LEC: Rogue vs GIANTX, The Longest Game Of The LEC Era

A single week of competition, and already a new record has been set. On Sunday, the second match of the evening between Rogue and GIANTX became the longest game in LEC history, clocking in at 59 minutes and 19 seconds before GX finally destroyed the opposing Nexus. And yet, in the preceding 20 minutes, Rogue managed to erase a significant midgame deficit and even had multiple opportunities to claim victory.

Emil “Larssen” Larsson and his teammates pushed deep into the enemy base twice: first after securing a Baron Nashor at 33:55, and then again following their acquisition of the Elder Drake at 37:03. However, GX’s defense held firm and the tide shifted once more when Rogue traded a Baron (RGE) for an Elder (GX), both claimed simultaneously at 43:22. As Rogue’s buff expired, GIANTX seized control of the objectives. Yet, it still took the Spanish squad two more Elder Drakes and another Baron Nashor to finally end the game.

Before this match, the record for the longest game in LEC history was held by a Winter Split 2023 clash between Vitality and Excel, lasting 54 minutes and 7 seconds. XL (now GX) and Patrik “Patrik” Jírů were the common denominators of these two games, as the ADC was then officiating in the British organization's colors. Patrik had lost the match to Vitality at the time, and lost again, this time to Rogue.

The longest game of 2024 came at the very end of the season, in the first game of the Season Finals' Grand Final. It took G2 Esports 51:20 to win the game against Fnatic, featuring Oh “Noah” Hyeon-taek and Yoon “Jun” Se-jun - the current GX botlane. This time, the South Korean botlane managed to finish the job.

However, the Rogue-GIANTX match is far from the longest in European history. Before the LEC era, 23 games in the old EU LCS format exceeded this duration. The record-holder remains the Summer 2016 clash between Origen and Fnatic, which lasted an astonishing 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 28 seconds. Origen, founded by Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martínez, ultimately emerged victorious in one of xPeke’s rare appearances as an AD Carry. Notably, Fnatic’s support at the time, Bora “YellOwStaR” Kim, provided cast for this Saturday’s GIANTX vs. Rogue game with OTP, the leading French broadcaster.

As a reminder, the longest game in the history of competitive League of Legends pitted Jin Air Green Wings against SKT T1 during the 2018 LCK Spring Split. While T1 is a much more renowned team than its opponents at the time, Jin Air won that endless game, in 1 hour, 34 minutes and 40 seconds.