In his Own League: the In-Game and IRL Adventures of Marc “Caedrel” Lamont

Marc Robert Lamont, better known as Caedrel, is a former professional player of Riot Games’ League of Legends, and something of a legend himself. For the past decade, he’s been a major name in esports, going from being a player to a commentator, then a full-time streamer and content creator on both Twitch and YouTube.

Marc's immersion in the world of League of Legends, a hugely popular MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game, has taken him around the globe, jetting between events and tournaments held everywhere from Europe to the USA and Asia. All this travelling for work has lit a fire in him – to travel more for its own sake, and to embrace real-world adventures as Marc which rival his in-game ones as Caedrel.

Marriott Bonvoy asked Marc to share a few stories about his career in gaming, particularly about his travel experiences and plans. Here’s what he had to say.

From Spain to Seoul: Caedrel's favourite destinations

Where are your favourite places to travel to?

Caedrel enjoying a moment in South Korea – his favourite place to visit (Photo: Marc Lamont)

My favourite place in the world is Seoul, South Korea. I think the city is beautiful, the people are great, and the food is delicious. South Korea has quite a big gaming culture as well, so you can go into any building on any street and play there, which is fun.

Closer to home, I would say Spain. Valencia, the area where I grew up, is always going to have a place in my heart. I went to Alicante, Barcelona and Marbella often too when I was younger, so I think Spain is just really nostalgic for me, and it’s a chance to speak Spanish, which I don’t get to do too often any more.

What does travel mean to you?

Travel means going somewhere new I guess, exploring a destination. I don’t get to travel much these days but when I have free time, I try my best. A few months ago, I went to Indonesia, which was amazing, and in November I’ll go to Japan. Travelling is becoming more and more of a thing for me.

Can you share a memorable experience from your travels?

I’ll never forget going to New York for one of the World Championships, and our hotel in the middle of Times Square. The doors opened to reveal all of Times Square, just like in a picture. I’ll never forget leaving the building every day and seeing all the lights. New York’s amazing – it’s very picturesque!

What are some of your favourite destinations for gaming events?

I think the thing that will always stand out for the rest of my life was the 2022 League of Legends World Finals in San Francisco, which was the most important, prestigious event I’ve ever been a part of. There were twenty or twenty-five thousand people, and I was commentating. It was loud, and it was hectic, and it was on-the-nail close, until the very, very end – it was the craziest thing I have ever been a part of. I have amazing memories from that day!

Gaming on the go: travelling the world with League of Legends

What makes you happy when staying at a hotel?

Caedrel's role as an esports commentator has allowed him to visit lots of new places, including one of his favourites – Montpellier, where he is pictured here (Photo: Marc Lamont)

The breakfast! I love a really nice breakfast in a hotel – my go-to is a croissant with orange juice, or maybe scrambled eggs or cereals. I think my other favourite thing about staying in a hotel is entering a room, being hit by the fresh smell and just dropping all my luggage and laying on the bed. That feeling is special.

Has your job made you discover new destinations, and did any stand out?

My job’s taken me all around the world, to a lot of different places in Europe, South Korea, the States. I really liked San Francisco – the food was incredible. 

Montpellier was very beautiful also, with great weather. I liked Munich too. I would say those are my two standouts for Europe. I also really loved Copenhagen – it was the first city where I said, “Wow! Everyone here rides bikes!” Then I came to Berlin and I was like, “Ah. Everyone rides bikes here too!”

Caedrel was touched by the warm, generous welcome he received in Korea (Photo: Marc Lamont)

You meet many different people around the world – did any cultural habit stay with you?

I feel like having visited many countries in Asia, along with the fact that my girlfriend is Japanese, has enabled me to learn a lot about the culture specifically in countries like South Korea and Japan. I feel that their politeness is genuine: people are very tidy and respectful, and I appreciate that a lot and try to practise that part of their culture in my day-to-day life.

How do you connect with your community while you’re travelling, and have you had any memorable interactions?

I’ve run into quite a lot of fans travelling, randomly at train stations or airports. Most of the time I like to just drop tweets or pictures when I’m travelling. Sometimes I use Instagram – I’m very bad at it though… Twitter (X) is normally where I go to update fans. 

