Origen makes the 'perfect call' against KT Rolster

"I was really nervous at first," said Origen's captain Enrique "xPeke" Cedeño Martínez about heading into his final game in Week 1 of the 2015 World Championship Group Stage against KT Rolster.

"I was nervous when we played LGD the first game, thinking they were going to be the best team. But then, they didn't show up that strong. Though they were still scary because they picked really [well]. Then against TSM it was the same -- still nervous, but more confident. Then, against KT, I was super nervous because they were the only team that seemed to prepare well for games and have good picks and bans."

But he says once the game started and he was laning as Twisted Fate against Sang-moon "Nagne" Kim's Ekko, he felt more comfortable. "He wasn't pressuring me enough. I was able to farm as much as I wanted, and he wasn't moving early. So I started to get confident. And even though we were kind of losing -- I don't know how behind we were -- I didn't feel like we were behind because I was so strong that we could kill whoever was alone." According to xPeke, he felt like Origen was in control the whole time.

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Except they weren't.

KT had the advantage several times, answering many of Origen's big plays, and xPeke's map pressure, with strategic dives and rotations of their own. They got ahead utilizing a double Teleport composition with Chan-ho "Ssumday" Kim's Olaf and Nagne's Ekko, and between the two of them, they were able to lock down kills all over the map. "It was really annoying how they played their TPs, because they didn't hesitate and that was something that pressured us a lot early," he says. "It felt like every time they had double TP, one of us was going to die. And at one point we said, 'it's okay, they killed us, but it's fine. They don't have TP for three minutes, so we can do something now."

Origen never let KT stay in control for long. The game was a see-saw -- one team grabbed a lead -- then the other snatched it back. The turning point was a crucial Baron call at 23 minutes. According to xPeke, one of Origen's biggest mistakes in the past was focusing too hard on their own gameplay, rather than thinking about what their opponent was capable of doing. "So it's something we started to think a lot more about," he says. "Our idea at first was to push top, but we saw four guys bot, and as soon as Elise showed up bot as well, I think Amazing said we can do Baron. And SoaZ said, 'yeah they are all here, go Baron, go Baron!' Then we did it and there was nothing they could do because they were so far."

"It was a perfect call. They allowed us to win the game pretty much there."

After Origen catapulted to victory, xPeke couldn't help but feel relieved sitting undefeated on the top of Group D. "Now we can be a bit more relaxed," he laughs. But quickly adds, "A bit, a bit! Now the other teams are going to be super nervous playing us."

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Going into Worlds, he says he definitely didn't think that would be the case. "It's funny, normally we are bad at comebacks. But in the first game [against LGD], and this game, we were behind and they couldn't do anything still. So they're going to be scared because even with the advantage, they couldn't win."

"We didn't expect to put up this performance in the beginning, so it's super good," he continues. "For me at least, I wanted to perform well and show off that we're a good team, and that's it. I didn't think that we could actually make it out of Groups this way. I was thinking, maybe if we have our "A game" or if the other teams don't play that well, we can get second or something. But now that we're playing really well every game, it just feels super great." And what about the naysayers who originally doubted Origen? "I'm really happy that people can either shut up or change their mind a bit. That's the best feeling actually."

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Another common saying about xPeke is he gets a "Worlds Buff" and starts playing better every time he makes it to the premiere tournament. But he shrugs it off. "I don't think it's me playing better. It's everyone playing worse," he says. "I feel like I play the same, maybe a bit different. I think about stuff more. Because, it's not that I play straight bad when it's on LCS or something. But sometimes I think less about the same things." He says that at Worlds, he plays taking little-to-no risks, whereas at LCS, and especially when he's streaming, he doesn't think about dying or gambling for one more minion kill. "I've learned from that. So I think it's a good thing."

Worlds Buff or not, it's looking promising that xPeke and Origen will advance to the Quarterfinals. "I think our best chances here will be if we get to face someone from Group A in Quarters. I feel like we can beat all of those teams in a Best of 5." Naturally he says that Group C would be the hardest, complete with the juggernauts SKTelecom T1 and Edward Gaming. And if he has to face a team in Group B, he just hopes it's not Fnatic.

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"I feel like we're more scared of Fnatic than the rest. They know us a lot, we know them a lot, but the way they play is better against us. ahq and Cloud9 are teams that we would have an easier time beating more than once, while Fnatic is a team we could beat in a Best of 1 and that's it. But a Best of 5 would be like the [2015 EU LCS Summer] Finals, and I don't want to go again against that," he laughs.

We'll see if Origen can make it through to the Quarterfinals when they compete again on Saturday, October 10 at 12 PM CEST / 3 AM PDT right here on Lolesports.