xPeke Hints At A Competitive Return After Stealing The Show At All-Stars

The EU LCS has been a poorer place following Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martínez’s decision to step down from his Mid Lane duties with Origen – the Spaniard’s attempt to play AD Carry is best forgotten. Stepping out in front of a home crowd at the All-Star Event in Barcelona, the European legend immediately reminded fans of the glory days. Following Mid Laner Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage’s departure from Origen, xPeke was happy to entertain the prospect of returning to the starting roster.

Crowned as a World Champion in League of Legends first ever competitive season, xPeke has been immortalised within the European scene. After leaving Fnatic to form his own team Origen, the draw of the Spaniard pulled a number of fans to the new roster, who went on to reach the World Championship semi finals in their first season in the EU LCS.

As Mid Laner and manager for Origen, it quickly became too much for xPeke to handle – he opted to step down from his place in the starting roster to take a more hands-off role, allowing PowerOfEvil to fill his slot. After a depressing season in which xPeke was crowbarred into the AD Carry position, he’s now weighing up a return to Mid Lane.

“It depends on how the team works – it’s going to be the perfect time to decide.

“If the team has flaws and I see myself playing mid seriously I may come back, but first I’m going to see how the team works and if they get along.”

Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martínez

If xPeke wasn’t tied down by his responsibility to manage Origen, he would still be considered amongst the top mid laners in Europe. As it stands, it’s too much of an undertaking for him to maintain a consistent level of play as a full time LCS Mid Laner, which naturally requires a lot of practice, both with the team and in a solo queue environment.

xPeke stole the show at All-Stars; to step on stage and still be mecahnically on par with some of the best players in the world exemplified just how naturally gifted the Spaniard is. Matched up against Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, the best player in the world… Garen Mid, no problem.

Origen ended 2016 with a whimper, losing founding members Paul “sOAZ” Boyer and Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneider after narrowly escaping relegation. The roster for the 2017 Spring Split is yet to be announced, but it would certainly be off to a solid start with xPeke in the Mid Lane.Granted, All-Stars is not the most serious of events and doesn’t provide a stiff level of competition, but players are still required to demonstrate high-level mechanics if they’re to hold their own.

Even with the level of competition accelerating dramatically since xPeke opted to step down from the starting roster, his talents have assured he still remains relevant.

Dragging Veterans out of retirement in times of need typically ends in disastrous results, yet xPeke may well be an exception to the norm, as he has been in nearly every other aspect of his professional career.