Rogue’s LEC playoff run ended in a 1-3 against Origen. The underdogs had a very impressive game one, but after the poor start Origen rallied and followed it up with 3 convincing wins.
Game 1: Rogue are here to play
The opening game of the series started with a very good draft for Rogue. While Origen had early pressure and some scaling, top laner Finn "Finn" Wiestål turned the game in his team’s favor with a teleport in the bottom lane that resulted in two kills for Rogue. While the rest of the early game did not feature any more kills, Origen would continue sliding behind and losing neutral objectives while they waited for Erlend "Nukeduck" Våtevik Holm’s Kassadin to scale.
OG’s unwillingness to engage resulted in Rogue securing a cloud soul 25 minutes in, and they used it to good effect two minutes later, as they secured the Baron. Origen won a teamfight around the 31-minute mark that showcased the dangers of a fully scaled Kassadin, but it was only a momentary victory. A few minutes later, the teams clashed near the Elder Dragon and this time Rogue not only secured the objective, but took a 4:0 fight and quickly ended the game.
Game 2: Origen strike back
Rogue would not have such a good start to the second game, however, and Andrei "Xerxe" Dragomir set up his top laner for success with an early gank. Origen would continue tormenting Finn, who would die two more times in the early game. Rogue were pushed around the map, losing early towers and falling steadily behind in gold.
They tried several times to get back in the game but nothing worked. Only 23 minutes in, Origen took the mountain soul to make it even harder for their opponents to win a fight, then three minutes later they secured the Baron buff as well. With it, they pushed across all lanes, boxing Rogue in.
Seeing Origen split and his base crumbling, Kacper "Inspired" Słoma led his team in a 4v2 fight to defeat their opponents piecemeal but the Origen members survived long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Rogue were routed and would soon see their Nexus fall as OG equalized the series.
Game 3: The promised slugfest
The third game saw a much more even start – while Origen took the first blood, Rogue soon replied.
The two teams were neck and neck 12 minutes in when Rogue made a power play in the top lane, but they overcommitted and lost four when Origen collapsed. The favorites maintained a lead throughout the mid game but Rogue kept close and had good dragon control, eventually threatening an ocean soul. However, when the key dragon respawned, Origen won a big teamfight and secured both it and the Baron.
Despite losing their bottom inhibitor soon afterward, Rogue tenaciously clung in the game, even taking a key teamfight when Origen secured the second Baron 38 minutes in. Both teams had made their name with late-game teamfight and it would be the decider here as both sides eventually reached three dragons and clashed for the decisive seventh one.
Origen started the objective with three players while two waited to flank. Rogue came in and in the messy fight, they were aced, taking only two kills in return. With long respawn timers and minions in their base, they could do nothing to stop their Nexus from falling.
Game 4: Game, Set, Match.
Origen would once more be the more aggressive team in the early game but Rogue had their chance in the bot lane 4 minutes in when a counter-gank by Inspired left 3 members of Origen low. Steven "Hans sama" Liv saw blood and chased two almost-certain kills, but his targets stayed just out of reach and he was left exposed, dying to the enemy top laner who had teleported to the lane.
Origen would slowly grow their lead in the early game and Rogue’s hope once more lay with the neutral objectives – dragons and the Rift Herald.
It was at the Rift Herald where Rogue were caught 17 minutes in as Origen encircled them and got four quick kills with a great wombo combo. With this, the favorites were firmly in control of the map and they won several more fights as their opponents grew increasingly desperate. The final fight came 26 minutes in as Rogue tried to sneak in a Baron only for Origen, by then 12K gold ahead, to collapse from multiple sides. OG secured both the Baron and a clean 5:0 teamfight, then set off for the Rogue base, where they got another ace to end the game in a decisive fashion.
Rogue showed signs of greatness in the first game, but the following games bore out the expectations of Origen being simply the better team, especially in the top and jungle. With this win, Origen are now set to take on the 2019 LEC Champions G2 on Sunday. With both teams unwilling to bow out of the playoffs and G2 possibly still rattled from their loss to MAD Lions, this can be a match to watch.
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