With the top 3 LEC teams continuing their dominance and MAD Lions rising past their rivals, the LEC penultimate week decided which six teams are going to playoffs. However, we will have to wait for next week to know the exact placing.
Schalke complete 2-0 week
The evening kicked off with a game between FC Schalke 04 and Team Vitality.
The Royal Blues got first blood after a misjudged kill attempt by Marcin “Selfie” Wolski saw Vitality’s mid laner take too much damage. Schalke had an advantage throughout the early game, which together with their good scaling spelled trouble for their opponents.
Vitality started an infernal drake 19 minutes in, but great teamfighting saw Schalke get a 4-0 fight and extend their gold lead to over 3K. They never lost control over the game, parrying Vitality’s few attempts to take a fight and eventually securing an infernal soul around the 30-minute mark.
Soon afterward, the advantage proved pivotal in what was initially a close fight where Schalke eventually got three kills to one and an inhibitor. Several minutes later, the German team took an unopposed baron and an elder drake and ended the game in a decisive manner to complete their first 2-0 week this split.
Origen strike a quick win against SK
The second game of the evening saw Origen take on SK Gaming.
Despite OG’s reputation as a strong early-game team, this time SK took the initial lead, claiming first blood on Barney “Alphari” Morris. However, their triumph was short-lived as Origen got several kills in the next few minutes and quickly took over.
By the time the mid game began, Origen were already well in control and with over 4K in gold lead. A mistake by SK led to the first inhibitor falling just 19 minutes in and left the German team scrambling. Four minutes later, Origen won a fight where they got a kill and forced the SK jungler to flash away, meaning they were free to take the baron.
In the next several minutes, OG methodically took down the enemy inhibitors and ended the game after a very one-sided fight.
While this win sees Origen remain in the fight for the top spots, SK’s dry spell continues and the organization is no doubt already looking towards the summer split.
The rise of MAD Lions continues
Misfits Gaming and MAD Lions both stood at 9-6 before the match and for them, the head-to-head clash could play a major role in how they ended the season.
Misfits initially took the lead after an early tower dive by their opponents backfired. The Spanish squad did not give up, however, and soon brought the game back to equal, having the better control even as Misfits had the tower and gold advantage.
The parity ended around the 20-minute mark when Misfits overextended to kill the enemy jungler. A flank by MAD mid laner Marek “Humanoid” Brázda awarded his team three kills and an uncontested Baron.
Despite their good scaling, Misfits felt they had had to take risks and these often did not pay out: several minutes later, MAD caught the enemy AD carry and proceeded to dominate the fight, getting four kills for one and securing the open soul. The Lions encountered only token resistance as they eventually secured a second Baron, used it to take all three inhibitors and then the elder dragon.
When the fight finally came, it was completely one-sided and after four quick kills, the MAD Lions took the game, rising to fourth place and securing their playoff spot.
Excel’s playoff hopes end after bitter defeat by G2
The 2019 LEC champions G2 Esports had an easy path to the first place. That is, as long as they did not lose more than one game, and they had no intention of making it easy for an Excel Esports team struggling to squeeze in the Top 6.
G2 got first blood five minutes into the game with a clean tower dive in the top lane before proceeding to open up a gold lead and smash their opponents’ bot-lane duo. Just 13 minutes in, Excel were over 6K gold behind and struggling to find a way into the game. Shortly afterward, their attempt to kill Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski was punished by a G2 collapse that saw them lose four for nothing.
Excel were already on the ropes 18 minutes in when Patrik “Patrik” Jírů’s attempt to kill Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle’s bard resulted in his Varus getting stunned and quickly burst down.
G2 chased for an ace and took a pre-20 minute inhibitor. Just a few minutes later, they caught Patrik again, and once more emerged victorious from a big teamfight. This proved to be the final drop as G2 ended the game soon afterward.
This win almost guarantees G2’s pole position at the end of the regular split – they would need to lose both Week 9 games for it to be even possible – and eliminates Excel from playoff contention.
Win versus Rogue solidifies 2-0 week for Fnatic
The final game of the week pitted Rogue against Fnatic – and while both teams were guaranteed to make the playoffs, each of them was hoping to get a higher berth.
The teams traded blows in the bot lane, with both narrowly surviving almost sure-kill ganks with no one falling. Despite a first blood for Rogue and several roams, Fnatic kept up in gold and came out ahead after taking the first tower. Rogue would try to find a pick multiple times but Fnatic endured the aggression and slowly grew their gold and dragon lead.
When Rogue tried to catch Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau’s Ornn 27 minutes in, the ensuing teamfight saw their own jungler fall, leading to an easy Baron for Fnatic. This was followed by an ocean soul shortly afterward. Fnatic still had the purple buff on 30 minutes in when Bwipo caught Rogue off-guard with a tower dive, setting up a 2-0 fight that resulted in Fnatic pushing forward to end the game.
The LEC’s first online week saw a very polarized performance from the teams as all of them were either 2-0 or 0-2. The big winners are G2 Esports, who are all but guaranteed to retain their first spot, and MAD Lions, who guaranteed their playoff berth and have a game advantage on their competitors.
However, next week the schedule is not kind to the Lions, as they will be fighting both Fnatic and Origen. If you missed what happened on Week 8 Day 1, you can check our in-detail recap here. Join us on Friday for the last games of the LEC Spring Split regular season!
