The match of the year in European League of Legends is just around the corner.
Representing the famed Bundesliga club, new powerhouse FC Schalke 04 are challenging Fnatic in hopes of winning their first ever league title, while the defending champions are eyeing a record-breaking seventh championship.
Madrid’s Palacio Vistalegre and 15,000 spectators will be waiting for the best of the best to show their skills, and we’re guaranteed a spectacular clash!
The ongoing playoffs have shown us that the meta is stable enough for teams to develop careful game plans and play to their strengths, and that the deciding factor in a BO5 series will always be adaptibility.
Schalke’s route to the finals was a fantastic display of their versatility, as they managed to completely change their playstyle depending on their opponents’ weaknesses. After going through gruelling late-game teamfights against Splyce, the Royal Blues did a complete 180 and beat Vitality, EU’s most aggressive team, by perfectly answering their early game moves and then quickly taking their base.
Their wits, synergy and excellent coordination should be their main asset at the Madrid stage. Amazing and Nukeduck will have to work closely together in order to match Europe’s best mid-jungle duo and stop Caps from snowballing out of control, and while that may be a hard task, Schalke’s chances should increase significantly once 5v5 fights start occuring. Upset is in terrific form right now and could perform better than Rekkles, who still seems a bit rusty from his long break. In addition, Vander and Vizicsacsi have turned into real teamfight specialists. With the team’s macro prowess, a single teamfight win could mean a ton of objectives for the German squad.
Fnatic, on the other side, are regarded as the best team in Europe for a reason – the sheer individual quality of their players immediately puts them slightly ahead of any opponent on paper. Games aren’t won on paper, though. In practice, what Fnatic like to do the most is give their mid laner Caps all the resources and jungle attention he needs to completely destroy the opposition. This plan usually works out quite well, with the young Dane being the frontrunner in the MVP race.
He’s not the only ace up the sleeves of FNC’s coaching staff, though. Having two top-tier top laners on the roster means that while one of them is playing, the other can freely analyse every single move of the opposing team with the coaches, and bring that knowledge into the next game when subbed in. Switching Bwipo and sOAZ already caught Misfits off-guard in the semifinals, and Schalke’s analysts will need to figure out a new solution to this disadvantage, as they cannot make similar swaps themselves.
While Schalke are an exceptionally good team, the fact that no team in Europe has yet been able to successfully deal with Fnatic’s raw power makes them the underdogs in the finals.
We don’t expect a stomp, though, and Schalke might be able to take a game or even two.
Still, Fnatic will likely hoist the EU LCS trophy once again.
]]>The proud representatives of France and Germany will fight for a historical spot in the EU LCS finals, as neither team has yet had a chance to win the championship.
A battle of quick wits, raw strength and flaming emotion is guaranteed.
Vitality’s form at the end of the regular season looked like the first half of this year’s Spring Split.
Turning into a steamrolling force and winning 9 of the last 10 matches meant a bye to the semifinals for the Bees, and it all started with the arrival of their currently most important member: their jungler Kikis.
Kikis’ immense aggression fit the team like a glove, making them by far the best team in the league when it comes to early game plays.
Vitality play lightning-fast, with their three potential carries reaching their powerspikes very early.
Their games tend to finish quickly, and that’s where a slight weakness lies: VIT’s late game decisions are sometimes questionable, and Schalke should look to punish them.
Exploiting Vitality’s late game is exactly how Schalke became the only team to beat them in their 9-1 run.
The Royal Blues play high-quality teamfights and tend to stay calm in lane, saving theirs strength for the mid and late game.
Upset showed against Splyce how skilled of a player he is, and combined with Vander’s and Csacsi’s terrific engages, presents a huge threat if Vitality makes even a slight misstep. Team Vitality are still the favourites, though.
Their snowbally playstyle could create significant problems to Schalke’s laners and, especially, their jungler, and if they manage to play as well as they did recently, they should get through by winning three quick games, even if they lose some as well.
]]>After a spectacular regular season, which brought us some of the most interesting strategies to appear on the Rift in recent years, six teams have locked in their playoff spots. G2 Esports, Splyce, FC Schalke 04 and Misfits Gaming fight in the quarterfinals on August 24th and 25th, while Fnatic and Team Vitality have received a bye to the semifinals as a reward for finishing first and second in the regular season.
Let’s take a look at the quarterfinal matches that will take place over the weekend!
FC Schalke 04 Esports (#3) vs. Splyce (#6)
Schalke 04 and Splyce will give us the first taste of the knockout stage on Friday. The German football giants are living the dream, as their team has reached playoffs for the first time in the org’s history. The Snakes, on the other hand, have an eye on qualifying for the World Championship, and a good playoff run could give them exactly what they want.
