With the last third of the LEC regular season underway, the fight for the top spots is ever tighter, while the bottom three teams are now officially out of the playoffs.
Rogue open the night with a clean win
The first game featured Rogue taking on a beleaguered Team Vitality that needed a miracle winning streak to retain any chances of seeing the playoffs.
Yet, Vitality’s early-game composition was quickly forced on the back foot. By the time 15 minutes had gone by, Rogue were over 2.5K gold ahead and Emil “Larssen” Larsson had already gotten three kills. Both he and Rogue’s AD Carry Steven “Hans sama” Liv continued smashing Vitality around in the mid game.
Around the 21-minute mark, Rogue got two kills and took and an uncontested baron. They sieged the Vitality base and took the top inhibitor before rotating to the middle lane. An unsuccessful flank cost Vitality two more deaths, and with a huge power disadvantage and only three players on the map, they could do nothing to prevent Rogue from ending the game.
This win keeps Rogue in a good position for the playoff fight while eliminating any chance of a Vitality miracle run into the Top 6.
MAD Lions get a hard-won victory against Schalke
It was time for another do-or-die game for a bottom-ranking team as FC Schalke 04took on MAD Lions.
The early game was fairly even, with both teams getting a dragon and a tower apiece, though MAD had a minor gold lead. The mid-game dragged on, the teams struggling with taking the fight to the enemy. The Lions had drafted a composition with very poor engage and found it hard to force a fight. At the same time, Schalke were wary of engaging into a Karthus, Miss Fortune and Braum.
It took 28 minutes for a big fight to come as MAD, having killed Schalke’s jungler, went for the baron. After several close calls, the Spanish took it and won a 3-1 fight. The gold difference bloomed to over 8K gold but the German team managed to turtle in their base. Even after MAD took an ocean soul, another baron, an elder dragon and nearly getting aced, the Germans held on.
In the end, it was the German team themselves going for the elder that cost them the game, as MAD rushed the base to win the game. With this, FC Schalke 04 are also out of the contention for the playoffs, while MAD are now tied with Rogue at 8-5.
SK fail to capitalize on early pressure vs Fnatic
Despite their rather poor performance in recent games, SK Gaming still had a theoretical chance to make the playoffs. However, it required a victory against the Fnatic juggernaut.
The game started well for the German team who killed mid laner Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek just two minutes in. The good early game continued until around the 10-minute mark, when Fnatic got the jump on their opponents and took two kills back.
The veterans on the Fnatic roster slowly accumulated a gold lead from better cross-map play, but 23 minutes in, it was their turn to be caught off-guard. Fnatic went for the baron only to lose a player in the contest and give SK a lot of pressure to equalize the game.
The game remained close until 31 minutes in, when Janik “Jenax” Bartels chased a kill only to get killed and get his team aced in a collapse. This allowed Fnatic to take the infernal soul and after SK misplayed the crucial engage, they quickly lost the game.
With this, SK are now the third team that is guaranteed to be out of the playoffs, while Fnatic remain at the top.
Misfits Gaming score key win against Excel Esports
The match between Misfits and Excel Esportswas key for both teams as Misfits tried to regain their position among the Top 3. The stakes for Excel were a move up into a playoff spot.
The draft stage saw Excel get a more solid champion selection. They used it well to push back Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten’s Akali early on and get the first blood in a 3-man tower dive 8 minutes in.
They were about to get another good tower dive five minutes later, when a perfectly timed Sejuani ultimate and a good defensive play by Ju “Bvoy” Yeong-hoon resulted in four kills for Misfits. That equalized the game and 22 minutes in, Misfits got took three kills and started the Baron. Then, they pounced on Excel as they came in to contest to get another three kills and take the objective. Excel tried to defend an inner bot tower but even though they got the first kill, they were pushed back and eventually aced, losing the game.
This victory keeps the rabbits in the chase for the top spot while Excel are left in a precarious position as two wins separate them from the teams that currently hold the last playoff berths.
G2 Esports triumph over Origen
The last game of the evening was between two teams tied for the top spot, and both Origenand G2 Esports had no intention of backing down.
The teams traded blows in the early game, with the 2019 champions getting the first blood in the top lane. However, their rivals found kills mid and bot. Origen were slightly behind in gold initially, but took several fights and by the 15-minute mark, they were the ones ahead in gold. While G2 had better dragon control, for a long time they were unable to translate it into any other advantage.
This finally changed 25 minutes in, as poor teamfight execution by Origen cost them three kills and allowed G2 to get an air dragon soul and the Baron buff. OG held to their inhibitors and endured the push, even trying to contest the Elder Dragon. However, G2 sent Luka “Perkz” Perković to split-push, still won the fight and quickly ended the game.
This leaves G2 and Fnatic as the two teams vying for a top position before the Saturday showdown between them, but don’t count Origen out yet.
After the Friday games, it is impossible for Vitality, Schalke or SK to get to the playoffs. At the same time, the fight for the top spots is still very much on. And if you missed what happened last week, check out our reports on Week 6 here.
