More than maybe any other League of Legends player, Enrique “xPeke” Cedeno Martinez is a man of two legacies. One is his history as a player: one of the game’s most renowned, from the earliest days of organized competitive play. He has won incredible victories (Casting) and won fans with his playful attitude. The other is the organization he built: its rise from Challenger, to incredible competitive heights, (Casting) And then its disappearance in 2017. "It's really been a crazy story of what used to or what could have been a very successful organization." With one firmly cemented and the other now in question, the story of a mid laner who captured the imagination and excitement of a young esports audience is more relevant than ever. "Peke's a god, Peke's sh*t, Peke's the best, Peke's the worst, I have lived this so many times." This is xPeke’s story. Born in Spain on April 24, 1992, xPeke would rise to prominence during League of Legends’ early days. While the game was officially released in 2009, it was in July 2010 that Season 1 began. A ranked matchmaking queue that included a draft, it was where many early pros, including xPeke, got their start. Peke became known as a top laner on ladder, and would find his way onto oSk Gaming. That lineup did well enough to be picked up by myRevenge, but two months later, in March 2011, the squad was acquired by Fnatic. Two months later, the team competed at the European qualifier for the first-ever League of Legends World Championship, scraping by as Europe’s third seed. The main tournament saw three teams from Europe and North America and a single team from both Singapore and Thailand face off. But a travel issue caused xPeke to be late to the tournament and the team had to use wewillfailer as a substitute Peke did rejoin the team after the first day and, while they had a rough start to the tournament, Fnatic made it out of their group and marched their way through the bracket. (Casting) The accepted meta of the game was still changing, and the tournament itself, held at DreamHack Summer 2011 in Jönköping, Sweden, was dark and loud. But regardless of how you view it in the greater structure of the modern LCS system, it was a big deal back then. The game had World Champions: and Peke was one of them. "Now I would like to thank my mom. Because I'm pretty sure she's watching me right now when it's so late..." Fnatic played in a number of tournaments during the latter part of 2011, including a dominant, undefeated first place run at IEM New York which saw Xpeke move to the mid lane as the meta began to set. (Casting) The beginning of 2012 was a relatively quiet period for competitive League of Legends in the West, but Fnatic were one of two western teams to travel to Seoul to compete in The Champions. The field was predominantly Korean and, left out of the World Championship, it was an opportunity to test themselves against the region. Though they made it out of the group stage, Fnatic would fall to eventual third place finishers Team OP in the quarters. (Casting) Despite that, xPeke was already in the conversation as one of the best mid laners in the World. And he would soon have a chance to prove it. In June 2012 Fnatic removed Shushei, and Mellisan left due to school, so the team added sOAZ and Pheilox in their places. Despite the moves, the team did not place high enough to make it to the Season 2 World Championship. But the August 2012 announcement of a new format for competitive League of Legends would soon change the history of the game forever. "Season 3 plans have been released from Riot. Going to be really exciting for the NA and EU scene..." "They're actually going to have two matches every week." The league would hold qualifiers to admit the initial teams, and Fnatic got to work, playing in a number of unrelated tournaments in the interim. It was during this time that xPeke’s most famous moment took place. In the group stage at IEM Katowice, Fnatic found itself opposite SK Gaming, and xPeke faced down fellow Spanish mid laner Carlos “ocelote” Rodriguez. "Fnatic vs SK Gaming goes back many many years. Are you aware of that storied rival?" "Yeah I'm aware, even in League of Legends we have been for like two years playing against each other already. So, it's a long story." After defending their nexus, it appeared that SK Gaming would march toward Fnatic’s base and finish the job that their Super Minions had started. That is, until Peke provided us with one of the most memorable LoL moments of all time. The xPeke. (Casting) xPeke’s rival and fellow countryman didn’t hold back his emotions in the post-game interview. "I don't know man I don't know what to say. I'm really really destroyed." But xPeke was gracious in victory. "Yeah the way you played today you're definitely a top team in the world." The inaugural EU LCS season began in February, and Fnatic made their mark on the league’s first split with a 22-6, first place finish en route to a grand finals win against Gambit Gaming. (Casting) (Casting) xPeke was also leaving his own mark: his personable attitude and tendency to joke around made him a celebrity in a league that was just starting to choose its own heroes. "Welcome to the vlog of Peke." "What are you cooking?" "You're mom." "My mom?" "Yeah." "Does it taste good?" "Can you tell us the story of last night?" "Well last night we..." "Last night pretty much we wanted to get drunk and I just got one beer in four hours." "That was not the plan at all." "Why do you have a video of me naked. Why didn't you tell me. Why did you put that video in there." Peke continued his strong play into the summer split as the team took second overall, and then again won playoffs,. (Casting) qualifying for Worlds 2013. With a dominant 7-1 group stage performance that saw them lose only