It’s time to celebrate Europe’s success at League of Legends Worlds

There are two Korean teams in the League of Legends World Championships semifinals. That is expected.

There are also two European teams. That’s remarkable.

The last two tournaments have had a total of one non-Eastern team make the semifinals: Fnatic, who finished fourth in 2013. The only tournament without an Eastern champion was the first one -- not coincidentally the only tournament without any Korean, Chinese or Taiwanese teams in the field. It’s no accident Korean and Chinese teams enter each international tournament as favorites to win it all: They pretty much always do.

It is possible (or perhaps likely) that we’ll end up with an all-Korean final, which would also be a first for Worlds. But that shouldn’t take anything away from the European region’s growth and success on the international scene.

There’s of course Fnatic, the European power that was at least somewhat expected to make a run this far in the tournament. After an 18-0 regular season in the EU LCS and a win over Origen in the Playoff Finals, Fnatic strolled into a group with Invictus Gaming, ahq e-Sports Club and Cloud9 as a definite favorite to make it to the knockout rounds.

After a rough first week, Fnatic rebounded in the second week of the group stages with the inventive picks that made them so successful in the Summer Split. Rekkles brought out the Kennen AD Carry twice on a 3-0 Sunday to secure its spot in the quarterfinals.

The group stages is one thing, but the quarterfinals? Fnatic had to go up against Edward Gaming, the Chinese team that also happened to be the most recent winners of an international tournament. Oh, and in that tournament, Fnatic played EDG and was straight run off of the rift.

But that was May, and October is a different story. Fnatic have replaced ADC Steelback with Rekkles, and shockingly swept EDG Saturday to advance to the semifinals, proving itself as one of the most complete teams in the field. Now Fnatic has to face KOO Tigers Sunday in what should be a highly contested semifinal series.

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Then there’s Origen, the unquestioned Cinderella story of the tournament. Formed less than a year ago by former Fnatic world champion mid laner xPeke, the team the team is made up of a combination of established veteran talent and ridiculously impressive rookie performers (looking at you, Niels). Origen started in the second division of the European domestic league, and worked its way up through the EU LCS and into the world semifinals, all in just a handful of months.

Qualifying for Worlds was already a tremendous achievement for a first-year European team, but doing anything once at the tournament? Nearly unthinkable, even with the experience on the roster..

Then the magic of xPeke struck the Worlds stage again. Origen showcased Europe’s mastery of the current meta with genius shotcalling and strong teamfights, going 4-2 in the group stage and setting up a quarterfinal matchup with Taiwanese team Flash Wolves (a 3-1 win for the European side).

The multiple teleport meta has suited European teams better than most. xPeke used it long before it was widely popular, and European teams have such a heavy emphasis on mid-lane farming that it just makes sense for their play style. The top two players at Worlds in CS per minute? xPeke (9.7) and Fnatic mid laner Febiven (9.4). The European teams have shown an ability to get a lot of gold on the damage dealers in the middle, and then send that damage around the map with lethal teleports.

Origen has also been helped tremendously by rookie AD Carry Niels, who is 3-1 on Kalista at the tournament and No. 5 in the tournament with a 84% kill participation rate. The EU LCS Rookie of the Split has continued his strong play into the international stage, helping take some of the pressure off of the veteran xPeke, who is expected to retire after the tournament.

Origen’s Cinderella performance is rewarded by an even tougher semifinal matchups: SKTelecom T1, the overwhelming favorite to win the tournament and the 2013 World champions. The semifinals could be trying for the European sides, with difficult matchups ahead. But it’s hard to not feel this way when thinking of Europe’s performance at this year’s Worlds: