so drained after spending my whole summer vacation [working in esports]. And I think I learned a lot, especially about times in my career where I’ve been a bit too naive.
When you have that breakthrough at the NLC, all of a sudden, and EMEA Masters, you really get that urge to just do more and more. And I think I did some of that too quickly you could say, and I’ve certainly made some mistakes that year as well that I’ve learned from. But at the end of the day it has led to this year, which is a year that I really want to take off.
I think in the past few years, some might think I could have fallen off or whatever, since I haven’t been on the EMEA Masters, I still think I’ve seen a steady growth, but it’s not like I look back on the past two years being ultimately satisfied with what I’ve done. Not just from what I’ve casted but with the level I’ve performed.
As I mentioned earlier, the environment this year in the NLC feels different, not just from the teams, but also behind the scenes I feel like there’s an environment that cultivates growth. Archarom has really taken a more leading role in providing the foundation and structure for us to move forward, and I was already excited for this year coming in to 2025 feeling like I’d built a good foundation for myself in 2024.
Then I spent most of the offseason guesting on a Leicester City fan channel called Blue Tinted Glasses, as I’m a big Leicester fan.
I also really want to get into more desking, as I think it’s something I’d happily do. I think I’ve really found a respect for what the desk provides, I’ve really taken a liking to it and I think my first week of desking a show, while there’s still much to improve on as I am not an analyst, I’m a play-by-play, I want to do more desking work in the future. I think casters like Initialise and Medic are able seamlessly switch between those roles, but I’d like to be one of those who has both of those roles in my locker too.
‘At the age of 18, getting that breakthrough in 2022… I made my NLC Div 2 debut and then to make EMEA Masters was a real experience. It was also like a big learning experience for me as a person, my whole summer vacation flying back and forth to Berlin was very draining. And I I was very bad at the start of the next school year, because I was just so drained. I learned a lot, especially about times in my career where I’ve been a bit too naive.’
Duckling
So you’re a Leicester fan then, what got you into them?
Around the time they won the Premier League title, I was at an age where you obviously know about the UK and the Premier League through FIFA, but that was pretty much it.
I really found an identity in Leicester in that ambition to punch above your weight as an underdog, even if you maybe aren’t the favourite. I thought I felt that a bit when I was younger and casting at my age where I would be seen as unproven. And then some of the personalities as well obviously, like Jamie Vardy, with his elite level shithousery. And Kasper Schmeichel, the Danish goalkeeper and a stable force.
Vardy is the goat of the club, I think they’ve just made a new collection of clothes featuring him. When I watch my Danish club FC Copenhagen (FC København), who I grew up watching with my dad, your best talent will always go abroad, so you have to enjoy them while you have them. And while I think in England that often still remains true, as their philosophy is selling one big asset every year to reinvest it, it’s rare we get to see a player like Jamie Vardy who sticks around for his whole career, especially nowadays, turning down these big offers in the modern day game is is very rare. And I think outside of just the fact he scored 142 Premier League goals as a Leicester player. The loyalty he has shown in the modern era is not often matched, and I think that’s what made him a legend.
So I’ve stuck with Leicester, it’s been very up and down. I was actually at Leicester last year to watch them play against Plymouth Argyle in the Championship. I ended up getting interviewed for the BBC Leicester radio station, that was crazy, they wrote a whole article about it: ‘Danish football fan’s dream to watch Leicester City realised’.
Then during the offseason, I wanted a way to keep improving and working on my desking, so I found that channel and once they had me on once they kept inviting me back because they liked what I had to say, now I’m a regular member on the Blue Tinted Glasses for Leicester City.
Now, is it true you have your own League of Legends team in the Danish league?
Yeah, I have my own little League team in the Danish first division called E-Ducks.
I’ll make it very clear, casting is my bread and butter, that’s always what I’ll be doing so I will always prioritise casting.
For a long time I’ve been a big Football Manager player, it would be fun to have your own team. I can’t quite do that in football, but last summer, the former Ruddy manager Gifte reached out and we discussed it. She has the skillset to make it a possibility, so we got a team in the second division.
