Xmithie
{{Short description|Professional League of Legends player}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Philippine name|Kevin|Puchero}}
{{Infobox video game player
| ID = Xmithie
| name = Jake Puchero
| name_trans =
| image = Xmithie at the NA LCS Spring 2016 Finals.jpg
| caption = Puchero in 2016
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| nationality = Filipino-American
| team =
| role = Jungler
| league =
| game = League of Legends
| career_start = 2012
| career_end =
| years1 = 2012
| team1 = APictureOfAGoose
| years2 = 2012
| team2 = mTw North America
| years3 = 2012
| team3 = Monomaniac Ferus
| years4 = 2012
| team4 = Team FeaR
| team5 = XDG Gaming{{efn|Renamed from Team Vulcan in mid-2013.}}
| team6 = Counter Logic Gaming
| years10 = 2017
| team10 = Immortals
| team11 = Team Liquid
| years12 = 2020
| team12 = Immortals
| highlights =
- 6× LCS champion
}}
Jake Kevin Puchero, better known by his in-game name Xmithie ({{IPAc-en|audio=Xmithie.mp3|ɛ|k|ˈ|s|m|ɪ|θ|i}}), is a Filipino-American professional League of Legends player most recently played as a jungler for Immortals of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS).{{cite news |last1=Martinello |first1=Eva |title=Xmithie joins Immortals |url=https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/news/xmithie-joins-immortals |access-date=January 22, 2020 |work=Dot Esports |date=November 21, 2019}} Xmithie won the NA LCS' 2015 Summer Split and the 2016 Spring Split while on CLG, as well as the 2018 Spring and Summer and 2019 Spring and Summer Splits while on Team Liquid.{{cite web|url=https://esports.yahoo.com/g2-counter-logic-gaming-are-the-eu-and-na-lcs-010005472.html |title=G2 Esports, Counter Logic Gaming are the EU and NA LCS champions |website=Esports.yahoo.com |access-date=April 21, 2016}}
Career
= Season 1 =
Xmithie first entered the League of Legends in January 2011, quickly hitting level 30 and jumping into ranked duo queue, playing with his now ex-girlfriend. For a time during Season 1, Xmithie got stuck and hovered around the 1700 ELO range. However, once he began play solo in ranked, he sprang up to 2200 ELO, where he met other 2000 ELO players to form a team called Soldier Front. Team Soldier Front competed in small tournaments, eventually meeting APictureOfAGoose during a Go4LoL cup in October 2011. After playing against Team Soldier Front, A PictureOfAGoose invited Xmithie to join as their AD Carry substitute player, a position which he accepted.
= Season 2 =
As being a part of one of the teams that qualified through the North American Pre-Qualifier #1 for the IEM Season VI - Global Challenge Kiev, Xmithie planned to go with APictureOfAGoose to the event. But, due to family problems, LemonGoD was unable to attend the event. As a replacement, team captain Atlanta invited his friend cuRtoKy to join as the support player for APictureOfAGoose. Atlanta decided to change to the AD Carry position in order to play with cuRtoKy, since they were close friends and Atlanta believed he would synergize better with cuRtoKy more than Xmithie would. Xmithie took Atlanta's old position of jungler for the team. Despite the roster changes, APictureOfAGoose ended up not attending IEM Kiev.
Around one month after the departure of LemonGoD and the addition of Xmithie into the main lineup, APictureOfAGoose was acquired by mTw and became {{proper name|mTw.NA}}. This occurred while APictureOfAGoose was competing in the Alienware Arena North America: Winter, where they ended up placing third.
In the next few months, Xmithie found success with {{proper name|mTw.NA}} in various minor tournaments, taking first place in Go4LoL Cup #61, CSN playLEGENDS Points Cup 1, CSN playLEGENDS Points Cup 2, CSN playLEGENDS Points Cup 4, and the In2LOL Kickoff NA Tournament.
