sOAZ

One of the most veteran players, Paul “sOAZ” Boyer has once again stated his determination to not only make it to the League of Legends World Championship, but to take out the event. This follows sOAZ’s amazing run with Fnatic in 2018, where they claimed second place in the 2018 League of Legends World Championship, the highest a western team have ever placed in the past five years of the event.

More recently

Currently, sOAZ along with his team Misfits Gaming are performing extremely strongly, 2-0 in the 2019 LEC Spring split having defeated both Rogue and SK Gaming. While sOAZ has stated the team initially had a slow start and are still trying to achieve high level synergy, there is no denying Misifts are already performing very well.

sOAZ on Fnatic

While Fnatic ended on a high last year being the runners up to Worlds, they have had an extremely poor start, down 0-2. sOAZ states Fnatic has not been playing like he had saw them at worlds, where the team is currently showing a lack of confidence in their play. This is likely brought by some of the team’s roster changes and the overall pressure the team is facing to perform.

Making a comeback to worlds

Given Misfit’s strong early performance and great opportunity to develop even further, there is a good chance the team will make it to worlds. Ofcourse it is too early to compare the team to their international rivals until all stars, however, many remain hopeful of Misfits.

sOAZ is firm that he will continue to compete professionally as long he has the ability to, and has no immediate plans of retirement or moving to a coaching role. This is extremely admirable considering his long career, starting in late 2010 with against All authority.

sOAZ Domestic Career

2011

Paul “sOAZ” Boyer began his LoL career on Against All Authority (AAA). With his help, AAA became a top-tier European team, and they were invited to the IEM Season 5 LoL Invitational. They had a strong showing in the first phase of the tournament, defeating the likes of Team Dignitas EU and SK Gaming to advance to the next stage. However, AAA couldn’t overcome myRevenge afterward and finished the event in second place.

Then, sOAZ left the team to join Millenium. He performed well at different tournaments, including IEM Season 6 Cologne, but ultimately, he didn’t enjoy as much success. This caused him to leave the organization for brief stints on Absolute Legends and Nice Work Dude. In the end, though, sOAZ returned to Against All Authority and reestablished his top lane dominance.

2012

When AAA decided to disband, sOAZ joined Fnatic. He had a string of strong showings, and Fnatic quickly turned into a top-3 European team. They qualified for the Season 2 Regional Finals to become one of the three teams to attend Worlds that year. Fnatic started the tournament with a promising 2-0 over Team Curse Europe, but the subsequent losses to Moscow Five and CLG EU knocked them down to the fourth-place finish. With that, they missed out on their Worlds ticket. But Fnatic didn’t let that get to them. They kept showing up at international events and making a name for themselves.

2013

In the beginning of 2013, Fnatic went to the Season 3 Europe Offline Qualifier. There, they made it out of the group stage and 2-0’d MYM to qualify for the 2013 EU LCS Spring Split.

Fnatic instantly made their presence known in the EU LCS. With a 22-6 record, they propelled to the first-place finish and secured a bye to the Semifinals. In the playoffs, Fnatic scored back-to-back victories against Evil Geniuses and Gambit Gaming to win their first EU LCS trophy.

Their performance took a slight hit in summer. Even so, Fnatic managed to finish second over the regular season by winning a massive tiebreaker against Evil Geniuses, Gambit Gaming, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. They completely recovered in the playoffs, taking down Evil Geniuses and LemonDogs to win another EU LCS split. This run also granted them an invitation to the 2013 World Championship.

2014

In the 2014 Spring Split, Fnatic once again ascended to the top of the EU LCS ladder. And while they ended the regular season a single win behind SK Gaming, Fnatic picked up the slack in the playoffs. With two victories over Alliance and SK Gaming, they secured their third consecutive EU LCS trophy.

But things were about to change in summer. Once again, the regular season ended with Fnatic placing second, and their playoffs run started with a win over Team ROCCAT. But a 1-3 loss in the finals against Alliance put an end to Fnatic’s dominance. And for the first time since they’ve joined the EU LCS, they had to walk away with the silver medal. Nevertheless, they had enough Circuit Points to punch their ticket to another World Championship.

