For the older generation among us, xPeke is a household name in old-school League of Legends. Let’s look at his career as one of the first League of Legends personalities.
His name might not sound so familiar for new players as xPeke’s professional career started almost nine years ago. A lot has happened in those nine years including legendary plays, rivalries and the creation of a European powerhouse. Today we take a look at the legendary career of xPeke and how he transformed from one of the best European mid laners to a shareholder in Team Astralis, a team that currently competes in the League of Legends European Championships (LEC).
A Season One World Champion
Throughout his career he has played multiple roles but he started as a midlaner for Team-Birth in October 2010. He would then go on and join Sk Gaming after but that line-up was quickly acquired by myRevenge to compete at the IEM Season V – Hanover Invitational. They would upset teams like SK Gaming and Against All authority and win the whole event.
Eventually, not longer going unnoticed, the line-up was picked up by Fnatic as their new starting roster. They would compete at the first edition of Worlds, then known as the Season One Championship. Together with legendary players like Cyanide, Shushei and Lamia they once again won it all and crowned themselves the best team in Season One. Not a bad start to one’s career.
Professionalizing the competitive scene
Being firmly in the driver seat at the mid lane position on Fnatic, Xpeke would go on to stay with the team for three and a half years. He would not make a return to Season Two Worlds as they failed to qualify against Counter Logic Gaming.Europe. Nevertheless, he gave us one of the most epic plays ever made in professional League of Legends that year. As Kassadin he would backdoor SK Gaming’s nexus to win the game for Fnatic. A play that later would be named after him: an xPeke Backdoor.
Eventually, when the European League of Legends Championships or EU LCS came about, Fnatic would try and qualify via the EU LCS 2013 Spring Offline Qualifiers. They would succeed and join the ranks of Gambit Gaming (previously Moscow Five), SK Gaming and Evil Geniuses (previously CLG.EU). With this newly formed league, we had the opportunity to get the players even better than before. This is when xPeke became well known amongst fans and quickly became a fan favorite.
Spanish Rivalry
Before the EU LCS, xPeke already had a rival in the midlaner for SK Gaming: Ocelote. Both were very influential Spanish mid laners that streamed and played professionally. xPeke would be the better competitive midlaner but Ocelote had a greater following and bigger community due to his streams. The rivalry would show on many occasions but would stay a friendly one as both players always shook hands after a match.
Origin of Origen
After multiple years of a professional player under the Fnatic banner, xPeke made moves to create his own organization to repeat the success he had as a player under his own name. He created Origen and left Fnatic to try and requalify with his own team. He would team up with sOAZ, Amazing, Niels (now known as Zven) and Mithy. To add to the rivalry between xPeke and Ocelote, he also managed to beat Ocelote’s team at ESL MWC Challenge the day after qualifying for the EU LCS.
This team would bring new heights to Europe, as the region fell behind to regions like Korea and China at the World Championship. They were a breath of fresh air however as they managed to break into the top four at Worlds 2015, losing 0-3 to eventual world champion SK Telecom. Just like his first year as a professional player, his first year as a team owner would go nicely as well. Managing to qualify for the EU LCS and breaking into the top four internationally in the same year.
When Worlds 2015 ended, xPeke announced that he would be taking on more of a managing role within his own organization and that he would not be on a starting roster anymore. Unfortunately, Origen got plagued with various issues the next two years and he would be subbing in and out of his own team, playing multiple positions before eventually retiring to a managing position. After some disappointing results, Origen got picked up by another organization and would rebrand to Astralis for the LEC 2021 Spring Split. xPeke is still a shareholder for Astralis but he is not making any more public appearances for the team.
Goofy yet legendary
xPeke was a legendary midlaner who had some exceptionally good results in his career and even a play named after him. With his goofy personality, big fan base and eternal smile, he was one of the first greatest European players to retire from the game. He showed Europe that they can be proud of their players and teams internationally and gave new players a start on Origen. He makes an appearance every now and then to a special event but most of his plays will be forever engraved in our memories.
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Image credit: Origen