The first major tournament that Xmithie competed in under the {{proper name|mTw.NA}} banner was the 2012 MLG Pro Circuit - Spring Championship. At the event, Xmithie faced off in their first match against European powerhouse Counter Logic Gaming EU, who proved to be a tough opponent as CLG EU pulled out a 2–0 victory over {{proper name|mTw.NA}}. Dropping down to the loser's bracket, Xmithie and his team were able to take out vVv Gaming 2–1 to advance to the next round of the loser's bracket. But here {{proper name|mTw.NA}} fell to Team Dynamic 2–0, ending the tournament with 9th-12th-place finish.
Despite a disappointing showing at the MLG Spring Championship, Xmithie and {{proper name|mTw.NA}} continued to dominate the online tournament scene, taking first at the Solomid NA Invitational 3. Here, Xmithie and his team fell to Team Dynamic 0–2 in their first match of the tournament, dropping down to the loser's bracket of the third SoloMid Invitational. However, here Xmithie and mTw went on a hot streak, sweeping Lzuruha Gaming, Ordinance Gaming, and Team SoloMid 2–0 to advance to the loser's bracket final. There, {{proper name|mTw.NA}} continued forward with their momentum in tow, taking out Counter Logic Gaming Black 2–1, qualifying straight to the grand finals as Curse Gaming forfeited their remaining matches. Coming back up from the loser's bracket to face off against the team that put them there, Xmithie and {{proper name|mTw.NA}} came out on top in a close 2–1 victory in the first set and swept Team Dynamic 2–0 in the second set to take home first place from the tournament.
Continuing their success in online tournaments, Xmithie took first place on July 6, 2012, at the National ESL Pro Series Season 3 with his team {{proper name|mTw.NA}}. During the three-month-long online group stage, {{proper name|mTw.NA}} placed third, going 4-3 winning 9 games out of 16 by defeating 4Nothing 2–0, Epik Gamer 2–0, Counter Logic Gaming Prime 2–0, and Team Legion 2–0, while falling to Team Dignitas 1–2, Curse Gaming 0–2, and Team SoloMid 0–2. As Team SoloMid was forced to forfeit, mTw moved on up to the grand finals. There, Xmithie carried on the momentum and defeated Team Dignitas 2–0, taking home first place with his team {{proper name|mTw.NA}}.
Two days later, Xmithie took second place at the fourth SoloMid NA Invitational with team {{proper name|mTw.NA}}. Xmithie had a powerful start in the first two rounds, eliminating both Curse Gaming and Team Legion 2–1 to advance to the winners bracket final. But there Xmithie's team {{proper name|mTw.NA}} were unable to pull out a win, falling just short to Orbit Gaming 1–2. Not letting the loss get to them, Xmithie and {{proper name|mTw.NA}} were able to sweep heavy favorite Team SoloMid 2–0 to get another shot at first place. However, once again Orbit Gaming was able to pull out on top, taking mTw out in a close 2–1.
Xmithie participated in the Leaguecraft ggClassic Presented by Arqade with his team {{proper name|mTw.NA}}. In the group stages, his team pulled out an impressive 4-1 finish, taking second place, defeating 4Nothing, Orbit Gaming, Taipei Assassins, and Counter Logic Gaming Prime while taking their only loss to Counter Logic Gaming Black. In the playoffs {{proper name|mTw.NA}} fell to Team Dynamic 1–2, dropping down to the loser's bracket. There, {{proper name|mTw.NA}} took out Curse Gaming 2–0 to move forward to the second round of the loser's bracket. Once again, CLG Black took out {{proper name|mTw.NA}} 2–0, leaving Xmithie with a third-place finish.
A week after the top three performance at the Leaguecraft ggClassic, Xmithie competed in the SoloMid NA Invitational 5 alongside {{proper name|mTw.NA}}. Xmithie's team {{proper name|mTw.NA}} took out CLG Black 2–1 in the first round, but fell to Team SoloMid 0–2 in the second round, falling to the loser's bracket. There, {{proper name|mTw.NA}} went on a hot streak, taking out Team Dynamic, Ordinance Gaming, and Team SoloMid to reach the grand finals of the event. But {{proper name|mTw.NA}} fell to Team Dignitas 1–2 in the finals, taking home second place.
