After putting up a gem of an inaugural performance on the League of Legends World Championship stage today, Fnatic’s jungler Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek couldn’t help but speak humbly of his early accomplishments.
“I felt like I was invisible during that game,” Selfmade said after Fnatic’s day one victory over TSM—a victory in which he played a vital role. Even after putting on a masterclass of jungling on his trademark champion Evelynn, Selfmade couldn’t wait to “move on to the next game.”
His debut on the Worlds stage is something that ought to be savored for a moment, however. The young Fnatic jungler had incredibly big shoes to fill coming into the team’s first game at the tournament. Throughout the organization’s history, the jungle position has been normally held down by some of the biggest, most talented names in the professional scene. From Cyanide back in 2013 all the way to Broxah just last year, Fnatic’s junglers have been traditionally exceptional at the World Championship. Today, Selfmade was no exception.
With a scoreline of 4/1/4 and a kill participation rate of 75 percent, Selfmade made up nearly 23 percent of Fnatic’s total damage against TSM, according to gol.gg. His performance came to a head, however, when he effortlessly solo-killed TSM’s bottom laner Doublelift with a combo that hammered the final nail into TSM’s coffin.
It was because of Selfmade’s presence across the map that Fnatic secured the victory. His prowess at every stage in the game made him look like an experienced veteran with years of international experience under his belt, despite only playing on the professional stage for just two years.
“Obviously it feels great since going to Worlds,” Selfmade said after today’s win. “Fighting for the trophy is the goal of every pro player. I’m happy that I finally made it. Hopefully we can at least make it out of groups.”
And frankly, the odds are in Fnatic’s favor to do exactly that. With a win today, the team has given itself a bit of a cushion moving forward in Group C. Additionally, Fnatic’s strong track record shows that the team has advanced past the group stage in all four of its last appearances at the World Championship.
Still, Selfmade is doing everything in his power to take a step back and learn from those around him. Taking in information and advice from experienced veterans is often a recipe for success when it comes to young, developing players. At just 20 years old, Selfmade is admittedly “learning how to approach the international stage” while simultaneously handling all the pressure that comes with being a top League of Legends player. And while these things take time to learn, having four teammates around you to ease the process definitely makes things less startling.