Worlds 2021 Outlook Series | Rogue (LEC) Preview

With Worlds 2021 on the horizon, League of Legends European Championship third seed, Rogue Esports, are one of the 22 teams from across the globe gearing up for their biggest and most important event of the year. The 2021 League of Legends World Championship will feature each region’s best players, all fighting for the same goal: to stand atop the mountain and hoise the Season 11 Summoner’s Cup.

Unlike other teams, Rogue’s journey to the Worlds 2021 group stage is quite different. After finishing third in the LEC Playoffs, Rogue were set to claw their way out of the Worlds Play-In Stage, but a turn of events saw them move directly to the main event. For them, Worlds 2021 will be about silencing critics and showing they deserved their last-minute, automatic qualification to the group stage.

Rogue (LEC) Worlds 2021 starting roster breakdown

• Top: Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu | Signed in November 2020, formerly a member of Schalke 04.
• Jungle: Kacper “Inspired” Słoma | Signed in May 2019,  promoted from Academy team.
• Mid: Emil “Larssen” Larsson | Signed in May 2019, promoted from Academy team.
• Bot: Steven “Hans sama” Liv | Signed in November 2019, formerly a member of Misfits Gaming.
• Support: Adrian “Trymbi” Trybus | Signed in November 2020, promoted from Academy team.

How they got here

Rogue have been a franchised member of the LEC since 2019. They had a very rough start in the league with a last-place finish in spring and a fifth-place finish in summer. However, in 2020, they finished in first place of the LEC regular summer standings, making it to Worlds 2020 after a third-place finish in the playoffs.

The team continued their upward trend in 2021 with a second-place finish in spring and came close to winning the playoffs against MAD Lions. In the summer, Rogue finished first place at the end of the regular season with all five players, especially the bot lane duo, performing incredibly well.

However, Rogue faltered when it was time for playoffs. They suffered back-to-back 3-0 losses to MAD and Fnatic and crashed out of the LEC Summer Playoffs with a third-place finish. As LEC’s third seed, Rogue qualified for a place at the 2021 Worlds play-ins stage. But on September 9, Riot granted them an automatic entrance to the group stage, due to travel restrictions imposed on the two Vietnamese teams. Worlds 2021 is Rogue’s second year at the event, and they will be looking to avoid a repeat of their 1-5 record in 2020.

Players to watch

When it comes to Rogue, all their players can be a strong point — but Inspired’s jungle presence remains key for the team. The 2021 LEC summer split MVP finished the regular season with a 5.3 Kill/Death/Assist ratio, which is the best for any jungler in the LEC. He has mostly been praised for his pathing and his ability to help his team gain early-game advantages.

Aside from Inspired, Rogue’s top laner and bot laner are also ones to keep an eye out for. Both Odoanmne and Hans sama played key roles in the team’s success, especially in the first half of the LEC summer split. Odoamne finished the season with the highest gold difference at 10 minutes and Kill/Death/Assist ratio for a top laner. His ability to impact games on champions like Gwen, Jayce and Renekton will come in handy at Worlds given that two of these champions are receiving buffs before the tournament.

Meanwhile, Hans sama also provides a steady source of lethal damage for the team, and his proactiveness in bot lane early on can help Rogue snowball to secure the wins they need.

How Rogue can succeed at Worlds 2021

Heading into Worlds 2021, Rogue will need to work on their team fighting ability, especially around objectives in late-game situations. That particular aspect of their game continues to hurt them, especially when it matters the most. While they are known for their controlled playstyle, they often falter under pressure, even more so when playing aggressive opponents. In an interview with Tom Mattheisen, Inspired admitted they made a lot of mistakes during teamfights during the LEC summer playoffs.

The team will also rely heavily on Inspired, along with their strong early-game presence, to get advantages in games at Worlds 2021. However, they will need to do more than just creating early game leads, as they find themselves yet again in a “group of death” against DWG KIA and FunPlus Phoenix.

Rogue must learn not only from their mistakes in the LEC summer split but also from Worlds 2020. They were also paired with DWG KIA last year in the toughest group and only managed to pick up a win on the first day against PSG Talon. Given the less proactive playstyle of DWG KIA’s bot lane, Rogue can look to concentrate more on funneling resources onto Hans sama and making sure he has the tools needed to assist the team. Nevertheless, they still need to curtail the very powerful mid-jungles of both FPX and DWG KIA.

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.