Schalke’s star-studded roster disappointed in the Spring Split, finishing 8th and showing multiple team-related issues. This split, the arrival of their new jungler Amazing has helped immensely. The vocal veteran took over as captain and shotcaller immediately, and in a few weeks Schalke became one of the most decisive teams in the league, playing a fast-paced and team-focused style of LoL. While their strong laners can gather significant leads early on, the team shines the most when it comes to objective control and teamfighting – Nukeduck and Upset are both very potent carries, and Vizicsacsi and Vander are excellent in providing necessary utility. Schalke are a strong and well-organised five-man unit, and their 10-2 run in the last 12 games of the season proves it.
Splyce have had another catastrophic start to the season, but managed to scrape by and clinch the last playoff spot near the end of the split. They’ve showed that they can both beat the best and lose to the worst teams, but a BO5 requires much more consistency than we’re used to seeing from them. As in Spring, the Snakes play a very late-game focused style, which doesn’t always work out in the current meta. They favour a fairly passive early game and often trail in gold, while waiting for Kobbe and Nisqy to reach their full potential and unleash their power in the deciding fights.
Despite Schalke’s roster having never played a BO5 match, they are the favourites in the first quarterfinals. In addition to their ability to perform consistently game after game, they outmatch Splyce at a few key game elements, including early game and mid-game baron fights.
Chance of winning:(S04 70%, SPY 30%)
Betting prediction: FC Schalke 04 Esports to win, paying $1.36 at GG Bet.
G2 Esports (#4) vs. Misfits Gaming (#5)
Exactly one year ago, G2 and Misfits fought in the EU LCS grand finals as Europe’s premier LoL teams. This season, it’s a little different. G2 are coming to playoffs following a rocky, but decent regular split, while Misfits are recovering from their inexplainable slump (2-7 in the second part of the split) after a stellar start with nine straight victories.
G2 have had some struggles with creating a new game plan, after funneling gold into Perkz stopped being a viable strategy. It’s tough to form a team around a carry top laner these days, so Wunder has mostly been unsuccessful in repeating his Spring Split performances, but Hjarnan has recently stepped up his game on traditional ADC champions. Still, some issues remain for G2: their usually solid jungler Jankos has been underperforming for quite some time, and the team will need to find a way to fit him into the new playstyle.
Misfits’ form plummeted after they steamrolled Europe in the first half of the regular season, and they haven’t been able to find a solution for their problems yet. It seems that Misfits at the moment are a team without a carry – their early strategy of sending their jungler to the bottom lane to help Hans Sama made the Frenchman look like the best bot laner in the league, but it seems that the Bunnies had given up on that plan for good. Maxlore, the backbone of the team, has also dropped in form, so a duel between two underperforming junglers could be a focal point of the series.
It’s obvious that both these teams have their issues, but we have seen both of them prepare very well and perform great in BO5’s. G2 should be slightly favoured here, but despite Misfits’ abysmal recent form, they are no pushover, as they always bring their best when they’ve had time to practice.
Chance of winning:(G2 60%, MSF 40%)
Betting prediction: Misfits to win, paying $2.37 at GG Bet.
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SK Telecom T1 vs. bbq Olivers
Korea’s favourite bottom team has finally showed some strength! After a depressing streak of 10 defeats in a row, bbq Olivers had a 2-0 week beating fellow bottom feeders Jin Air and upsetting Afreeca Freecs. SKT have had a fairly good week as well, netting two victories and losing against KT.
The Olivers took their chances and fought fearlessly in the hectic games against JAG and AFs, and they were rewarded for the first time. However, these victories can also be attributed to mistakes from their opponents: Afreeca’s drafts were extremely questionable, while Jin Air just fell apart after game 1 and never recovered. With some slight optimism, we can say that SKT are actually showing glimpses of good play, with Bang finally popping off in the Summer Split, and putting Pirean in the mid lane instead of Faker seems to relieve the pressure on the team and allow them to play more intuitively.
Chance of winning: bbq 30%, SKT 70%
Betting prediction: SK Telecom T1 to win, paying $1.30 at GG Bet.
Hanwha Life Esports vs. Jin Air Green Wings
As sharply as they rose through the standings, Hanwha fell down to 6th place again after suffering two defeats last week. The form they displayed was not nearly good enough for playoff contenders, but will it be enough for the fragile Green Wings, who only got their third win of the split recently?
Drops in form are atypical for Hanwha, who are usually well-prepared for any match. The series against SKT looked like the complete opposite of their regular form: their main player Lava underperformed heavily, and the team got dismantled so hard that they made changes in their roster for the first time this split, switching all five players in a seemingly desperate move. Jin Air are far from a top team, but they could take a win over an opponent as disorganised as Hanwha are looking right now.