2015

In the off-season, sOAZ left the organization with several of Fnatic’s founding members. Together, they formed Origen. The newly-created team seamlessly qualified for the 2015 EU CS Spring Season. There, Origen scored back-to-back victories against Reason Gaming and CW Academy to qualify for the 2015 EU LCS Summer Split.

Origen enjoyed great success during their first competitive split. With a 12-6 record, they finished second in the regular season and advanced to the playoffs. Their 3-1 Semifinals victory over H2K showed a lot of promise, but the finals had them clash with the previously undefeated Fnatic lineup. And while Origen put up a fight in a close 5-game series, they couldn’t clinch the win.

Since they were a new team, Origen didn’t have enough Circuit Points, so they had to go through the Regional Finals to qualify for Worlds. Their first series ended with a narrow 3-2 win over Team ROCCAT. But the finals weren’t as stressful, and Origen dismantled Unicorns of Love to earn their spot at the 2015 World Championship. During this time, sOAZ proved himself as a potent top laner. He had a decent laning phase, but his main forte was taking over the map with solid teamfighting and well-timed Teleports.

2016

During the off-season, Origen recruited PowerOfEvil to replace their captain, xPeke. Fans predicted the team to come out even stronger after the change, but inexplicably, Origen faltered. With an 11-7 record, they finished the 2016 EU LCS Spring Split in fourth place. And while they managed to defeat UOL and H2K to reach the finals, Origen lost 1-3 in their final series against Fnatic.

After such a shaky showing, Origen had to part ways with the world-class bot lane of Zven and Mithy. And so, their 2016 Summer Split went even worse. Origen found themselves at the very bottom of the EU LCS standings, which automatically knocked them down to the Promotion Tournament. There, they managed to hold on to their LCS slot with a 3-2 victory over Misfits.

2017

Even so, sOAZ decided to leave the organization. He went back to Fnatic, but his team had a very hectic showing in the 2017 Spring Split. Still, Fnatic picked up the slack and qualified for the playoffs. In the Quarterfinals, they 3-0’d H2K by blindsiding them with a unique splitpush-oriented playstyle. And even though Fnatic fell short in the Semifinals against G2 Esports, they bounced back with a confident victory over Misfits in the third place match.

Fnatic had a massive resurgence in the 2017 EU LCS Summer Split. They topped their group with an 11-2 record and advanced to the playoffs. They were considered the favorites coming into the Semifinals against Misfits. But the up-and-coming lineup proved much tougher than everyone expected, and Fnatic lost the series with a 1-3 score. In the third place match, Fnatic took down H2K 3-2 to win another bronze medal.

Still, if they wanted to qualify for the 2017 World Championship, they had to go through the Gauntlet. Fnatic were seeded directly into the finals. There, they clashed with H2K once again and secured their Worlds ticket with a quick 3-0 victory.

sOAZ International Tournaments

2011

sOAZ attended his first international tournament—the Riot Season 1 Championship—as a part of Against All Authority. His team had a solid start and made it out of the group stage with a 2-1 record. In the playoffs, AAA scored back-to-back victories against gamed1de and TSM. They hit their first bump in the road after a crushing defeat against Fnatic (previously known as myRevenge) in the finals. With that, they were knocked down to the loser’s bracket where they found another win against TSM. However, the Grand Finals had them face Fnatic, and AAA lost the series with a 1-2 score.

On Millenium, sOAZ took part in IEM Season 6 Cologne. His team fared well in the group stage and qualified for the playoffs. But Millenium’s Semifinals series against CLG ended with a 1-2 defeat. In the third place match, they lost to Fnatic with the same scoreline.