At the sixth Solomid NA Invitational, Xmithie took second place with his team {{proper name|mTw.NA}}. In the tournament, {{proper name|mTw.NA}} had a dominant first two rounds, taking out Meat Playground and Ordinance Gaming 2–0 to advance to the winner's bracket final. Here they fell to Team SoloMid 1–2, dropping down to face Ordinance Gaming once again for a shot at the grand finals. Repeating their success, {{proper name|mTw.NA}} once again swept Ordinance Gaming 2–0, advancing to the grand finals to get a rematch with Team SoloMid. Xmithie and {{proper name|mTw.NA}} had a strong first set, taking out the North American powerhouse 2–0. However, in the second set Team SoloMid rebounded and took out {{proper name|mTw.NA}} 2–0, leaving Xmithie with a second-place finish.
= Season 5 =
At the start of Season 5 Xmithie was picked up by CLG for the 2015 LCS Season, replacing Dexter. In the Spring Split CLG finished 3rd in regular season and 5th/6th in playoffs after losing to Team Liquid 0–3. Xmithie was OP Player once in Week 2. In the Summer Split CLG finished in second after losing to Team Liquid in a tiebreaker. This still earned them a bye in the playoffs, where they played Team Impulse and won 3–0, sending them to the finals against longtime rivals TSM. After another 3–0 victory against TSM, CLG qualified for the 2015 World Championship. On September 11 CLG announced that Xmithie was having visa issues and that HuHi would be their starting jungler for the 2015 League of Legends World Championship.
He became a naturalized US citizen in May 2015.{{Cite web|url=https://pvplive.net/c/xmithie-is-now-a-us-citizen|title = Home - PVP}}
= Season 7 =
In May 2017, before start of the Summer Split of Season 7, Xmithie transferred from CLG to Immortals. He attended the Season 7 World Championships with Immortals, but the team did not continue past the Group Stage.
= Season 8 =
Following the announcement that Immortals would not be included in the franchising of the NALCS, Team Liquid announced that Xmithie would be a starter on the team in the 2018 Spring Split on November 22, 2017, along with other Immortals members Olleh and Pobelter.{{Cite web|url=https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/news/team-liquid-reportedly-acquires-immortals-players-18808|title=Team Liquid reportedly acquires several former Immortals players|date=November 19, 2017}} They would become the spring split champions, defeating 100 Thieves 3–0, with Xmithie providing a crucial play in Game 1 by stealing the Baron Nashor from 100 Thieves to help turn the tide in Team Liquid's favor.{{Cite web|url=https://www.teamliquid.com/news/2018/04/08/team-liquid-are-your-2018-spring-split-champions|title=Team Liquid are your 2018 Spring Split Champions!!|website=www.teamliquid.com}}
During summer split, Team Liquid finished in first place during the regular season and defeated Cloud 9 3–0 in the playoff finals to win the split and ensure their spot at worlds for the first time in Team Liquid's history.{{Cite web|url=https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/news/team-liquid-are-the-2018-na-lcs-summer-split-champions|title=Team Liquid are the 2018 NA LCS Summer Split champions|date=September 10, 2018}} However, at worlds they would fail to advance past the group stage, falling to KT Rolster and EDward Gaming.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/25005879/2018-league-legends-world-championship-team-liquid-exit-marred-scared-play|title=Team Liquid's worlds exit marred by scared play|date=October 17, 2018|website=ESPN.com}}
Tournament results
| class=" wikitable" style="width: 100%;"
! colspan="6" | Career Tournament Results |
| style="width:10%;" | Date
! style="width:40%;" | Event ! style="width:10%;" | Placing ! colspan="1" | Team ! colspan="1" | Record ! colspan="1" | Opponent |
|---|
| style="text-align:center;" | April 28, 2013
| 2013 NA LCS Spring Playoffs | style="text-align:center" | Bronze 3rd | style="text-align:center" | Team Vulcun | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 2-1 | style="text-align:center" | Team Curse |
| style="text-align:center;" | September 1, 2013
| 2013 NA LCS Summer Playoffs | style="text-align:center" | Bronze 3rd | style="text-align:center" | Team Vulcun | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 2-0 | style="text-align:center" | Team Dignitas |
| style="text-align:center;" | January 24{{ndash}}March 29, 2015
