Rogue 2024 LEC Preview

The Rogue 2024 lineup didn’t change that much from the 2023 KOI roster, and the players that newly arrived are clear upgrades from the previous counterparts.

Only one das separates us from the start of the 2024 League of Legends competitive season, as well as the start of the second ever LEC Winter Split. The 10 teams are already on the starting lines in the new Riot Games Arena, aiming to become the best of the EMEA region.

Among them is the 2022 Summer Champions, Rogue, who have returned to the LEC after dissolving their partnership with KOI. Becoming the brand that won the LEC 2 years ago, they are looking to replicate their success.

KOI in 2023

Last year under the KOI name, Larssen and co. had a fairly weak year. They finished 7^th in the Winter regular season, but managed to get into the Playoffs. They made it as far as 3^rd place with Malrang and Trymbi still on board, which was not a desirable outcome as reigning champions, but wasn’t a bad showing. In Spring, they came crumbling down, only getting to 6^th place in the Group Stage. After letting Trymbi go, trading him for Advienne with Fnatic, they became even worse. They didn’t click, Malrang was incredibly shaky, and while Szygenda, Larssen and Comp had good games, they never performed well at the same time.

With their season cut short, and missing Worlds after being a top seed for the region in 2022, Rogue had to seriously reconsider their approach to the LEC.

Rogue 2024 Roster

• Top: Mathias „Szygenda” Jensen
• Jungle: Mark „Markoon” van Woensel
• Mid: Emil „Larssen” Larsson
• ADC: Markos „Comp” Stamkopoulos
• Support: Théo „Zoelys” Le Scornec

Was Keeping All the Old Players the Right Call?

While they swapped some players, they might’ve not changed enough to really make a breakout. They kept one of the most questionable players of 2023, Szygenda. The Danish toplaner has been in and out of the LEC, playing for Vitality.Bee after failing to live up expectations in the main team of the French org. While he did have some standout performances, his 2023 could be summarized with the word “lacklustre”. He has clear strengths like his teamfighting, but tends to fall behind and become invisible.

That can also be said about the veterans of Rogue, Comp and Larssen. Both of them prefer the farming and lategame scaling style of League of Legends, which doesn’t really work in fast metas (which we currently live in). Games tend to race past them, as they wait for powerspikes that simply don’t arrive. While they can stall games out with picks like Comp’s Sivir and Larssen Azir, capable teams will simply get all the resources in the early game, which won’t be a good strategy in Season 14, where there’s an abundance of objectives to fight for.

Another Redemption Arc for Markoon?

Markoon was hailed as the new best jungler when he joined Excel Esports in his rookie year. While he had ups and downs, the Dutch player was the most impactful member of his last team, SK Gaming, managing to carry them to Playoffs and by extension, the Season Finals. He is a similar player to Malrang: completely unpredictable with some spicy picks – but he can also be reliable and play Sejuani when need be. He has to be the bridge between the start of each match and the lategame, so that his mid and ADC can scale. Szygenda could be a great partner for this, as he has shown eagerness to play lane-dominant picks – so 2023 could be a redemption arc for both Rogue’s jungler and toplaner.

The Only Complete Newcomer

The only rookie that Rogue signed was French player Zoelys, who played in the LFL last year as the support for LDLC OL. Even though they stomped the competition in Spring, winning both the Regular Season and the Playoffs, they only got to the quarter-finals of the EMEA Masters Spring Playoffs – then finished second to last in the 2023 Summer LFL, with the same lineup and same coaching staff. Still, Zoelys was a great playmaker, favouring Rakan and Renata Glasc, as well as Heimerdinger. As we enter an era of poke supports with some Ardent Censers sprinkled in according to the inhouses and scrims the teams have been playing, Zoelys could prove one of the most useful supports in the league due to the meta shaping around his playstyle.

Rogue 2024 Predictions

Rogue 2024 is an incredibly mixed bag. On one hand, they have some creativity thanks to newcomers Zoelys and Markoon. On the other hand, they have players that looked like shells of themselves on multiple occasion in 2023, letting their opponents choke them out of the game. However, Larssen and Comp have both risen from their graves before, and Szygenda should have more in him – but for Winter, Rogue presumably won’t be the strongest team of the LEC.

Pictures: Rogue X