Paul "sOAZ" Boyer and Enrique "xPeke" Cedeño Martinez have been staples in the history of the European League of Legends scene, first as opponents in the Season 1 World Championship finals. However, many will remember them as the pair that reached unprecedented heights in the West.
The duo's tenure as teammates outlived Moscow Five (later Gambit Gaming) and Counter Logic Gaming Europe, and many pairings in Europe (such as Oskar "VandeR" Bogdan and Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski). They have seen it all -- the World Championship and the Challenger Series. However, good things come to an end -- including their collaboration, which was announced Tuesday.
In 2012, Fnatic and star-in-the-making Maciej "Shushei" Ratuszniak parted ways after the latter's poor transition away from the Double Ability Power meta that reigned supreme during Season 1. The squad needed an adaptable top laner to help them return to the World Championship. And sOAZ's availability proved fruitful in helping Fnatic return on the world stage that year, albeit at the IGN ProLeague 5 tournament rather than the World Championship -- a sign of greater things to come.
The League of Legends Championship Series' inception in 2013 stabilized the tournament ecosystem and allowed more leeway in a championship format. With sOAZ and xPeke in tow, Fnatic reached the European LCS finals four times in a row, winning three straight (the 2013 spring and summer splits, and the 2014 spring split).
The two players grabbed the European fanbase's attention after separate events highlighted their playmaking ability and cerebral approach to the game, if not their flair for the dramatic. xPeke's backdoor play at IEM Katowice 2013 remains one of the most memorable plays in western League of Legends history. Meanwhile, sOAZ edged Evil Geniuses top laner Mike "Wickd" Pedersen in an unofficial best-of-five winner take all format, with the All-Star Game spot at stakes.
For the next two years, as members of Fnatic, they attended the World Championship twice and witnessed Bora "YellOwStaR" Kim's transition to the support role to pave the way for Martin "Rekkles" Larsson's arrival to the LCS. They also experienced Fnatic's first defeat in an LCS final against Alliance, and were an auto-attack away from escaping the group of death.
However, as people grow, so do their aspirations. The players' time within Fnatic reached an end when Cyanide retired and when xPeke set sights on creating his own team. The passing of time hadn't eroded sOAZ's competitive drive, and he landed upon xPeke's Challenger squad -- Origen. The duo enlisted the help of Alfonso "mithy" Aguirre Rodriguez, rookie-turned-pillar Jesper "Niels" Zvenningsen and veteran jungler Maurice "Amazing" Stückenschneider.
The uphill battle that laid ahead of the group -- a Challenger to World Championship seed -- seemed daunting, especially considering the handicap of non-participation in the 2015 LCS spring split. Despite that, they narrowly succumbed to a rebuilt Fnatic that was unbeaten up until that point in a 3-2 best-of-five showdown. In the process, sOAZ asserted himself as Origen's most valuable asset through teleport play and mastery over new picks such as Gangplank.
Subsequent patch changes helped Origen's play as sOAZ and xPeke's familiarity with the Double Teleport meta allowed them to surprise LGD Gaming and KT Rolster on the way to a semifinal appearance against SK Telecom T1. Unbeknownst to them, they would not return to the world stage in 2016 as Origen suffered from mithy and Zven's sudden departures to G2 Esports.
Despite unfavorable odds, Origen secured its spot in the next season. But in order to do that, xPeke temporarily stepped down from ownership duties to take the AD carry spot, providing a much needed tactical voice in Origen's bid to stay in the LCS. In the meantime, sOAZ helped pressure the map long enough to buy his teammates time to secure ties -- a fact that, given the roster's chemistry on the rift, may attract a number of suitors.
Whether sOAZ winds up in YellOwStaR's Paris Saint Germain project, or whether he winds up elsewhere, his legacy is forever intertwined with xPeke, a teammate he had for three years. There will be no down moments, where efforts pooled into practice throughout a season yield no banner, only criticism over minute misplays.
But it will not be with xPeke anymore.