Welcome to the first ever LEC preview!
We here at Gromp News will go through each team in the newly branded League of Legends European Championship, providing you, the readers, with a slightly In-Depth look into the starting rosters and coaching changes of the wildest offseason to date!
First up… it’s Rogue!
The team is one of the three new members in Europe’s franchise system and with backers like Steve Aoki and Imagine Dragons, they will certainly want to start the season with a bang. So, let’s see how they line-up and discuss what we can expect from them in the upcoming LEC season.
A dynamic duo returns… and not the one you think.
When roster-mania occurred in the LEC many teams had already begun signing starting players to line up for their sides. However, Rogue went a different route. After teasing an EU legend would return many were shocked to see Edward as the first ever announcement in their LEC history. This time though, Edward would not be returning to Europe as a player, but as an assistant coach.
Then began the speculation on who would be heading up this completely unknown roster. Given the Roccat influence rumored (and correctly confirmed) within the org, it would see ROCCAT’s former head coach Fredy122 reunite with Edward back since their playing days at… you guessed it. Roccat.
In all seriousness though, this is a decent move for Rogue. Bringing in two well-known names in the European scene is a great way of putting eyes on your brand. Edward is taking on a completely different challenge by taking a back seat and teaching his team as opposed to trying to carry his team. This may prove difficult at first, but with Fredy122 by his side, the duo should prove to be successful in getting their views across to the team. Now enough about the coaching additions let’s move on to the full announced Rogue roster. Can you guess were some of the players have arrived from?
Rogue—cat?
Top Lane: Profit
Jungle: Kikis
Mid Lane: Sencux
ADC: HeaQ
Support: Wadid
Okay, let’s get the obvious news out of the way. It seems that Fredy122 has gone with what he is comfortable with and taken HeaQ and Profit with him from ROCCAT to Rogue. Fredy will already have a solid understanding of how these two corporate in a team and, personally, they have taken two of the better players from ROCCAT’s previous line-up. It’s starting to become apparent that wherever HeaQ goes, Profit follows as the pair are now on their third team after previously being involved with Ninjas in Pyjamas. The major concern with these two players is that they have yet to be given the tools to succeed in Europe. Whether that be behind the scenes or in the team, these two never seem to show their true mechanical potential that both have shown in the past separately. With yet another roster built around these two, let’s hope it’s third times a charm for the players who see themselves as playoff contenders.
However, HeaQ and Profit aren’t the only players to go from blue to… different blues. In fact, it is only Sencux who has never played for ROCCAT in his entire League career (Kikis played as a substitute jungler for ROCCAT in 2014, trust me I’m not lying).
Wadid made his name whilst at ROCCAT in 2017 securing him a move to G2 later that year. He was also apart of one of the best bot lane duo’s in the then EU LCS last season. Many would consider Wadid’s arrival to Rogue as a massive shock given the success he had at G2 whilst at Worlds. However, with G2’s shift to put PerkZ in the bot lane, it left Hjarnan and Wadid is a slightly peculiar situation. A situation that Rogue capitalised on perfectly. They arguably have a top three support in their roster who has very good communication skills despite him being from Korea. While it’s disappointing not seeing him with the Heimerdinger master himself, it will be interesting to see if he has the synergy with HeaQ. Overall the acquisition of Wadid can be nothing but beneficial to Rogue, a solid support who has proven himself at the very top of the European ladder.
Much like Wadid, may people may look at Kikis’ announcement and scratch their head as to why he was a free agent to begin with. The jungler, in many peoples eyes, single-handily sent Vitality to Worlds this year, where they narrowly missed out of progressing through to the knockouts. But, circumstances changed at Vitality and yet again Rogue crept up behind every other org to claim the hyper carry jungler. Every team needs a carry and Kikis has proven time and time again that when the meta is right he can perform with the very best in the west. It’s hard to have any negatives over this move apart from a risk in terms of lack of cohesion. However, in a split where everything is changing for the majority of the teams. Cohesion isn’t too big of an issue right now. HeaQ and Profit’s conservative style compliments Kikis’ offensive play in a way that allows the jungler to pop-off all around the map while also helping there midlaner, Sencux. Overall there were not many better junglers which a new organisation could get, especially without using an import spot. Well done Rogue.
Finally, we get to Sencux. This is seen as a split decision by a lot of the community and quite frankly we at Gromp News don’t quite understand it. Now before everybody slates this article, let’s state the fact that he is not the best midlaner in Europe and he had a disappointing season for Misfits on a personal front. However, the guys quality cannot be ignored. While the org could have gone the route that a lot of teams are going, find the new Caps, the team has gone for a player who has consistently been apart of a playoff side since he came into Europe’s top league. For a new organisation to pick up a player who can show them the ins and outs of a play-off side along with the highs and lows, is just as valuable as his ability on the rift. While it would have been nice to see another young up and coming rookie in the mid lane, you can understand why they have decided to go for Sencux and they must believe that he can be one of the standouts in a play-off side, not just another member to fill up a slot.
Going Rogue or going Home?
To conclude, the org has some solid players in their side that have consistently been a part of the European League of Legends scene. It seems like they have taken less of a risk than other organisations and that could pay off due to their experience and cohesion, but at the same time could backfire if other organisations have found some diamonds in the rough. The team’s success heavily depends on Sencux’s ability and also Kikis’ carry potential on another team. The side is built for stability and for a new organisation that is a wise move. Plus this side has the potential to surprise a few teams in the upcoming LEC.
Rating
Coaching: B+
Players: C+
Predicted finish: 7th or 8th
Plus I have to give a shout out to the Rogue Reddit Account, possibly one of the most active EU Reddit accounts since…. you know.
By Tom Daniels
Gromp News 