The custom I found in Asian countries, when they meet someone they appreciate or look up to – a celebrity perhaps, in their eyes – is that they like to give them gifts. In Korea I ended up with a suitcase of gifts – chocolates, different types of food, little statues and music boxes. I remember thinking, “This is the nicest place ever! These people are so kind”. 

Do you use gaming to unwind while travelling?

I like to play a couple of games on the road, but actually, I like to read. My e-reader is like my best friend now. I love reading fantasy books about adventure, so every time I travel I make sure I have at least five to six hours of reading ready in case there’s some downtime. I think my e-reader is where my heart resides while travelling!

What can you not travel without?

Apart from my e-reader? My phone, passport, wallet… And my glasses! I wouldn’t be able to see, so I’d probably end up on the other side of the world! I’m pretty easygoing as a traveller. I can sleep anywhere.

I get on a plane, and I’m just, click, gone, so that’s quite handy. I don’t have any travel necessities – I just pack my clothes, and maybe my gaming laptop in case I need to stream. Otherwise, just give me my glasses and some clothes and I’ll go anywhere.

When you’re travelling, what gaming essentials do you pack?

The mouse is most important! If you’re going to play games and be even slightly competitive, the mouse is everything. It might sound crazy, but if the mouse is different, it can throw off your aim. The mouse is almost like your tennis racket. You feel comfortable when you get used to one – you change mouse, you just feel like everything's wrong! So I keep my wireless mouse with me in case I need it for a competition.

How do you collect your travel memories?

I’m very bad at taking photos. I like to just remember, which might sound weird. When I'm in a moment that I'm really enjoying, I try to tell myself “Don't forget this moment!” and I just store the visual memory in my head. I'm not very good at taking photos. I should be a lot better. That's why I'm bad at Instagram, because I'm very bad at the whole selfie thing.

Rather than snapping lots of photos when exploring a new place, Caedrel tries to stay in the moment (Photo: Marc Lamont)

 

Quickfire Q&A: League of Legends and travel

 

In each team there are five player roles with different responsibilities. Can you match a destination to each one?

So the Jungler is the guy who is trying to keep everyone afloat, juggling everything. Let’s go off the name and put them in like the Brazilian rainforest or somewhere like that! The Mid-laner and AD (Attack Damage) Carry are kind of the most important part – they’re really in the action, so I would say they could be New York and London, very busy places like that.

For the Top Laner, they’re kind of doing their own thing in their own world. I guess they’re quite remote, so somewhere like the Seychelles, just chilling all the way over there. Supports I would say are in tax havens or something, because they don't really need anything, they're just very self sufficient! So we'll go with Switzerland for them.

If you could bring one item from the game to real life on your travels, what would it be?

There’s an item in the game called an hourglass. When you press the button, your character freezes for two seconds. So I guess I would bring that because you shine golden – it's like a golden freeze. I could pretend to be like a golden statue every now and then. 

If there’s a destination that could be incorporated into the map of the game, what would you suggest?

You know where they filmed the Lord of the Rings in the hobbit houses, in New Zealand? Let's do that! Let's have the highlands, New Zealand kind of vibe – very mountainous and grassy, with lots of open terrain.

Which player would you want to travel with?

Caps, I would travel with him. He's very clumsy, he always gets lost! And I feel like we'd end up in very funny situations. 

Between Jax and Neeko, who would be a better travel companion? 

Neeko is a character that can transform into objects. So she could turn into a chair, and you wouldn't know. She could turn into a car or something, and then we could drive around – the world's my oyster!

Marc has explored lots of new activities and acquired some fun new abilities during his 'IRL' travel adventures (Photo: Marc Lamont)

 

Which of Neeko’s abilities would you want to have for travelling?

Neeko can split into two, to make a copy of herself. I’d choose this, in case I have any work meetings, so I could just send a clone and then lay on the beach…

And all the teleporting spells – just give me those! I'd be anywhere I want in seconds. I could finish a shoot on the beach, go from the beach to a meeting, the meeting to London, then from London to New York. It sounds like fun!

 

Published: October 07, 2024

Last Updated: February 19, 2025