We lost in the semi-finals 2-1 so didn’t get promoted unfortunately, but luckily with the whole ecosystem changing, some teams were dropping out and a spot opened up that we were able to get our hands on. So far we are 1-1 this season, I think we have a roster with a very high skill ceiling, including players like the guy you’ll know is a former NLC finalist – Erolle – he’s the mid laner of the team.
Alongside that we’ve got some very promising talent, but more unproven you could say. I think they have a very high ceiling and there is still much growing to be done. There are some growing pains, but I have faith in them that they’ll improve and hopefully make Denmark proud, because it has been a long time since there’s been a Danish organisation to be proud of, you could say. And if it leads to potentially getting into the NLC or whatever, and what the rules may be, such as selling the spot, that’s something I’ll take as it comes, but for now I’m just enjoying the experience and I’m learning a lot from it as well.
Being in more of a CEO position making these more broader decisions, I’m really enjoying that, as I have also just finished a semester where I did study organisational theory, and applying my theory to practice.
I will make it very clear – casting is my number one priority, so even getting my own team in the NLC wouldn’t change that.
Sounds exciting – good luck with the team. So you’re known as Duckling, but as you grow older would you change your name to Duck?
I’ve had that question a lot of times and I think maybe now, as well with a new audience tuning into the NLC, you see player names that are rarely grown-up, because the players are still rooted in the gamer tags from the good old days.
So I don’t think so, to be honest, unless it really becomes weird. I mean I saw someone in IWillDominate’s chat when I made a point about Ruddy, saying, ‘yeah this this guy’s name is Duckling’, he’s clearly an industry plant!’
I guess I have a Disney Channel name or something! But it’s all in good fun, I like Duckling, it’s a part of me now. I think more people have started to call me just Duck and they are welcome to do that, but changing it to Duck wouldn’t feel right and I don’t know what else I would change it to, so it’s sticking around until I potentially find something better. But it has huge sentimental value.
It’s very much become part of my brand, of my personality, so I’m enjoying it. It also allows me to still have youthful excitement, as I mean I’m feeling old but I’m still the youngest guy on the NLC team if I recall correctly at 21.
One of my big things is the natural excitement I have, I want to see every team succeed. You grow fond of them when you look into them and prepare for their matches. And I think it’s actually something Trouble and I talked about in the green while watching the games last week. She did mention obviously it’s important not to overhype everything, because if everything is hyped 100%, nothing is hyped. I think that’s a very good point, but just know deep down even if I try to hide it, I I’m secretly cheering for every single team to perform or outperform the expectations laid out for them! As I definitely grow a connection with them.
I can say through just prepping for them, you get an understanding of the players and as we see them more during the interviews on the NLC, you really want to see all of them succeed, even though obviously eventually someone will have to draw the short end of the deal.
Thanks for the great chat, Duckling. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I got into casting when I was just 15 years old and I’ve worked with Leagues.gg/Leagues Media ever since. For a period of time I did a bit of social media content for them, I covered some of the Counter-Strike tournaments when they had that and helped them out.
At the end of the day, there have been so many questions about the organisers in the NLC in the past, with changing organisers and Freaks4U leaving the league, it took someone to pick it all back up and reassemble the pieces.
I’m personally very confident in the direction the league is taking and there is no other organisation that I would have behind it running it than Leagues Media, because I mean knowing the individuals in there, knowing their passion and even just before they got the rights to the NLC, when I talked with them it was very clear they had ambitions and passions for for where the league and our ERL would be heading. And I think we are starting to see more of that implemented with the changes coming in in 2026, the events etc, I am very happy with the direction they’re heading in. And I hope people are excited as well.
People who I trust very much are now behind the wheel, which, as someone working on the product, gives you the ability to just focus on your work and not be worried too much about what’s going on in the upper floors of the hierarchy.
I second that, they’ve been helpful to me and seem to be doing a great job. Good luck to League Media in the future. Duckling, thank you for your time and all the best for this season.
Thank you.
Related article: “NLC games might even offer more excitement than some LEC games” – caster Solari previews the Winter 2025 season
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.