| 2015 NA LCS Spring Regular Season | style="text-align:center" | Bronze 3rd | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 12-6 | style="text-align:center" | N/A |
| style="text-align:center;" | April 4, 2015
| 2015 NA LCS Spring Playoffs | style="text-align:center" | 5th-6th | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 0-3 | style="text-align:center" | Team Liquid |
| style="text-align:center;" | May 30{{ndash}}July 26, 2015
| 2015 NA LCS Summer Regular Season | style="text-align:center" | Silver 2nd | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 13-5 | style="text-align:center" | N/A |
| style="text-align:center;" | August 23, 2015
| 2015 NA LCS Summer Playoffs | style="text-align:center" | Gold 1st | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 3-0 | style="text-align:center" | Team SoloMid |
| style="text-align:center;" | January 16{{ndash}}March 20, 2016
| 2016 NA LCS Spring Regular Season | style="text-align:center" | Silver 2nd | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 13-5 | style="text-align:center" | N/A |
| style="text-align:center;" | April 17, 2016
| 2016 NA LCS Spring Playoffs | style="text-align:center" | Gold 1st | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 3-2 | style="text-align:center" | Team SoloMid |
| style="text-align:center;" | May 15, 2016
| 2016 Mid-Season Invitational | style="text-align:center" | Silver 2nd | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 0-3 | style="text-align:center" | SKT T1 |
| style="text-align:center;" | June 3{{ndash}}July 31, 2016
| 2016 NA LCS Summer Regular Season | style="text-align:center" | 4th | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 10-8 | style="text-align:center" | N/A |
| style="text-align:center;" | August 27, 2016
| 2016 NA LCS Summer Playoffs | style="text-align:center" | 4th | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 2-3 | style="text-align:center" | Immortals |
| style="text-align:center;" | September 30{{ndash}}October 10, 2016
| 2016 League of Legends World Championship Group Stage | style="text-align:center" | 9-12 | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 3-3 | style="text-align:center" | ROX Tigers, Albus NoX Luna, and G2 Esports |
| style="text-align:center;" | January 20{{ndash}}March 26, 2017
| 2017 NA LCS Spring Regular Season | style="text-align:center" | 4th | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 10-8 | style="text-align:center" | N/A |
| style="text-align:center;" | April 9, 2017
| 2017 NA LCS Spring Playoffs | style="text-align:center" | 5th-6th | style="text-align:center" | Counter Logic Gaming | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 2-3 | style="text-align:center" | FlyQuest |
| style="text-align:center;" | June 2{{ndash}}August 6, 2017
| 2017 NA LCS Summer Regular Season | style="text-align:center" | Silver 2nd | style="text-align:center" | Immortals | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 14-4 | style="text-align:center" | N/A |
| style="text-align:center;" | September 3, 2017
| 2017 NA LCS Summer Playoffs | style="text-align:center" | Silver 2nd | style="text-align:center" | Immortals | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 1-3 | style="text-align:center" | Team SoloMid |
| style="text-align:center;" | October 5{{ndash}}15, 2017
| 2017 League of Legends World Championship Group Stage | style="text-align:center" | 9th-12th | style="text-align:center" | Immortals | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 2-5 | style="text-align:center" | Longzhu Gaming, Fnatic, and GIGABYTE Marines |
| style="text-align:center;" | January 20{{ndash}}March 18, 2018
| 2018 NA LCS Spring Regular Season | style="text-align:center" | 4th | style="text-align:center" | Team Liquid | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 12-8 | style="text-align:center" | N/A |
| style="text-align:center;" | April 8, 2018
|2018 NA LCS Spring Playoffs | style="text-align:center;" | Gold1st | style="text-align:center" | Team Liquid | style="text-align:center; width:5%;" | 3-0 | style="text-align:center" |100 Thieves |
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{CCBYSASource|sourcepath=http://lol.esportspedia.com/wiki/Xmithie|sourcearticle=Xmithie}}
Category:Filipino esports players
Category:People from Bellflower, California
Category:Counter Logic Gaming players
Category:Immortals (esports) players
Category:League of Legends jungle players
Category:Cerritos College alumni