to Team Vulcun, Fnatic burst through the bracket, defeating NA’s Cloud9 2-1. (Casting) (Casting) (Casting) Of the six Western teams at the tournament, they were the only one to make Top 4. With AD Carry Martin “Rekkles” Larsson finally of age to play in the EU LCS, expectations for the team were higher than ever in 2014. He moved to the starting roster in November, and the team then took a second-place finish at IEM Cologne. Fnatic did meet expectations in Spring, as they finished second in the regular season en route to yet another EU LCS title. Qualifying for All-Star Paris as a result, Peke again found himself at an international tournament against a hot new mid laner: SKT Telecom T1’s Faker. "It will be Kassadin for Peke." "Faker Faker play maker. We've all seen the Zed highlight video. We've all seen what he did to Ryu. "He has locked in Zed once again." (Casting) Faker would get the upper hand, and Fnatic went 1-3 in groups, meaning they had to face SKT in the semifinals. They lost that series, too, but the crowd in Paris nonetheless chanted for them as they left the stage and the tournament. While Summer 2014 got off to a rough start, the team rallied in the latter weeks took second, and roared into the playoff finals against Alliance. (Casting) Their second-place finish was good enough to send Peke to Worlds for the third time. But the task ahead of them was daunting as they shared a group with Korean first-seed Samsung Blue, Chinese third-seed Oh My God, and NA third-seed LMQ. “Do you kind of have a now-or-never feeling, approach to this tournament?" "Yes but you always have that feeling in every season. Even in season one I had this feeling already. That it's now or never if we don't win this season, I don't know what's next. I had the same Season Two, I had the same Season Three, I have the exact same feeling right now. Beacuse you don't know what's coming next, so it's always really scary." If it felt like the chance at a second Worlds victory for a Western team was slowly slipping away, this tournament confirmed it. "And there's so many individual mistakes from Fnatic here. Though xPeke had plenty of highlight plays in the group stage, (Casting) Fnatic’s 2-4 record was not enough to get them out of groups. The only Western teams to make it out were Cloud9 and TSM, and neither fought their way into Top 4. The offseason brought big change for Peke as both he and Cyanide left Fnatic. But while the jungler was retiring, Peke had other plans. His second legacy would begin in 2015. "My name is Enrique. My ingame name is xPeke. I play for Team Origen as a mid laner." xPeke created esports organization Origen, and assembled a roster of promising talent with the goal of fighting through Challenger to qualify for the LCS. "I think I have been three or four years saying Fnatic pretty much and now saying I play for Origen feels... Feels really weird. Feels like I'm not even playing the same game." Like xPeke, top laner sOAZ was a veteran of the early competitive scene and had played with Peke on Fnatic. "It was a good opportunity to prove myself again." Amazing, the team’s jungler, had just come off a stint with North America’s Team SoloMid. "Even if they would be past their prime, they would still be better than 75% of players in the LCS." Mithy, the team’s support, was previously a member of Lemondogs and Ninjas in Pyjamas. He had been banned since June for toxicity, but with his ban now served, Origen offered him a chance at redemption. "I felt that the best way for me to start from scratch on a team with respected players and and show that anyone can change and I'm different." The team sought out Niels, who would later change his handle to Zven, as the team’s AD carry. "I even asked Rekkles, I remember. So I ask him, who do you think would be the best. and he told me, if you go with this guy Niels, I am pretty sure you guys will qualify." And of course, Peke would hold down the mid lane. "Getting to LCS is the number one priority, for me it’s actually the only priority." But whether or not Peke was thinking about it, Origen was building hype and qualified for the Challenger Series with ease. Once there, they put up a 9-1 record, losing only a single game before rolling over Reason Gaming and Copenhagen Wolves Academy en route to the EU LCS Summer Split. (Casting) (Casting) And if there was any question about xPeke’s continued popularity as one of Europe’s legendary mid laners, that was settled when he appeared on the analysis desk for the EU LCS Spring Finals in Spain. "Peke! Peke! Peke!" While the hype was building for Origen’s debut and Peke’s return, it still wasn’t clear how they would stack up against the competition. "For you guys is there anyone you're specifically looking out for that you haven't played before? Or that you have played before?" "For me I'm mostly looking for Fnatic with Rekkles coming back to the team I think he's a really great addition for them." "To play against someone that you played with, because it feels so different when you play with people and then you play against them. You see stuff that you didn't realise or that they didn't do so. It's good to get a different point of view when you play against old teammates." Was this team legit, or were they simply a mix of veteran experience and upcoming skill trouncing challenger? As Fnatic put up an undefeated 18-0 season, Origen proved that they, too, were one of Europe’s powerhouses. (Casting) (Casting) (Casting (casting) (Casting) (Casting) (Casting) In the playoffs, they reached the final. "Origen or Fnatic, will be picking up game one in this best of five live from Stockholm, Sweden." (Casting) (Casting) (Casting) (Casting) (Casting) They handed Fnatic their first loss of the season, but Origen couldn’t close out the series, falling