Esports
The LEC Spring Playoffs are upon us. Who will take the trophy and represent Europe at MSI? We break down what to expect as the first round kicks off this weekend, as we hit the road to Rotterdam.
After nine weeks of play, six teams have made it to the LEC Playoffs. In the next few weeks, we’ll find out which of those six will be crowned the LEC Spring champion. All teams in the playoffs have different playstyles, picks, strengths and weaknesses, and some teams have looked better towards the end of the split than others – yet even for those teams, their future seems uncertain.
A best of five format is very different from the best of one games we’ve seen all season. Teams will get the chance to adapt to their opponent, and ban out crucial picks. While the new format for the Playoffs could create some interesting match-ups, with the potential for a revenge match-up on the final day if the games go one way or another. With the scene set for the upcoming weeks of play, let’s take a deep look at the teams, their match-ups, and their chances of taking it all.
Round 1
Fnatic vs. Vitality
Team Vitality have had a few rough weeks, losing against Excel Esports and SK Gaming in the run-up to playoffs, and while some might say Vitality are out of form, they couldn’t be more wrong. The French side are a team that tailor-made to best of three and best of five games. They have an excellent veteran coach that is able to adapt to previous games and make adjustments on the fly. Let’s not forget that both Lucas ‘Cabochard’ Simon-Meslet and Daniele ‘Jiizuke’ di Mauro have extremely deep champion pools, which Jakob ‘YamatoCannon’ Mebdi will surely make good use of.
Vitality are known for their unrelenting aggression, a style that they popularised during their last Worlds run. While Fnatic might be looking stronger than in the beginning of the Split, they still need to survive the early game against a team that excels at speeding up the game. If Vitality can create a situation where they have control, Fnatic will have an extremely hard time to create leads. Cabochard is one of the best performing top laners in the LEC, and together with Jiizuke, he will make the topside of the map a place where Fnatic members don’t want to be found alone. It’s hard to say who this will go to, especially as both teams have beaten each other over the season, but we’ll have to see if Fnatic can go the distance – Vitality are ready to roll.
Splyce vs. SK Gaming
Splyce and SK Gaming have been interesting teams to watch all season, and this match-up in Round 1 of the Playoffs is no different – you can bet it’s bound to be close. While SK Gaming have had a slight slump in the middle of the season, they seem to be climbing back to be in top shape – especially as they're the freshest players in the whole league. The star of the roster, Oskar ‘Selfmade’ Boderek will do everything in his power to get his lanes ahead – and he’s by far the most promising rookie that entered the LEC this season. He has a deep champion pool, ranging from early game junglers like Lee Sin to late-game powerhouses like Karthus. This man will win your games, as long as you don’t fall to far behind against your lane opponent. Choi ‘Pirean’ Jun-sik, meanwhile, has been improving throughout the split, with stellar Lissandra performances spread throughout this games. Getting Pirean ahead is a priority because of his tendency to roam and snowball other lanes – and Splyce had better not take the former SK Telecom T1 mid laner lightly.
SK Gaming might have a really hard time against Splyce though, since stylistically, they play the complete opposite way. Splyce is a team that excels in the late-game; everyone in the LEC knows this, and yet it always seems to work. Kasper ‘Kobbe’ Kobberup, the star ADC in the roster, always picks for the late-game.
If Splyce get to the 35-minute mark, they win through extremely good team fighting and shotcalling. The goal of the team is to survive the early game while giving up the least amount of gold possible. Here’s where Andrei ‘Xerxe’ Dragomir shines; he makes sure to control the map and to counter gank whenever his laners need help. Xerxe provides the control that Splyce needs in order to make it to the stage of the game where they are comfortable in, meaning if things go their way, they could be unstoppable. With two wins over SK Gaming throughout the season, the outlook looks positive for Splyce – but with SK finding their steam recently, and looking better than ever, the rookies could turn things around and make this their shining debut moment.
Round 2
Origen vs. G2 Esports
The battle of the first and second seed is looking closer than ever as Origen and G2 head straight into Round 2 of the Playoffs. Origen have been on a rampage near the end of the season, as Enrique ‘xPeke’ Cedeño Martínez’s team have been playing some of the cleanest League of Legends in the LEC. They follow a clear game plan and close games out without making big mistakes. Erlend ‘Nukeduck’ Våtevik Holm has been stellar this split, and his champion ocean will be one of the reasons why Origen will have a good chance of beating G2 Esports next week. The last time when G2 and Origen met, Nukeduck picked Zed against Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther’s Cassiopeia and managed to destroy him in lane.
Origen’s bot lane has been steadily improving throughout the split too, as while at the start of the season, Alfonso ‘Mithy’ Aguirre Rodríguez seemed to have trouble adjusting, but as the split progressed, he became better and better.
But, make no mistake. G2 Esports are still the scariest team in the league. While recent results haven’t been as dominant, they still have some of the overall strongest European players in their roster. G2 have had some problems in the early game, Marcin ‘Jankos’ Jankowski has had trouble in finding ganks and putting his laners ahead, and some analysts say that G2 Esports play cocky and overconfident. While there is truth to this, it also speaks to their early game vision control. G2 play to style on their opponents, and since they locked in their first seed, they simply haven’t stopped. Due to the nature of the Playoffs, they can’t afford playing like this anymore. A reckless loss means that they will have to play against one of the other four teams to make it to the finals, dropping into Round 3, while the winner heads straight into the Finals. From next weekend onwards, we will finally start to experience G2 Esports’ true form – and whether they can capitalise on a stellar season to date.