Chance of winning: HLE 60%, JAG 40%
Betting prediction: Jin Air Greeen Wings to win, paying $3.50 at GG Bet.
MVP vs. Afreeca Freecs
Here’s a match where the favourite is pretty clear, even though Afreeca haven’t been in top form recently. The streaky Freecs beat Griffin, but then lost to bbq and Gen.G and aren’t looking their best. Still, in this match their chance to win is extremely high due to MVP’s unexpected roster issues.
MVP’s top laner ADD will not be able to play in this week’s matches due to emergency surgery for a collapsed lung. He has been in hospital since the weekend, and MVP’s substitute bot laner MaHa took over the top lane in a valiant effort against Kingzone. Sadly, he performed as expected: his laning was weak, and his lack of movement around the map made any strategic manoeuvres from MVP impossible. He’s facing Kiin, Afreeca’s best player and one of the world’s best top laners, and it’s unlikely that MVP will overcome this problem. MaHa shouldn’t be blamed, but an all around unlucky situation for MVP will probably provide a win for Afreeca.
Chance of winning: MVP 10%, AFs 90%
Betting prediction: Afreeca Freecs to win Map 1, paying $1.20 at GG Bet.
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Splyce vs. Team Vitality
These two teams, which were so closely matched during the Spring Split, are living a whole different story in Summer. Vitality are just one win away from the #2 spot, and Splyce have been a disappointment for their fans so far, as they’re sitting out of the top 6.
The Snakes are having a very weird split so far. They sometimes pop off and smash some of the stronger teams, and then lose to opponents considered much worse, or play an absolute clown fiesta against Giants like they did this week. Vitality are the likely winners here simply because their early game is very good, and Splyce like to play 5v5 teamfights when behind – however, Vitality are perhaps the best team in the league at avoiding large fights. This stylistic advantage, along with their consistency, gives them an edge over Splyce.
Betting prediction: Team Vitality to win, paying $1.72 at GG Bet.
Giants Gaming vs. H2k-Gaming
Europe is perhaps the best region to watch matches between bottom teams. These games tend to be incredibly entertaining, and Giants and H2k are surely teams that will try super hard to get a much needed win.
Giants have had somewhat of a resurgence recently, taking an unlikely win against G2 and coming very close to beating Splyce in the very next game. The much criticised Steeelback is finally playing more aggressive and dealing more damage, and Djoko’s Kindred has turned out to be a pretty decent way to win teamfights. H2k have showed that they can finally play a decent early game, but aside from Selfie and partly promisq, all their players are still in terrible form. Giants should have a small advantage here, due to their better play showing that they can contest even stronger teams than H2k.
Betting prediction: Giants Gaming to win, paying $1.66 at GG Bet.
FC Schalke 04 Esports vs. Unicorns of Love
Schalke and UOL have had a very similar start to the season, going 2-4 in the first three weeks. But that’s where their similarities end: Schalke hasn’t lost a game since, while UOL went 1-2 and had to start a rookie player to fill for their ill ADC Samux.
The Royal Blues have a three-game winning streak on their record, but the numbers don’t show the quality of their play. Their wins have been quite shaky, usually after a weak early game, and they rely on clutch teamfights later on to turn the tables and take the driving seat in the match. UOL have looked both good and bad with their new ADC, but overall it’s still a big disadvantage that one of their most reliable player is out of the squad. Exileh vs. Nukeduck in the mid lane will be an exciting matchup, which might even decide the game, but as Schalke have more than one player who can carry them, they are the favourites here.
Betting prediction: FC Schalke 04 Esports to win, paying $1.57 at GG Bet.
Team ROCCAT vs. G2 Esports
It’s been a rough week for the quadruple EU LCS champs. Two defeats in a row can’t feel good, and next on their schedule is the epitome of consistency: Roccat. The Cats are looking okay as always, and a victory against their favourite opponents would be an insane boost in confidence for them.
G2 went 0-2 as the players looked completely disconnected from each other in the unexpected loss to Giants. With classic ADC champions coming back into the meta, Hjarnan’s weaknesses are again coming into light. He’s having a hard time in lane, and Jankos too isn’t as efficient early on, failing to live up to his nickname “the First Blood King”. Roccat might actually take this with their synergy and excellent macro play. Of course the match is G2 favoured, but Roccat have a higher chance of winning than it may seem.
Betting prediction: G2 Esports to win, paying $1.36 at GG Bet.