in the fifth and final game. (Casting) But Origen could still make it to Worlds: all they had to do was win the Europe Regional Finals. After a close series against ROCCAT, Origen blew away Unicorns of Love to earn their spot. (Casting) (Casting) Origen had made it to Worlds, but it was clear that even as Europe’s third seed, the rest of the tournament field wasn’t expecting much from xPeke. "I don’t think we have to prove anything, because the fans have counting us out already." Origen were the underdogs in a group with LGD Gaming, Team SoloMid and KT Rolster. Not a single player from Origen’s roster had been highlighted in Riot Games’ pre-tournament list of the world’s Top 20 players. The rest of their group had 6. Even xPeke himself came under fire from observers. "Well xPeke's the worst mid laner in the group. Some people even say in the whole world tournament." But if xPeke was the weakest mid laner at Worlds, he didn’t play like it. (Casting) And if some analysts were expecting Origen to roll over and die, they were disappointed. Against LGD, Origen displayed classic xPeke and sOAZ shotcalling. (Casting) And Team SoloMid underestimated them at their peril. (Casting) Even so, could the team defeat Korean powerhouse KT Rolster? They answered that question with a statement victory. (Casting) An undefeated Week 1 against some of the tournament’s best teams, and on European soil no less. Origen had already shown that their veterans were more than capable of keeping up with the greatest in the world. "I never thought that we would be able to compete at Worlds. And if we actually got to qualify to Worlds I never thought we would be a contender." Their Week 2 wasn’t quite as successful, as they dropped games against KT and LGD, Their 4-2 record was good enough to enter the bracket as the group’s second seed, facing Flash Wolves in the best-of-five quarterfinals. "Flash Wolves or Origen." "I'm going with the Flash Wolves." "I'm giving it to the Flash Wolves." What followed was classic xPeke. (Casting) Origen went up two games in their series against Flash Wolves. Their opponents from Taiwan struck back, but Origen secured their spot in Brussels in game four. (Casting) Origen moved on to the semifinals where xPeke’s path to the finals was blocked by a familiar foe SK Telecom T1. While Origen lost Game 1, it seemed like they could contest the series. But after a Game 2 loss, Game 3 went out with a whimper. (Casting) No one would have expected Origen to even make it this far, but the loss still stung. And the European crowd made sure that their appreciation was heard. "Origen! Origen! Origen!" One split, an unlikely roster, and a trip from Challenger and their gaming house in Spain’s Canary Islands to Worlds semis. 2015 had been a good year for xPeke, who had balanced his role as the team’s mid laner against his duties as owner. But in 2016, even after his own strong performance at Worlds, he decided it was time to start stepping back. The team announced a six-player roster that included mid laner PowerOfEvil, intending to split time between him and Peke. But in reality, Peke had already moved away from the game in a big way, playing only three games in the team’s 11-7 2016 Spring Split. "I still want to play. I hope I can do it sooner than later to be honest." The team again made it to the playoff finals. But Peke’s old rival ocelote had been busy assembling a roster for his own organization, G2 Esports. And Origen would again have to settle for second. "We lost against G2, 3-1. But really, felt really sad to go in play one game and lose." Origen did not improve in the summer. Both Niels and Mithy went to his old rival’s team, G2 Esports, and Origen signed veteran Greek AD carry FORG1VEN and Dutch support Hybrid to replace them. The team struggled early and FORG1VEN left the team after three weeks, citing problems with motivation. Peke chose not to replace FORG1VEN and instead played AD carry himself. And almost a year removed from a Top 4 finish at Worlds, Origen posted a 12-24 record and had to play the promotion tournament to retain their spot in the EU LCS. Origen stayed alive, just barely. (Casting) Heading into Season 7, the team’s roster was completely rebuilt, with only Peke remaining in the lineup as a substitute. They added Satorius, Wisdom, NaeHyun, Tabzz and Hiiva. But Peke watched as his dream, and the organization he had built, slowly slipped back toward the possibility of relegation. Peke again inserted himself into the starting lineup, this time playing support as the team released Hiiva. "xPeke he is an incredible player and he has a long and storied history. And now he's playing his third role on the LCS stage." It wasn’t enough. With a 0-13 regular season record, the team fell to the promotion tournament where they didn’t win a single game, and were relegated. xPeke’s legacy as a player and personality is firmly cemented. The backdoor play he popularized will likely bear his name forever in League of Legends, and his infectious personality and flashy style have made him a fan favorite. But his organization’s legacy is in jeopardy. In summer 2017, the team tried unsuccessfully to climb out of Challenger but then basically dropped off the map. Then, in 2018, the organization announced funding from soccer star Alvaro Arbeloa. They signed a number of veteran pros to compete in the EU Masters tournament, topped their group, and took the event. But can Origen, who captured the imaginations of so many EU LCS fans, rise again? It’s a question unanswered for the moment. Still, when the chips are down and he’s got that signature grin on his face, it’s hard to bet against xPeke. Thanks for watching. If you want more great content just like this, be sure to hit the subscribe button.
That video is actually good ;D