Worlds 2020 Group Stage Team Preview: Rogue

We look at Rogue, their path to Worlds 2020, and how they might fare in the group stage.

Rogue have qualified for the World Championship for the first time in the organization’s history after an excellent Summer Split performance in the LEC. Their reward was a place in Group B alongside LCK champions DAMWON Gaming and LPL runners-up JD Gaming. Despite the odds being against them, can the European squad make a deep run at Worlds?

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The Season

To say that Rogue’s LEC success this season was a shock would be an understatement. Nine months prior to this year’s campaign they were sat dead last in the standings with just two regular season wins to their name. Now, they’re a top-three European side.

The Spring Split was quiet and uneventful but there were clear signs of progress for Rogue. New signing Hans sama was adjusting to life with the team and fredy122 was instilling his League of Legends philosophy into the players which was clear to see on the Rift. Rogue finished fifth in the Sprint Split.

As for the Summer Split, Rogue reached new heights and surprised the entire LEC audience by systematically dismantling the best teams in Europe and securing a first-place regular season finish.

Although they failed to hold onto this position in the playoffs, finishing third overall, Rogue were no doubt encouraged by the incredible progress made in such a short space of time and felt prepared to challenge the very best teams from across the globe at their first-ever World Championship.

The Roster

Top Lane – Finn “Finn” Wiestål

Since joining the league in 2019, Finn has revolutionized what it means to be a top laner in the LEC. Not satisfied with taking a back seat and occupying tank duty, Wiestål is one of the primary carries on the Rogue roster and is often the key to building an early gold lead.

Finn’s importance can be illustrated by his stats during the 2020 Summer Split. Not only did the top laner average 23.9% of his team’s total damage (third-highest in the LEC), but he also participated in 38.9% of all first bloods when Rogue were on the Rift (joint-highest in the LEC).

Jungle – Kacper “Inspired” Słoma

Simply put, Rogue can not function without Inspired’s control over the early game. The jungler’s intelligent pathing and intuitive tracking of his opponent allow Rogue to set up counter gank opportunities and prepare for early objectives ahead of the clock.

This complete control of the jungle is clear to see in Rogue’s Summer Split regular season stats. During the opening 15 minutes of the game, Rogue destroy an average of 0.6 more towers than their opponents as well as building a monumental average +1298 gold lead.

Mid Lane – Emil “Larssen” Larsson

Larssen is arguably the strongest member of the Rogue roster and, at just 20-years-old, one of the most promising prospects in Europe.

After just 12 months in the LEC, Larssen is already going toe-to-toe with some of the best European mid laners. Through the Summer Split, the Swede boasted an incredible 6.5 KDA and 31.3% damage share, the highest of any mid laner in the league.

AD Carry – Steven “Hans sama” Liv

Rogue’s new marksman may jokingly suggest that the team’s remarkable turnaround from a mid-table side to Worlds contenders is due to his arrival. Since joining Rogue, Hans sama has a 22-14 regular season record as well as a 100% playoffs participation rate.

Alongside Vander in the bot lane, the Frenchman has reached new heights and bounced back after a poor spell at Misfits Gaming. The bot laner had the highest average gold difference at 15 minutes (+443) in his role during the Summer Split regular season, illustrating the transformation the team have made since signing Hans sama.

Support – Oskar “Vander” Bogdan

Vander had an 8.6 KDA during the Summer Split regular season and was a vital part of Rogue’s early game dominance and mid game transition.

The support paired up with Inspired to roam across the map, set up deep vision, and prepare for early objectives at a level no support in the LEC could match.

90/50/10 Predictions

90% odds that… Rogue defeat DAMWON Gaming at least once in the group stage.

Rogue’s playstyle is so unique and refined that even the world’s best League of Legends teams would struggle to match them in the early game. DAMWON, a team that are arguably favorites to win the 2020 World Championship, will most likely become exhausted and tilted after numerous attempts to break down Rogue’s untouchable early game control.

50% odds that… Rogue qualify for the knockout stage.

Barring a shock upset, DAMWON Gaming will top Group B. This leaves one qualification place for both Rogue and JD Gaming to fight over. In best-of-ones, Rogue are the best team in Europe as illustrated by their Summer Split regular season success, so they have more than enough to finish at least second in their group.

10% odds that… Rogue reach the World Championship final.

Unfortunately for Rogue fans, the team lacks the experience required to make a deep run in the World Championship. Not only that, they’re an extremely one-dimensional team and have clear weaknesses that the top teams will have no trouble exploiting.