Misfits Gaming vs. Fnatic
The most interesting match of the day will finish off Week 5. Fnatic’s unpredictability can surprise everyone, including themselves: the boys in orange and black always look like they can beat anyone and lose to anyone. A battle against the undefeated Misfits will be an ultimate test for their improvised squad, and it might be what convinces them to start Rekkles after a while.
Misfits are the favourites in every match they play in as they are just on a completely another level compared to their opposition. They haven’t even been really challenged yet, winning all their games convincingly, and if any team has the pure individual quality to match them, it’s the reigning European champions. It’ll be interesting to see if the disorganised Fnatic can find a way to outperform Misfits, especially on a macro level, but MSF have a bigger chance of taking the win.
Betting prediction: Misfits Gaming to win, paying $1.50 at GG Bet.
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H2k-Gaming vs. Unicorns of Love
In matches between two teams that don’t win too often, the Rift is guaranteed to be a serious warzone. H2k and UOL haven’t had much luck this split, with H2k sitting at the bottom of the table with a 0-7 record, and Unicorns being just two places above at 2-5. Both teams need a confidence boost and will be ready to do anything to get a win.
H2k got demolished by Vitality in their last game, continuing their winless streak. This time, though, their carries performed decently, but were ousted by SmittyJ and Shook, who had a very weak early game performance. However, they do have a chance to beat Unicorns, who performed poorly with an emergency sub in the bottom lane. Nevertheless, UOL still have a mid laner who can pop off and carry the entire team, so they should be slight favourites here.
Chance of winning: H2K 40%, UOL 60%
Betting prediction: Unicorns of love to win, paying $1.72 at GG Bet.
FC Schalke 04 Esports vs. Splyce
Two playoff hopefuls sitting just below the treasured playoff spots are directly competing against each other for a bigger chance of advancing. Both teams also won yesterday, making the motivation even stronger while gunning for a perfect 2-0 week.
Splyce, although they looked weak at Rift Rivals, are currently on a roll in the domestic league with three consecutive wins. A victory against Fnatic shows that they mean serious business, and after top tier performances from Xerxe, Odoamne and Nisqy, their fans can be optimistic about the future. Schalke, on the other hand, didn’t really have a good game for a while, even though they beat Giants earlier this week. The German team needs much better execution of their macro decisions if they want to be a real contender for a place in the top half, and while Nukeduck is looking good at the moment, the rest of the team will need to step up for this game.
Chance of winning: 35% S04, 65% SPY
Betting prediction: Splyce to win, paying $1.57 at GG Bet.
G2 Esports vs. Giants Gaming
G2 aren’t the league leaders anymore after losing to Misfits in a close and exciting game. They’ll certainly want to get back on their feet, and they can be happy that Giants are their next opponent. The second-to-last team in the standings has suffered five consecutive losses and are far from being a top-tier squad, but a win against G2 could change everything.
Giants’ most recent defeat to Schalke was probably the best summary of their split so far. Even after getting an early lead, which is quite important against a funnel comp, they just couldn’t do anything with it and slowly lost the game after making many individual mistakes and being inactive macro-wise. G2 just got outplayed by Misfits, and the level of play they showed wasn’t bad, but simply not good enough to win against the best team in Europe. G2 should comfortably win this game and solidify their #2 spot.
Chance of winning: G2 80%, GIA 20%
Betting prediction: Splyce to win, paying $1.28 at GG Bet.
Team ROCCAT vs. Fnatic
One of the more interesting matches this week is next on the menu, pitting the two 4th place holders against each other to decide who goes down to 5th. The consistent Roccat meets the volatile Fnatic in a game that is sure to be explosive and quick-paced.
While normally Fnatic would always be considered strong favourites against Roccat, their most recent game speaks a lot about their weaknesses. Giving Broxah a chance to carry from the jungle backfired horribly for the EU champions, who faltered all around and simply had no way to escape defeat at the hands of Splyce. Roccat had a good game against UOL, smashing their funnel composition and closing out perfectly with a well-played siege. Roccat’s great synergy and communication could work wonders against Fnatic’s players, who sometimes feel disconnected and get caught out. Fnatic still have the upper hand due to the pure quality of their players, but the winner is far from decided on paper.
Chance of winning: ROC 40%, FNC 60%
Betting prediction: Roccat to win, paying $2.75 at GG Bet.
Team Vitality vs. Misfits Gaming
The last match of the week is also the one everyone’s going to be waiting for all Saturday: the undefeated Misfits face the strong and innovative Vitality, with both teams thriving in the surprise potential of the current meta. Week 4 is going out with a bang, and likely leaving us waiting impatiently for the next weekend.
