One for the Underdogs as Rogue Finally Wins the LEC
Every sporting discipline of gaming tournament has that one team that everyone agrees is great, but by some twist of fate, it has never won any significant silverware. In the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), Rouge was that team.
Rogue is a brilliant group of young players that counts Odoamne, an LoL veteran and fantastic player as one of its team members. However, despite his obvious talents and the incredible support unit that he has, Odoamne was yet to taste ultimate victory in the LEC.
Before reading, you might want to learn about what competition Rogue had to overcome as this years has been one of the most stacked years of the LEC, where on paper most teams could have been contenders for the trophy!
That is until one amazing Sunday, on the11th of September, 2022 when everything changed.
It Took Three Attempts but They Got It!
Over the years, Rogue has always played well in the LEC but for some reason has always been defeated by the tournament’s eventual winners. This was their third appearance in the final, with their veteran player Odoamne having played in this tournament for seven years.
However, the third time was really the charm in this case, with Rogue digging deep to overcome a very resilient and talented G2 team, the reigning champions who surprised everyone when they smashed the LEC last season. That magical night in Sweden will forever remain in the hearts of Rogue fans around the world.
Winning the LEC Wasn’t Smooth Sailing
In typical Rogue fashion, the team certainly didn’t make things easy for themselves in this year’s LEC tournament. Arriving on the back of a fairly decent league run that saw them rack up 11 wins and seven losses, no one would have backed Rouge for the title.
Rogue went into the tournament with a fresh-faced team of players, including Markos "Comp" Stamkopoulos and Kim "Malrang" Geun-Seong, a former DAMWON KIA substitute jungler.
At first, the addition of the new players did not seem to be the best solution for Rogue, as they struggled to a narrow victory over the MAD Lions before being outclassed by eventual runners-up G2.
The result of this painful defeat was that the only way to the championship was by defeating Fnatic, one of the powerhouses of Europe. After such as dismal showing against G2, no one really expected the clash to end in any other way but with a resounding victory for Fnatic.
However, the LEC world was in for one of the upsets of the tournament after Odoamne managed to rally his troops and launch a massive assault that would eventually see them taking down Fnatic in a memorable 3-1 victory.
The victory earned Rogue a rematch with G2, and this time the underdogs came prepared. Drafting Comp and Malrang proved to be a great decision after all as the pair dealt blow after blow to the G2 side. Rouge eventually walked away as 3-0 winners and LEC champions for the first time!
In the meantime, the world renowned team, TSM has been through arguably its worst season in organizations history.
The Prize –1st Seed at the 2022 LoL World Championship
This year’s prize pool at the 2022 LEC was a cool US$79,999.68, a worthy amount for any champion. However, the chance to be1st seed in the ongoing LoL 2022 World Championship has the potential to be a lot more valuable. Only time will tell how well Rogue can make use of this advantage.
Want to learn more about professional League of Legends? Check out our article about the sensational winning streak of this year’s T1 roster!
