The Piltover Post

This piece is a little different than my normal interviews. Instead of a player, we climbed a little higher on the corporate ladder and got to speak with Ryan “Astronauts” Page. Many of you know him as one half of the owners that bring us Supernova, an organization that has been competing in the North American Challenger League for more than a decade. However, just like the seasons, things change and the sun has set on the CEO’s time at Supernova.

Q: What got you involved in League of Legends?

A: I started playing back in 2012, four of my good friends had started playing and they needed a support, so I started playing normal games with them (was a Blitz OTP). I didn’t really get super far into the game until my high school athletics career ended, and I needed a way to scratch my competitive itch. This outlet became League of Legends, and I haven’t looked back since.

Q: Supernova has been around as an organization for over a decade, but you didn’t become part of the organization until 2023. How did that come to be?

A: It’s a funny story actually. My brother and I had owned several small tier 3 orgs before, but it had been a while (probably 3-4 years). I was on the way to, and he was on the way from our kitchen, and we passed on the stairs, and I just asked him, “What if we bought an esports team?” and then he hit up then-Veracity CEO Riley, and we got a deal together to buy Supernova from TCombz, and the rest is history.

Q: What do you think was your biggest challenge taking over the organization?

A: Personally, it has been managing wanting to win/treat my staff and players as well as they deserve, and trying to make sure we’re responsible financially. Fortunately I am in a very privileged position to be able to compensate my players fairly, despite the company not bringing in a ton of meaningful money (as of the time of writing this). I always want to do my best to put my teams in the best position to succeed, whether that means compensating them well for playing for me, or spending more to field a competitive roster so they look better on stage, I always want what is best for the players first. So the real struggle has been balancing that internal moral responsibility, and fiscal responsibility.

Q: What is a personal struggle that you had that impacted your ability to lead the organization?

A: The hardest part for me has been being able to manage staff and players who I am close to personally. I would not say it happens all the time, but there are enough instances of my not being able to be objective due to my personal relationship with certain individuals, that it has affected my judgement and decision-making.

Q: While the organization has existed for quite some time, it has never reached tier one. Why do you think that is? What part do you think you play in that? 

A: Well, before now, there has not been a path to tier 1 from tier 2 that made sense. Trust me; if I had the opportunity to buy a slot in LCS/LTA, I would have done everything in my power to do so. But there wasn’t a clear way to do that this year, and unfortunately we couldn’t get it done this year.

Q: What are some of your biggest regrets with Supernova?

A: From 2024 and Summer 2025, I wish I had been more attentive to the team’s potential needs at the start of the split. I won’t go into detail because that’s between myself, the coaches, and the players, but there are things I could have done, steps I could have taken, that would have produced a better result. But since I know this might be on the top of everyone’s mind – I do not regret anything that has happened with our rosters related to the result, and do not have any regrets when it comes to paying my players.

Q: What do you plan on doing afterwards?

A: I am currently slated to go back into competitive MTG, or perhaps Riftbound. But I definitely want to take a break from NA League of Legends, cleanse myself a bit of it.

Q: Is someone taking your position? Who?

A: Ollie, the CEO of Knockout Brand Solutions, will be taking over for me, and I am super happy with the gameplan he has laid out for SN going into the next year.

With the self reflection that the questions in this interview brought to light, Astronauts just wanted to say: I would like to thank everyone who has supported Supernova, our players, and myself during my time here. Special shoutouts to Razvan, Cubby, and Ido for being incredibly helpful when I’ve needed advice, specifically this year. To my former players, staff, and content creators, thank you for trusting us with your brand and your time. Shirley, Skelly, Rend, and boc, thank you for being by my side during the last couple years. Finally, thank you to my co-owner and brother, Owen for making this all possible, and Brady, the best friend I could have made during my time here. I love you all, and thank you again for your help and support.