Vitality’s players and their coach YamatoCannon continue to find successful new ways of playing the game, having smashed H2k with and Ekko mid and a Gragas top yesterday. Misfits, however, are a much tougher opponent than H2k, and know how to react to unexpected picks. The Bunnies’ simple double-threat playstyle remains an unsolved mystery for European teams, and it’s one of the easiest strategies to play properly, thus making less room for opponents to punish their mistakes. Vitality are a very good team, but they will need to play a perfect early game to threaten Misfits, who have the upper hand here.
Chance of winning: VIT 35%, MSF 65%
Betting prediction: Misfits Gaming to win, paying $1.50 at GG Bet.
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A less then optimal showing from LCK at Rift Rivals means it’s high time that Korean teams started practicing even harder, so that their dominance at the World Championship isn’t threatened this year.
Griffin vs. Afreeca Freecs
The new kids on the block started their first split in a dominant fashion, winning six matches in a row before getting stopped in their tracks by none other than KT Rolster. Afreeca have had an on-and-off performance at Rift Rivals, but they’re undoubtedly still a very strong team. They will continue the rough schedule Griffin has in front of them.
Afreeca have showed a decent reading of the effects that patch 8.13 has had on the meta, moving away from Vladimir in the bot lane in favour of Xayah. We’ve only seen them play one strategy though, and they used very similar comps regardless of what their opponents played, which led to some heavy losses in addition to the victories. Griffin are a very versatile team and they should be able to adapt to Afreeca’s ADC-focused game plan, so it is more likely that they will win in a BO3 series. (GRF 60%, AFS 40%)
KT Rolster vs. Hanwha Life Esports
KT and Hanwha Life are very close in the league standings, but also very far apart: KT are holding 5th place and the last playoff spot, while HLE are just out of playoffs at 6th and one win behind their current opponents. Can Hanwha catch up to KT and make the race even more interesting?
KT have been by far the best performing LCK team at Rift Rivals, going undefeated and showing a wide variety of efficient game plans they can utilize to win. Both hard-carry comps with Kindred in the jungle and classic “Korean style” low-activity games have been successful for them, so Hanwha will have to show something better than their usual gameplay to take the win here. HLE are a good team, but they don’t have the element of surprise that is needed to beat an inspired KT. They will put up a fight, but don’t expect them to do much more than that. (KT 75%, HLE 25%)
bbq Olivers vs. Jin Air Green Wings
While the rest of the league is fighting for playoffs, bbq and Jin Air will decide another very important match: the one where it will be seen which team is definitely the worst in the league. With both teams sitting at an abysmal 0-8 record, it will be big for either of them to finally pick up a victory and start moving towards the spots that are safe from relegation.
Jin Air have been horribly affected by the recent patches, having showed absolutely no improvement over three weeks. Their star ADC Teddy is far from efficient on the non-standard bot lane picks, and SoHwan is having an awful time getting run over by most other top laners. The Olivers, on the other hand, have tried to adapt, but their players simply aren’t playing up to par, with their jungle issues being particularly noticeable. It’s tough to say who is the “less bad” of these two teams, but it might be Jin Air’s day with Xayah finally being viable. (bbq 40%, JAG 60%)
MVP vs. Kingzone DragonX
It was not a great Rift Rivals tournament for the back-to-back LCK champions. Kingzone lost three games and only managed to beat a significantly worse Taiwanese team, leaving their fans worried for the first domestic matches on patch 8.13. MVP, on the other hand, will be looking to surprise their already wounded opponents, and finally grab a win against a top team this season.
It’s unlucky for Kingzone that just as Khan woke up and started playing excellent again, other members of the lineup started to falter. Pray has been very unreliable on hard-carries, and Peanut’s performances on supportive champions were quite possibly bad enough to get him benched for this week. However, it’s hard to see MVP as a threat for Kingzone even in their current state, as their individual skill has just never been good enough to take down any title contender. Unless Ian or Yondu go absolutely off, KZ will regain some confidence by taking MVP down. (MVP 25%, KZ 75%)
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Betting Predictions for Saturday June 30
H2K-Gaming vs. Misfits Gaming
The top and the bottom teams will duke it out in the first match on Saturday, which offers a great opportunity for Misfits to continue their good run. It’s quite a battle of David and Goliath, and it will be interesting to see if H2K have some tricks up their sleeve to put up a better fight.
Misfits’ bot lane has been a great deal better than their H2K counterparts this split, and Hans Sama has shown no signs of slowing down. Sheriff and promisq are in for a hard time unless they both ban Draven and fix their own individual issues, and it’s going to be a tough job for them. Another edge that Misfits have over H2K is their jungler Maxlore, who is one of the best playmakers in the league and will surely impact the map more than Shook, who mostly plays carry champions without proper support from his team.
