France — Open Tour France: Gamers Origin and Gentside

Fans of the first edition will probably reminisce fondly when they see GamersOrigin back into the EU Masters as France’s first seed. The crazy fights, the high tempo games, the wild picks from carry jungler TynX… and then, out of nowhere, the loss to eventual runners up Illuminar Gaming. Good news is, GamersOrigin are back with their chaotic and oppressive style, and they look hungry for vengeance. Qualifying as a firm first in circuit points after winning both Summer Split tournaments in Occitanie (June) and Metz (just yesterday!), no other team from France has been close in terms of consistency.

To describe GamersOrigin, think of a stubborn bull charging into a red cape over and over, even after missing countless times. That’s how GO like to play: aggression at every moment of the game; and if it fails it just means they’re about to try again with more run-up. The old adage goes “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”, and GamersOrigin seem to identify strongly with this. Even from behind they do not lose their confidence in themselves and will force plays over and over again. It’s almost as if they refuse to believe they will lose: no matter how high is the risk, the chance will always be in their favour. If they so much as sense a moment of weakness, you can be sure they will not hesitate of exploit it over and over again.

Everything starts with Tynx’s ambitions: be it a forced gank or an aggressive -often overaggressive- tower dive, he looks to make things start, even if they end up failing. His penchant for the botlane is undeniable, aiming not necessarily to get Toaster ahead but to rack up kills for himself and make structures crumble. Rinse and repeat for every lane. As soon as Tonerre is freed up from the midlane the solo assault mission turns into a deathball, engaging every opponent on sight. What makes the difference between their way and how their opponents is GO knows how to lose less than you for a failed play and earn more than you for a successful one.

A true ‘confidence team’, their signature aggressive style is the most accurate reproduction of the LPL teams, where skirmishes and teamfighting is a way of life. Give them an inch, they’ll take the whole 9 yards. For GamersOrigin it is go big, or go home and this time they will be doing everything they can to ensure if they do go home, it will be with the EU Master’s trophy firmly in their hands.

Player to Watch: Tynx. Surprised? Well, you will be as soon as you see him on the Rift: his mastery of hyperaggressive champions is rivaled only by his confidence to make brave calls, and the skill to make them happen tops both off. Be it Olaf or Kindred, Lee Sin or Kha’Zix, Taliyah or Nidalee, or his signature Graves: every champion capable of sending a shiver down your spine, Tynx plays it. With Kikis out of the stage, it’s no doubt that he’s coming to claim the title of best jungler in the tournament, if not the most fearless.

Play-in: Gentside, a name that is relatively new to the French circuit compared to LDLC or Vitality Academy, managed to sneak into second place and snag a ticket for Poland. Ever since its creation this year, the consistent core of Xani, Brosak and Saken have achieved illustrious results, never finishing below 4th in all the Open Tour tournaments. Unafraid to go toe to toe with the big boys like GamersOrigin and Team LDLC, their first entry into the EU Masters now is expectedly met with a lot of eager eyes due to many phenomenal matches they’ve had over the season.

Rivals and fellow Masters attendee GamersOrigin as we talked about before, resembles a charging bull, relentless in their pressure to make the enemy cow before them. Gentside on the other hand, is more akin to a spider. Careful warding and timings, they like to set up their traps and wait for the right moment before going full on berserk. If you bite them, they bite back harder. Like a spider, they are in no rush to destroy the nexus when they know they’re in control. They toy with their prey to churn down their mental resilience before savouring victory, capable of amassing mind boggling numbers in their KDA like the French meta is so well known for.

Not shy to go in extremely hard on the opponent, their botlane duo of xMatty and TreatZ will scrap tooth and nail in the laning phase, confident in their 2v2 skills. Like a lot of French teams, Gentside also plays around their botlane fairly often with TreatZ leading their charge on dives and teamfights, relying on xMatty’s strong mechanical skill to carry them through later on. Bloody (replacing Xani, who is their coach now) lives up to his name sake, having a keen sense of when to countergank and often roams with the midlane Saken to skirmish. You might happen to see him less comfortable on tank champions (such as his favoured Sejuani): that’s because Gentside is trying to add more variation to their play, requiring Bloody to neglect his usual picks like Graves/Kindred/Nidalee. A bold transition and certainly uncomfortable indeed, but undoubtedly worth in the long term to diversify Gentside’s strategy. And Saken, the man in the midlane, is a real terror. Playing midlane champions who have very strong teamfight or dueling potential such as Swain, Ryze, Casseopiea etc. Gentside gives him the lion’s share of gold in the sidelanes, ensuring he is always ahead and a threat in 1v1’s or teamfights. Top laner Brosak can lane against them best, being the reliable top lane tank for his team.

Coming into the EU Masters, Gentside have attracted a lot of attention, since recently from circuit tournaments they’ve struggled a little with consistency. After a less than stellar showing at ESWC Metz this team will now have to face some of Europe’s finest, and it’s in their hands to show us whether the spider traps their opponents or be caught in the web which they spun.

Player to watch: Treatz. Ironically or not, the Swedish support is a treat to watch, and a threat to their enemies: his timely roams make him look like a magician, and every time Gentside attempts for a solokill or are about to get caught, he pops in from nowhere, turning the tides of the skirmish with his uncanny peeling abilities. Due to him often being the primary engager or peeler, Treatz’s champion pool is one to keep an eye out for. Favouring Rakan, Leona, Alistar, Gragas, Braum, Galio (yes, he has played Galio support) and surprisingly Soraka, teams who face Gentside will have a headache either way in draft and in game.