League of Legends is one of the biggest games in the world and has been for quite a few years. For many it is entertainment, for others, it is a profession, but for one person, it was a lifesaver. Nick “LS” De Cesare is a name that most people in LoL would be familiar with, and that is one big community. Today, he is considered one of the brightest minds in the game. Apart from coaching professional teams, LS is also a caster and a content creator. However, the struggles and hardships that he endured, especially during his adolescence, is nothing short of heartbreaking. But he fought through the atrocity in life to achieve success. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more apt example of a “rags-to-riches” story in eSports, let alone LoL.

LongShadow’s haunting mistake

While his story begins much earlier, we will start off with the first, most impactful incident of LS’ life as a budding gamer.

LS was a huge StarCraft fan as a kid; it was all he cared about. As a 12-year-old kid hoping to be noticed, he did something that has haunted him ever since.  Back in 2007, LS made the poor decision to cheat in order to get noticed by certain players. His thought process was simple; beat these players to befriend them and then play with them regularly, and honestly, to get better. While that sounds rather dishonest, do not forget he was merely 12 at the time.

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Having been caught cheating, the TeamLiquid community banned him.

The TeamLiquid forum was more or less the hub for the western Starcraft scene, which meant LS instantly became radioactive. Banning him was perhaps the best way to declare cheating would not be tolerated. However, it did not stop there. LS was treated in such a vile manner by the members of the hub that even to this day he remembers it quite well.

His problems did not stop there, though. Away from the gaming world, LS was struggling in real life too. He was struggling to find a place to live. That is something most of us cannot even imagine as adults, let alone as teenagers. But more on that some other day.

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To Korea

After years of turmoil and the cloud of uncertainty hanging over him, LS flew out to Korea in hopes of bettering his life. This was at just 18 years of age. Think of the despair an 18-year-old must have gone through to just pack-up and leave for the other half of the planet, just in hopes of finding something better in life.

In Korea, he lived at the MVP gaming house with many other gamers. The next two years were spent trying to cope with this huge change in his life; he was depressed and lonely, with no one to truly connect to. He had next to no money and he could not speak the country’s language. While he landed a few coaching jobs here and there in Starcraft, he was still maligned for his cheating from years ago.

The situation only got worse as he was forced to leave the house and had very little money to sustain him. In desperation, he turned to poker. Fortunately, his gamble paid off and he managed to multiply his money somewhat. He could at least rent a tiny room for himself with his winnings. But the money wasn’t going to last long and soon he was back to living off scraps and hunting for some source of income.

League of Legends to the rescue

LastShadow’s former housemate from MVP was struck by his poor condition when they met once after that. He offered LS a chance to return to the gaming house. There was a fear that the members of the house would veto this move seeing as LS was gay, which was something not widely accepted as it is today. However, they accepted him

While he did eventually get a chance to compete on a big stage in Starcraft, he failed to impress. As fortune would have it though, this is where his life turned for the better. One of his closest friends, Imp (a future LoL world champion), turned him towards League of Legends.

Realizing he had a deep and well-rounded understanding of League of Legends, LS started to offer coaching lessons. While it started with his viewers, his comprehensive coaching soon caught the attention of professional players as well.

One team, Supa Hot Crew, hired LS and went from relegation in the ULCS to the play-offs.

After a slew of success with many other professional teams, LS also mad this debut as a caster in 2016. He was a caster at the 2016 League of Legends World Championships.

Redemption through League of Legends

His multi-faceted talents in League of Legends were obvious at this point. His passion, intellect, and understanding of the game were unmatched. He found huge success even as a streamer, commanding a huge following. Not surprising looking at how truly informative his broadcasts are.

Even today, he s not loved by everyone. In fact, he is often the target of hate on social media because of his honestly brutal opinions, which he does not hesitate to voice. Even today, his cheating incidents from years ago are often brought up to taunt and hurt him.

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You won’t have to look long to find hordes of people who simply hate him. Many don’t appreciate his demeanor or his methods. However, most professionals in League of Legends will profess a deep respect for the man.

All we can say is, genius often comes in outlandish packages. LS has made mistakes in his life and he is more than happy to own up to them, but he has since truly seen from the ashes and made a name for himself. You cannot help but admire the man; his knowledge of League of Legends, his offbeat charm, and intelligence. But more than anything, you just have to love his fighting spirit and determination in life.