Chance of winning: H2K 20%, MSF 80%
Betting prediction: Misfits Gaming to win, paying $1.30 at GG Bet.
Team Vitality vs. FC Schalke 04 Esports
An interesting matchup of two mid-table teams, this game can certainly go either way. Vitality’s brave picks and no-nonsense gameplay faces Schalke’s controlled style focused on the early game, and such a duel can easily be decided by one single mistake.
Both teams like accumulating a large gold lead in the early portions of the game, and the first 15 minutes will probably decide the winner, as neither of them are very good at making comebacks. Attila could make a serious difference if he renders Upset useless through his strong laning, but on the other hand, Schalke’s jungler Amazing likes to play around his top and mid lanes, so the Royal Blues won’t give up any pressure to their opponents. I’d give a slight advantage to Vitality, simply because they’ve been using an overall easier strategy to execute than Schalke.
Chance of winning: VIT 60%, S04 40%
Betting prediction: FC Schalke 04 to win, paying $2.25 at GG Bet.
Giants Gaming vs. Fnatic
Next up is another match where the favourite is clear right off the bat. Giants have been one of the more disappointing teams in the league, and for Fnatic this is supposed to be the much easier game of the week, after a battle against fellow title contenders G2.
Steeelback and SirNukesAlot will have another new challenge, this time against a likely double-mage bottom lane. Fnatic’s new duo has been stellar recently, with Bwipo doing nearly three times more damage per minute than his opposing laner. Caps is also likely to be the first player to absolutely crush Betsy, due to Broxah providing tons of attention to his lane and being much more proactive than Djoko. This is likely to be a very one-sided game unless Fnatic make significant mistakes in the early game. While this isn’t impossible, it’s still much more likely that they’ll beat Giants.
Chance of winning: FNC 80%, GIA 20%
Betting prediction: Fnatic to win, paying $1.28 at GG Bet.
Splyce vs. Team Roccat
Splyce will need to get out of their rut quickly if they want to even reach playoffs at this point. Also, with Rift Rivals just around the corner, the Snakes should be looking to up their form in any way possible. A win against Roccat would surely boost their confidence, but can they manage to get a win against a stable mid-tier team?
Roccat are one of the rare teams to still rely on hard engage and 5v5 teamfighting this split. Memento and Blanc look for fights in every possible situation, and the rest of the team are usually quick to respond and join them. That’s the main reason why I think this is Splyce’s best chance for a victory so far – while playing the new strategies has been hard for them, Kobbe, Nisqy and the bunch are still very good teamfighters and will be happy to play Roccat’s game. I think Splyce will finally get a W here.
Chance of winning: ROC 40%, SPY 60%
Betting prediction: Splyce to win, paying $1.83 at GG Bet.
G2 Esports vs. Unicorns of Love
Week 3 bids farewell with another match that is likely to be one-sided. The four-time champions will be looking to keep up with Misfits by winning another game against a mid-table team, but the Unicorns will surely be looking to surprise.
An obvious advantage for G2 is the fact that UOL play a mid-focused style, but not as mid-focused as themselves. While Exileh does get help from the jungle and the occasional support roam in his lane, Samux usually plays standard ADC’s and does his own thing in the bottom lane. On the other hand, Perkz gets absolutely anything he wants from his teammates and his hard carry picks quickly reach immense power, usually even before 20 minutes. I believe G2 are simply a better team at the moment, and they also have an advantage when it comes to playstyles – all in all, it would be quite safe to bet on them to win.
Chance of winning: G2 75%, UOL 25%
Betting prediction: G2 Esports to win, paying $1.28 at GG Bet.
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With very few roster changes and tons of practice during the offseason, most teams will be looking to take part in the fight for Worlds.
Every week counts in the Summer Split, so let’s take a look at the matchups in week 1!
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Team Vitality vs. Splyce
The new split will start with a duel between the 3rd and 4th place teams from Spring, who gave us an incredible BO5 last time they fought. Both teams kept the same rosters (Vitality’s Attila is just their former ADC Minitroupax with a different name), and it’ll be interesting to see who adapted better to the new meta.
Vitality have a history of putting a lot of work in the early game, with Gilius being one of the most frequent gankers in the league. Xerxe, however, has been a terrific control style jungler, and him putting Gilius in check will be one of Splyce’s main win conditions. If the game’s main focus is mid lane, though, Vitality will probably have an edge due to Jiizuke’s well-known laning prowess, and Nisqy’s preference for scaling champions. I still think Splyce will be a bit stronger, purely because of their competent coaching staff that should have researched the meta quite well, but anything can happen in this match.
