This article is proudly supported by McDonald’s.
Simon “Swiffer” Papamarkos is one of the League of Legends luminaries in the Oceanic Pro League. Now in his eighth year playing at a professional level, Swiffer doesn’t turn heads as often as he used to with his incredible play, but he’s learned a thing or two about reading the flow of the game.
Teamfights are often dictated by the right or wrong decision to engage onto the enemy. Known to be the primary shotcaller on Order, Swiffer expertly showcased his knowledge in a teamfight against Bombers in the second round of the OPL Gauntlet on Aug. 24. And although this isn’t the most flashy play, this is a team game and Swiffer proved that a leading voice like his is crucial in steering a team to victory.
The double kill from Swiffer’s Qiyana was preceded by his narrow escape from what should’ve been certain death. A beautifully-timed Malphite ultimate from Samuel “Spookz” Broadley provided enough of an escape window for Swiffer to disengage, but instead, he chose to loop back and finish off the enemy Jarvan who was still locked in place from the Malphite ult.
After a third Bomber player appeared in the mid lane, Swiffer and Spookz were both now cowering under their tower. The threat of the tower dive was looming. This would’ve been an important swing in momentum for the Bombers since they were at a small gold disadvantage at this point. What they didn’t account for, however, was Ronan “Dream” Swingle’s Tristana being within range to jump into the fight. Dream then knocked the opposing ADC under his tower for the still-lurking Swiffer to clean up. The Order mid laner chased down the now-retreating enemies but was unable to take a third victim.
At face value, this teamfight seemingly played out relatively simply. A life-saving Malphite ultimate and a random Tristana roam leading to two sloppy kills may not be mechanically exciting in any sense, but knowing Swiffer to be the leader that he is, this was a supreme example of experience. Only a veteran player would be able to orchestrate a winning teamfight from the scraps of a losing one. It’s this calm and collected voice of reason that helped his team push on to a decisive victory after this play.
