Roster Reaction: ORDER – Command and Conquer

Newcomers to the OPL, ORDER have had an excellent off-season being able to pick up arguably the strongest players in each position – If they aren’t your number one, they will surely be your number two.. Since the inception of the OPL in 2015, success of new organisations has been limited, with the bottom end of the table being a tumultuous place that has frequently housed any new organisation, with SIN being the only exception to taste playoffs. ORDER will come into 2018 to not only seek to break the trend, but blow it out of the water with anything short of a finals appearance being a disappointment.

 

Leading ORDER, Simon “Swiffer” Papamarkos joins from long-time home at Chiefs Esports Club, where he forged his reputation as the “best player Oceania has ever produced”.

 Little needs to be said about the accolades he has received over the years – Winning 4 OPL titles; representing Australia on the global stage…he even solo killed Ambition at WCG 2013. A mainstay of Oceanic League of Legends, the value Swiffer can bring to a team can be highlighted by the difficulties the Chiefs had faced while Swiffer was overseas, with Cheese filling his position until return. The Split 1 ’16 Chiefs struggled to a 5-3 record, a major deal for the near unbeatable team of the past, Swiffer returning to lead Chiefs to the OPL title, spawning the now omnipresent phrase “No Swiffer, No Clue”. Coming into the OPL in 2018 Swiffer will be against fierce competition from his opponents if he is to hold onto his position as the best mid laner in Oceania.

 

Also joining from the Chiefs is long-time partner in the jungle, Samuel “Spookz” Broadley to unite with his mid laner once again. Having been together since 2013 under Exile 5, being able to bring these two players under the same banner is invaluable. Spookz like many junglers in the OPL comes in off the back of an inconsistent 2017. During the season Spookz made uncharacteristic mistakes and had been targeted as a hole in an otherwise strong Chiefs line up which had seen them not only break their streak of OPL titles at 4, but saw them not win a single OPL title in 2017. Spookz will no doubt be seeking to prove his doubters wrong moving in to 2018. Spookz is an emotional leader and when he on-song he leads from the front and rallies his whole team to his call when he gets vocal. With a match up against Dire Wolves being a juicy proposition as Spookz seeks to reclaim his throne as not only the best jungler in the region but as a 2018 OPL Split 1 champion. Along with Swiffer forming a strong base to build around, it is certainly a possibility.

 

Joining the long-time allies is one of their long-time rivals. Former Legacy sidelane specialist James “Tally” Shute fills the top lane position off the back of a lacklustre 2017. The former OPL MVP spent last season expanding on his craft, often being made to fill a tank position for the team. As a strong mechanical player, without a doubt Tally would’ve liked to have had a flashier 2017 and in 2018 one can only hope that he returns to filling a carry position on occasion that saw his now teammates tremble at PAX 2014. With the way the meta appears to be shaping Tally will be right at home, being able to fill a flexible position playing tanks and carries with equal ease, will look to regain some lost ground to re-establish himself as the strongest top in the region.

 

A relative newcomer, at least compared to his teammates is AD Carry Victor “FBI” Huang, who joins from SIN Gaming. After a successful debut year, FBI has solidified himself as one of the brightest talents in Oceania bringing himself into contention for the best ADC player in the region in his rookie year. Leaving what was an on-the-rise SIN Gaming, it is of little doubt that FBI joins looking to increase his chances of securing an OPL title. As with the other players on this roster, FBI defines flexibility, while being at home on supportive champions he can play carries to just as deadly of a level. While Oceania has many strong carry players in the position, FBI is by far the most versatile; being able to play supportive champions such as Ashe in particular to a level that far exceeds his peers. It is this fact that makes me certain that FBI will not only build upon his performance in 2017 but look to create a gap between himself and his opposing numbers.

 

Sticking with both his 2017 bot lane partner and arguably best buddy-cop-duo of 2017 is Jake “Rogue” Sharwood who also joins from the ranks of SIN Gaming. With the departure of EGym Ali God from the competition, Rogue is a perfect position to claim the support throne. The best play making support in the region, Rogue is a deadly and decisive when it comes to engaging. In 2018, it will be interesting to see how far Rogue diversifies from this status as on SIN Gaming he often found himself as the primary source of engage, and an ever versatile ORDER roster may be filling a defensive role from time to time. An interesting point of note is that Rogue also exceeds his peers when it comes to pushing a vision line forward, a job that many a team in the OPL struggled to fulfil. However, this is not without fault as this tendency to push vision could be punished upon resetting, leaving gaps in vision that force a more defensive style upon said reset. That being said, without a doubt Rogue will come into 2018 looking to solidify his position as the top support in the region, and alongside FBI, the best bot lane.

 

ORDER has without a doubt, been able to build one of the best rosters that the Oceanic region has ever seen. Building a roster from scratch can be a difficult task and with the securing of familiar pairings of Swiffer and Spookz, and FBI and Rogue has led to foundations having previously been built before the rift has even been taken.