After taking down Fnatic in an unprecedented 3-1 upset, Rogue top laner Andrei ‘Odoamne’ Pascu is ready for LEC fans to change the narrative around the team heading into the matchup of Rogue versus G2.
If you know Rogue, then you know they’ve not had the best history when it comes to best-of-fives. Widely considered to be one of the most consistent regular-season teams in the LEC, they’ve struggled time and time again when it’s come to the playoffs.
As two-time LEC finalists, they’ll make the three-peat on September 11 — appearing in their third LEC finals in two years. Despite this impressive track record, they’ve never quite managed to clutch their first LEC title.
I am already choking with this crowd but it’s still not gonna stop us from clapping these clowns LET’S GET THE DUB #RGEWIN
— Andrei Pascu (@Odoamne) September 10, 2022
Their reputation as “chokers” is well-known within the LEC. But according to top laner Odoamne, it’s a reputation that’s not necessarily entirely deserved.
Choker is a misnomer
In the press conference after their surprise victory against Fnatic, Odoamne had some choice words for those who’ve labeled Rogue as chokers.
“A lot of the time, people bring up past failures to kind of justify how you are presently as a player — and at least for me and Rogue, that means we’re always perceived as chokers. But in reality, you just lose games because the other team is better. Choking is when someone is losing his mind and freaking out.”
Odoamne explained how, often, the label of “choker” is much more based on team popularity than the actual expectations of a match at hand, and how that’s something that Rogue has suffered from.
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Less about performance, more about popularity
As one of the LEC’s highest performing teams, Rogue have frequently had to play best-of-fives against teams with the most established and vocal fan bases in Europe. And that, according to Odoamne, is where the moniker of “choker” originates from — not from any Rogue actually choking.
For everyone calling me a choker: choke on deez nuts u clowns
— Andrei Pascu (@Odoamne) September 10, 2022
“Everyone just perceives that the losing team, or the less popular team, is choking. Like if we had lost today against Fnatic, everyone would have said that we’d choked. But now that Fnatic got stomped, nobody is going to say that they were choking — for them it’s underperformance.”
He went on to explain how he thinks, in general, that fans tend to correctly estimate his skill level as a pro. But that courtesy sometimes isn’t extended to Rogue as a whole.
“I think people correctly perceive my level. But I do think fans of popular teams do tend to come up with these narratives.”
There are few more popular teams than G2 Esports, who Rogue will face in the LEC Finals on September 11. It will be the second time G2 and Rogue have faced off in an LEC final — with G2 previously taking a 3-0 versus Rogue in Spring 2022.