(VIT 40%, SPY 60%) – bet at GG Bet
Giants Gaming vs. H2k-Gaming
Last split performances of Giants and H2k were nearly exact opposites. while Giants started strong and held a playoff spot for quite some time, H2k tanked the entire first half of the split and placed last. At the end, though, the tables were switched: Giants ended bottom of the table, while H2k got to quarterfinals after substantial roster changes. Giants’ support has changed, as they decided to bring in a rookie, the well-known soloQ player SirNukesAlot.
The new meta should fit H2k like a glove, since Selfie and Shook have formed a great mid-jungle duo since the very beginning. Their bot lane should also have an advantage, as Sheriff has shown that his mechanics are one of the best in Europe, while on the other hand Steeelback is having an awful time playing the new picks in soloQ, and will also have to adapt to his new support. This should be a pretty safe win for H2k unless they mess up significantly.
(H2K 75%, GIA 25%) – bet at GG Bet
Unicorns of Love vs. FC Schalke 04
Berlin’s favourites UOL will face their fellow playoff shortcomers in a match that is likely to be explosive and entertaining. Schalke have added a new jungler, the famous player-turned-caster-turned-player Amazing, who should help them with their shotcalling, while UOL are bringing an emergency sub in the ADC position.
UOL like playing a raw and bloody game, which is certainly one of the main aspects of the current meta. Exileh is rumored to have stepped up hugely in the offseason, and Nukeduck surely won’t have an easy job. However, the bot lane is a huge issue for the Unicorns. Their sub Neon has never played on a big stage before, and he also lacks scrim time and synergy with the team. Since Schalke are known for their ability to throw games, UOL shouldn’t be counted out, but it must be said that the football giants are small favourites here.
(UOL 35%, S04 65%) – bet at GG Bet
G2 Esports vs. Team ROCCAT
G2 are entering this split as non-champions, for the first time since they joined the LCS in 2016. It should be expected that they have been putting in serious work in the offseason, as a race for the title should be a given for a team with such a legacy. Roccat have made no changes to their roster after finally reaching playoffs after two years, and they will be looking to repeat that success in Summer.
G2 fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Hjarnan is no longer the main carry of the team in these circumstances. Jankos and Perkz have been putting massive effort into improving over the break, and they should have an advantage over Memento and especially Blanc. Roccat’s macro, which helped them a lot during Spring, won’t mean much here, as games are usually much less coherent and way more hectic than before. G2 are certainly the stronger team and should be taking this, but Roccat, “the kingslayers”, can never be written out.
(G2 70%, ROC 30%) – bet at GG Bet
Fnatic vs. Misfits Gaming
You can never be certain about the outcome of Misfits’ games. The Bunnies didn’t even reach playoffs last split, but they were also the only team to beat the eventual champions Fnatic twice. Fnatic will be looking for revenge, and also for a solution to their top lane dilemma, where they have two top tier players to choose from.
Caps and Broxah are probably having a great time thinking about this game, as they are both in great form and synergise exceptionally well, which is hugely important for a mid/jungle duo at the moment. A problem for both can be a lack of focus on the bot lanes, where Rekkles and Hans Sama were excelling last split. However, early game is Fnatic’s great edge over Misfits. While Misfits are considered to be Fnatic’s Kryptonite, it’s very hard to say that they’re favourites here. An upset is certainly possible, though.
(FNC 65%, MSF 35%) – bet at GG Bet
H2k-Gaming vs. Team ROCCAT
The duel between the two of the most unlikely participants of Spring playoffs is likely to be a fiery one. Both teams have noticeable strengths and weaknesses, and a win against their direct competitors for the lower playoff seeds will mean a lot for either of them.
Roccat like to snowball and H2K like to fight in the late game, to summarize the playstyles of these two teams. H2K know how to keep Roccat’s lanes calm, though, as they succeeded in surviving the early game aggression both times last split. Roccat likely won’t be having a field day here, but they do have their chances if Profit smashes top lane and Memento and Blanc at least go even with H2k’s fearsome duo. H2k should be slightly favoured here, as their plan is much easier to execute.
(H2K 60%, ROC 40%) – bet at GG Bet
Unicorns of Love vs. Misfits
The two famously inconsistent teams will have a very important duel here, as both need to face much stronger opponents later on. Misfits should be more inclined to win this, though, as UOL are playing without their starting ADC, and are not expected to do well in the first week. Last split Misfits took the wins, but can the Unicorns surprise them?