2012

sOAZ went back to AAA to participate in IEM Season 6 Kiev. Unfortunately, they couldn’t show up in the group stage and faltered against Moscow Five and Team Dignitas. Still, their reputation earned them a spot at the IEM Season 6 World Championship. AAA had a decent showing in groups, qualifying for the playoffs with a 3-2 record. They started their run with a 2-1 win over SK Gaming, but the following losses to Team Dignitas and CLG brought them down to the fourth-place finish.

On Fnatic, sOAZ attended the IPL 5. His team made it out of the group stage with a 2-1 record. In the playoffs, Fnatic upset the season 2 World Champions, Taipei Assassins, and defeated CLG in a close 3-game series. And while they fell to Team WE in the following round, Fnatic bounced back with another win over Taipei Assassins. In the Grand Finals, they once again clashed with Team WE but were unable to turn the tables. After a 1-3 loss, Fnatic finished the tournament in second place.

Then, they took part in IEM Season 7 Cologne. Fnatic topped their group with a 3-0 score and bested CJ Entus in the Semifinals. In the finals, Fnatic lost to SKT T1 with a 1-2 score. Fnatic came back for IEM Season 7 Katowice. Their group stage was a bit shakier, but they still managed to qualify for the playoffs. Still, a quick 1-2 loss to Azubu Blaze put an end to their run.

2013

In the end, their performance earned them a spot at the IEM Season 7 World Championship. Unfortunately, Fnatic had a hard time at the event, and their 1-4 groups record wasn’t enough to qualify for the playoffs.

Fnatic showed up big time at the 2013 World Championship. They dominated their group and kick-started the playoffs by dismantling Cloud9 in the Quarterfinals. But this was the end of the line for them, and Fnatic lost 1-3 in the Semifinals against Royal Club.

Afterward, sOAZ—and Fnatic—attended IEM Season 8 Cologne. After being seeded directly in the Semifinals, Fnatic defeated CLG in a close 3-game series. Still, they couldn’t overcome Gambit Gaming in the finals and finished the tournament in second place. The entire Fnatic lineup was also invited to the 2013 Battle of the Atlantic event where it fell 0-2 to Cloud9.

2014

Considering their international success, IEM invited them to take part in the Season 8 World Championship. Fnatic had a rocky start after losing to Invictus Gaming in the group stage, but they managed to claw their way back through the loser’s bracket to qualify for the playoffs. There, Fnatic took down Cloud9 before falling prey to KT Bullets in the finals.

By the end of 2014, Fnatic qualified for another World Championship. However, they found themselves in the ‘group of death’ together with Samsung Blue, OMG, and LMQ. Fnatic fell short in face of such fierce competition and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

2015

On Origen, sOAZ went to the 2015 World Championship. His team proved its worth by going 4-2 in the group stage. In the playoffs, Origen scored a 3-1 victory over Flash Wolves, but they suffered a devastating loss in the following series against SKT T1. Origen then attended IEM Season 10 San Jose. There, they scored back-to-back victories against TSM and CLG, winning the tournament without dropping a single game.

2016

This showing granted them an invitation to the IEM Season 10 World Championship. But Origen were quickly eliminated after dropping games to Royal Never Give Up and TSM.

2017

Afterward, sOAZ went back to Fnatic. His team took part in the 2017 Rift Rivals (NA vs EU) event. Surprisingly enough, European teams struggled to stand up to their North American counterparts, and Fnatic were no exception. With a 2-4 record in the group stage, they failed to qualify for the finals.

At the 2017 World Championship, Fnatic had to go through the Play-In Stage. They had a strong showing and qualified for the Main Event with a confident victory over Hong Kong Attitude. However, the first week of their group stage ended with a disastrous 0-3 record.

At the time, it seemed that Fnatic’s run was all but over. But they regained their composure and clawed their way back to force a tiebreaker with Immortals and GIGABYTE Marines. With back-to-back victories over both opponents, Fnatic made it out of the group stage and went on to face Royal Never Give Up in the Quarterfinals. But this adversary proved too hard for them to handle, and Fnatic lost the series with a 1-3 score.

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