Photo by LoLEsports
The European League Championship Series begins in only one day, and so we take a look at this week’s game to watch, as EU’s two biggest rivals go head to head.
Tomorrow will be the grand start to EU LCS’ 6th competitive season, debuting with last year’s strongest teams going at it to continue their rivalry. Fnatic and Origen will be facing off in game one to kick off this year’s LCS, facing each other for the first time since reforming their rosters. In preparation, let us take a look back at how this rivalry began.
The beginning:
Origen was formed when former Fnatic players, Enrique “xPeke” Cedeno Martinez and Paul “sOAZ” Boyer, left the team when they suffered a very embarrassing defeat at the 2014 World Championship group stages. Composed of veteran talent and new blood, Origen would dominate the EU Challenger Series and easily achieve 1st place in spring. The rivalry slowly grew in summer when OG would meet Fnatic several times throughout the split. The boiling point was when these teams faced off in the final game during playoffs, with Fnatic achieving the LCS’ first ever perfect split of 18-0.
Histories of Fnatic and Origen:
Fnatic is one of League’s longest standing teams. They were the first team to win the World Championship all the way back in season 1. Throught the following years, Fnatic would remain as a top EU team, winning Dreamhack in 2012 and always finishing top 2 in the EU LCS. They stayed as a competent team internationally up until the 2014 Worlds group stage where they were easily defeated by the dominating Korean talent.
Outside of just competing in EU, Origen saw a lot of success when they reached Worlds 2015. They dominated group stage and would go on to tie with Fnatic in the 3rd-4th place category where both teams lost to the untouchable Korean teams. Shortly after, OG attended IEM San Jose after acquiring new mid laner, Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage. OG went undefeated in IEM, giving the team its first ever 1st place trophy.
Fnatic saw far less success after Worlds. 60% of the team’s star lineup transferred to NA, forcing the team to hastily rebuild in time for IEM Cologne. This would prove to be troubling, as Fnatic was defeated in their first game 1-2 by the Chinese Qiao Gu Reapers.
Prediction:
Fnatic is definitely the underdog in this scenario. Their new Korean top/jungle combo of Yeong-Jin “Gamsu” Noh and Da-yoon “Spirit” Lee still have yet to prove themselves as proper replacements. Same goes for Lewis “Noxiak” Felix, who worked his way from Fnatic Academy to follow in the footsteps of Fnatic icon, Bora “Yellowstar” Kim. Until Fnatic can even prove they are still a top team in EU it is unlikely that they will pose a threat.
With a strong synergy and a dominating presence since their inception, Origen is looking like the favorite to win this time around. Having the same roster from IEM San Jose and a lack of weakness in any of their positions gives OG a high chance of becoming EU’s number one team this split.
Conclusion:
While Fnatic had the advantage last year, their new roster leaves much to be desired. This year will be OG’s big chance to become EU’s best, as long as they play smart and do not overestimate their abilities. This spring will be an uphill battle for Fnatic fans as they try to prove they can still stand up to EU’s best. The rivalry continues on January 14th, so be sure to tune in. Tell us who you are rooting for down below!