It’s obvious that Misfits were having early and mid game issues all year, and changing coaches could have a positive effect in that field. Maxlore’s pathing could be exploited by UOL’s intelligent jungler Kold, but Hans Sama and Mikyx are likely to build up a hefty gold lead against Totoro and his sub ADC Neon. There’s one thing UOL can put all their hopes in though, and that’s their volatile mid laner Exileh. As a well-known Yasuo, Ryze and Zoe player, Exileh could have one of his good days and simply explode and hard-carry his team. However unlikely that might sound, I think there’s a good chance of that scenario coming true. Just a tiny advantage for Misfits here.
(MSF 55%, UOL 45%) – bet at GG Bet
Team Vitality vs. Giants Gaming
Vitality’s squad will face their former team in their second game of the week, and a victory against Giants is what everyone will be expecting from them. Giants likely have a few tricks up their sleeves, but it’s questionable if it will be enough to beat a team that is, honestly, a bit out of their league.
Vitality will have a likely advantage in the early game, due to Gilius and Jiizuke synergising a lot better than their counterparts on the opposing team. Also, considering his versatility, Attila is expected to be quite a bit better than Steeelback at the new mage picks in the bot lane. What Giants could do is basically just funneling all of their gold into Betsy, but the Swede hasn’t shown the ability to carry recently, similarly to the rest of his teammates. Won’t be hard for Vitality to get that W here.
(VIT 80%, GIA 20%) – bet at GG Bet
FC Schalke 04 vs. Fnatic
We’re likely in for a treat in this game. Schalke are gunning for glory with their new jungler, and a victory against the reigning champions would surely lift their spirits to the stratosphere. Fnatic are expected to win comfortably, but things might not be as clear as they seem at the first glance.
Schalke’s early game troubles should be somewhat mitigated by Amazing, who will also likely give one hundred and ten percent against his former team, where he did not have a good time at all. Fnatic’s Caps and Broxah should be able to take whatever Amazing and Nukeduck can throw at them, and a bot lane that has Rekkles in it is always expected to go Fnatic’s way. Schalke do have a chance, though, and Vizicsacsi will have to work very hard in order to get his team through the first teamfights. Fnatic are better both individually and team-wise, and should take this game, but the Royal Blues won’t give up easily.
(FNC 70%, S04 30%) – bet at GG Bet
G2 Esports vs. Splyce
The derby of week 1 is also the last game that will be played. G2 and Splyce are top teams, that know how to play to their advantages and would both like to see the EU LCS winner’s cup in their trophy case. A strong performance here means a direct advantage in the race for 1st place, and what more does a team need to try their hardest to win?
The main advantage for G2 should be Jankos, as he was the only jungler in Europe that always had Xerxe’s number. Perkz and Nisqy will be having an interesting duel in the mid lane, considering that G2’s mid laner has been practising the new picks extremely hard, and that his opponent is known to be somewhat of an innovator. Hjarnan and Wadid also usually perform well against the passive Kobbe and KaSing, but the bot lane can’t be predicted as easily as before. Still, G2 are slightly favoured in this match, but Splyce also has a very real chance of winning by putting in work through the top and mid lanes.
(G2 60%, SPY 40%) – bet at GG Bet
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Betting Predictions for June 17
MVP vs. Gen.G
Both teams have impressed on their debuts this split, and this match has the potential to be the sleeper funfest of this week. It’s a clash of two styles and two teams who have found their own ways to work in the new meta, and it will be a blast to see which strategy works better.
MVP have seemingly decided to dive heads-in into the craziness, steamrolling bbq with the infamous Yi/Taric duo, and then doing the same with a mid lane Irelia. Gen.G, on the other hand are sticking to the classic compositions, paired with improved early game activity. They also have a very smart coaching staff that should help them escape MVP’s drafting mind games. Individually, with Crown out and Fly in for the time being, Gen.G is unquestionably better than MVP, and the team that took down Kingzone could extend their good start with a win in this match as well.
Chance of winning: MVP 25%, GEN 75%
Betting prediction: Gen.G to win, paying $1.30 at GG Bet.
Jin Air Green Wings vs. Hanwha Life Esports
The first week of LCK ends with a match of two mid-tier teams from last split, always above the bottom feeders but never quite there with the top contenders. Jin Air and Hanwha Life both suffered defeats in their first matches, and a win here should be a must for them if they don’t want to fall behind in the playoff race at the very beginning.
Hanwha’s top laner Lindarang is probably the most improved LCK player since the season started, and he’s one of the rare players showing that it is still possible to carry the game from top lane. A good plan and a good performance from him and Lava could give them an edge in this extremely close matchup, but Jin Air certainly have their chances if Grace and Teddy show up big. (HLE 55%, JAG 45%)
Chance of winning: HLE 55%, JAG 45%
Betting prediction: Jin Air Green Wings to win, paying $2.10 at GG Bet.
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