In just a few short weeks, Origen announced their return to the League of Legends Pro scene, revealed a legendary lineup consisting of some of the most well known names in the games history and raised expectations of their fans to great heights. While their debut at European Masters 2018 didn’t go exactly as planned, they redeemed themselves, if only slightly, the next day. They may not be a dream team, cruising past all comers to glory. In fact, they may still struggle to make it far in the current tournament. Regardless, the fans are excited to see these players on the competitive stage once again, and they’re here to prove they’re not too old to make some plays.
Game 1 – Kliktech
“Froggen face-checks, Stefan capitalizes, first blood over to Kliktech!” This sentence by Shoutcaster Excoundrel set the tone that lasted for the rest of the match. Origen played like what they were – a team of legends that have only been playing together for a few weeks. They put up a decent fight, and at moments looked like their experience was going to be enough to take over the game. In the end though, the better team won out, and that team was Kliktech.
The Croatian team has been tearing up the Esports Balkan League, going 14-0 this past season and winning their last 26 games straight before facing Origen on Sunday. Understandably, they were confident coming into the tournament, and it’s easy to see why. They used their experience together to out-rotate and out-team fight Origen, keeping them on their heels.
Kliktech out for blood
Not only did they show great teamwork throughout the game, but impressive individual skill as well. By the seven minute mark, Top Laner Toni “Sacre” Sabalić (Kled) solo killed Ki “Expect” Dae-han (Cho’gath). Seconds later, Henrik “Froggen” Hansen (Taliyah) was dead at the hands of Aljoša “Milica” Kovandžić (Sion). Kliktech entered the tournament relatively unknown outside their region, but defeating the Origen roster on an international stage surely caught the eye of many.
While it was definitely not the start they were looking for, Game 1 wasn’t all bad for Origen. Jesse “Jesiz” Le (Alistar) and Konstantinos-Napoleon “FORG1VEN” Tzortziou (Tristana) looked solid in the early game despite a tough matchup against the enemy Caitlyn and Morgana. Jezis found engages throughout the game, landing Knock-Ups on multiple enemies. These plays were rarely followed up on though, and it seemed like the team was rarely on the same page.
Origen was able to keep the game going for nearly 40 minutes. Eventually though, the teamwork of Kliktech won out. They defeated Origen, delaying the OG resurrection and extending their own winning streak to 27-0.
Game 2 – exceL eSports
In Game 2, Origen put on the show so many were waiting for. They still looked slightly rusty in the early game, getting caught by several exceL engages. Unlike the previous day however, they continuously took the safe option, disengaging and staying alive. Trading objectives and focusing on farming, Origen waited for the right opportunity.
At just over 10 minutes into the game, exceL attempted to take the Rift Herald. Expect (Sion) walked up, seemingly alone, to interrupt. exceL turned to take the bait, and Origen was ready. As Expect turned and landed a three man knock-up, inSec (Skarner) entered the river and hit Ángel “DuaLL” Fernández (Alistar) with another stun. A second later, Froggen (Orianna) shielded Expect before landing a Shockwave on three opponents. exceL were helpless against the layered crowd control, and Origen came away with three kills.
Origen on a roll
Once they tasted blood, Origen didn’t slow down. They pressured every lane, every objective, using their lead to full effect. Froggen looked like his old self on Orianna, and put out high levels of damage and crowd control to dominate team fights. While exceL did their best to defend, Origen was relentless, and finished the game at just over 26 minutes, making it the fastest game of the group stage so far.
Admittedly, Origen faced an easier opponent on the second game than the first. However that was not the only factor that influenced the different outcome. Though Origen may not have been at the near-perfect level of play that will be needed for them to really extend their success, they made big strides in the right direction. They played a team composition that better fit their style. They played safely until they found the right time to fight. Origen actually looked like a team, rather than just a group of high-level Solo Queue players, and that is something that they will need to continue if they want their resurrection to be a success.
Find the rest of my articles here. If you would like to contact me or keep up with things I like, find me on Twitter: @_mrdantes. For more of the best esports news, follow The Game Haus on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for reading!
Featured photo courtesy of Leaguepedia