FC Schalke 04 vs Rogue

Let’s not beat around the bush — Rogue need a statement win after getting manhandled by G2 last week. Heck, “manhandled” doesn’t even begin to cut it — they were annihilated and destroyed in every way, shape, and form. They looked like a bunch of scrubs rather than a team comprised of professional League of Legends players. Had someone told you they were the Spring Split finalists you would’ve probably laughed them out of the room.

The gap between them and G2 was *that* big.

To make matters even worse, it’s not like Rogue were underperforming — they were just the weaker team on the day. But the fact that they’re currently tied for first place with a very respectable record means they might not be all that powerful compared to the who’s who of the LEC. A stellar showing against a mid-tier contender doesn’t matter much if they cannot replicate the same kind of performance against the European creme de la creme. And, by the looks of it, they’re just not ready to compete at the highest of levels. They’ve now lost all twelve of their Best of 1 clashes with G2 and can rightfully be deemed as “chokers.” How else could we define a team that got reverse swept just a couple of months ago despite having a 2-0 lead in the finals?

They’re talented, there’s no doubt about it, but they always came up short in the past, and there’s no reason whatsoever to believe in their ability to correct course and transcend their inherent gatekeeper status.

Right now, as things stand, they’re a Top 4 challenger in an insanely competitive region, and that’s okay — but far from spectacular. G2, Fnatic, and MAD Lions have all done more to warrant our benefit of the doubt and can rightfully be considered as the frontrunners to represent Europe at the upcoming World Championship in China. Rogue will surely try their hardest to upend the status quo but, if history is any indication, they’ll fumble and fail when it matters most.

That’s just the way things are with Rogue. They’re great but great enough for it to matter.

Fortunately, they’re up against Schalke 04 today which, in all fairness, is about as easy a test as they’re going to get. The boys in white and blue are by no means incapable of pulling off an upset, but they’re just not as good or talented as Rogue. So, we’ll side with the Spring Split finalists on this one as it’s the only logical choice. How well they’ll perform still remains to be seen, but they should definitely be able to get their hands raised.