Worlds 2021 Outlook Series | PEACE (LCO) Preview

With Worlds 2021 on the horizon, the League of Legends Circuit Oceania’s PEACE are one of 22 teams from across the globe that are gearing up for their biggest and most important event of the year. The championship tournament will feature each region’s best, all fighting towards one ultimate goal: to stand atop the mountain and hoist the Season 11 Summoner’s Cup.

But for PEACE, who are representing the LCO in the league’s inaugural World Championship appearance, Worlds 2021 isn’t just about competing for a trophy. While getting to that finish line will always be the primary goal, PEACE have some added motivation: to prove to the world that the Oceanic scene is still alive and thriving.

Peace (LCO) Worlds 2021 starting roster breakdown

• Top: Yao “Apii” Jian-Jing | Signed in February 2021, formerly a member of Avant Gaming.
• Jungle: Leo “Babip” Romer | Signed in June 2021, formerly a member of TSM Academy.
• Mid: James “Tally” Shute | Signed in July 2021, formerly a member of Golden Guardians Academy.
• Bot: Vincent “Violet” Wong | Signed in February 2021, formerly a member of Avant Gaming.
• Support: Ryan “Aladoric” Gregory Richardson | Signed in February 2021, formerly a member of Avant Gaming.

How they got here

When Riot Games pulled out of the Oceania region and, as a result, the Oceanic Pro League was dissolved, long-standing organization Avant Gaming pulled out of OCE League of Legends. But when the newly-formed League of Legends Circuit Oceania came in to fill the void of the now-defunct OPL, a new organization stepped up to the plate to take over the spot left from Avant Gaming. That organization is PEACE, and they are now taking over the LCO.

When PEACE bought out the Avant Gaming spot and its roster, they held onto three players, specifically: jungler LeeSA, top laner Apii and bot laner Violet. After rounding out the roster with mid laner James “Halo” Giacoumakis and support Aladoric, PEACE found instant success. In Split 1, the team finished the regular season with a 10-4 record, which was good enough for third place. In the playoffs, they made it all the way to the finals before losing to Pentanet 3-1, resulting in a second place finish in their first ever split.

Right before Split 2, PEACE brought on a new, but familiar, jungler to replace LeeSA — OCE legend, Babip, who returned to the region after a brief stint on TSM Academy. Babip’s former Legacy Esports teammate, Tally, joined a few weeks into the split from Golden Guardians Academy. He was initially playing in the top lane but later moved to mid.

But despite a seemingly improved lineup, PEACE actually went backward in Split 2. At one point, roster shuffling led to nine losses in 10 games. But right before the playoffs, PEACE found the roster that finally clicked (its current one) and squeezed into the playoffs with a 10-11 record, which was good enough for the fifth and final seed.

Fighting from the lower bracket, PEACE went on a tear. Outside of a close five-game set against ORDER in the second round, PEACE 3-0’d everyone in their path, including Pentanet in the finals. In their first year of existence, PEACE is going to Worlds as the LCO representative.

Players to watch

Babip has been the catalyst for the team ever since he came back from NA. Despite the shaky regular season, Babip still managed to finish second in “player of the game” performances. Babip also brings much-needed World Championship experience to the team. He appeared at Worlds in 2020 with LNG Esports, and in 2019 with MAMMOTH.

Outside of Babip, all eyes are on the best-in-region bot lane duo of Violet and Aladoric. Violet is relatively new to the professional scene, debuting as a member of Avant Gaming in 2020. But in just a year, Violet cemented himself as a member of the LCO elite, making it as the region’s all-pro bot laner. The other PEACE member on the all-pro team was Violet’s partner in the bot lane, Aladoric. Despite taking a year off in 2020, he came back in 2021 and didn’t miss a beat. In the Split 2 playoffs, Aladoric led all players in MVP performances, including being named MVP of the finals series against Pentanet that got PEACE to Worlds 2021.

How PEACE can succeed at Worlds 2021

For PEACE to get out of the play-in stage, they are going to have to rely on their veteran, two-pronged leadership from Babip and Tally, who attended Worlds together as teammates on Legacy last year. That team came within a single best-of-three series from getting into the group stage. If these two players can pass on what they learned from the Worlds stage to their young team, PEACE may be able to bring some unexpected maturity to the nerve-wracking play-in stage.

Their best-in-region bot lane will also be tested against some of the top bot lanes in the world, including Cloud9’s Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen and Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme, in addition to Hanwha Life Esports’ Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu and Oh “Vsta” Hyo-Seong. If the PEACE bot lane can play up to their competition, then the OCE reps may be able to steal a couple of games and put themselves in contention for a group-stage spot.

This article is part of an ongoing preview of all 22 teams competing at Worlds 2021. For our complete release schedule and more information on the other 21 teams attending Worlds, check out Upcomer’s Worlds 2021 Outlook Series hub.