LEC Friday Review: FC Schalke 04 Miracle Run, MAD Lions Alone at the Top

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FC Schalke 04 is on the cusp of a miracle run. (Image credit: Riot Games)

It has been a very close LEC season and as the final superweek starts, everyone except Rogue and MAD Lions are fighting for their playoff spot. Yet, while FC Schalke’s miracle run continues and MAD and G2 rose up, Fnatic and Origen are on the cusp of a crushing failure.

Clutch Baron Steal Prevents Rogue Comeback vs Vitality

The opening game of the day featured joint first place team Rogue take on Team Vitality. The French squad’s early aggression saw them amass a small lead.

However, Rogue remained close, staying within 1K gold at 20 minutes and having the first two drakes and better scaling.

A big fight in their favor 28 minutes in resulted in Rogue starting baron, but Duncan "Skeanz" Marquet got a hero steal and Vitality got a 2-1 fight on top of it.

With the purple buff and the first big gold lead of the game, they took over the map and broke in the Rogue base, nearly winning the game after a teamfight win 35 minutes in. Rogue fought them off but could not stop them from securing Cloud soul and a second Baron – and by then it was too late to wrest back control.

Origen’s Collapse Continues

Origen and Excel Esports faced off in the second game in a clutch match for both teams as they struggle to catch one of the last playoff spots. After an initially even early game, Origen came out ahead with several successful teleport ganks in the bottom lane that eventually resulted in a big advantage for Elias "Upset" Lipp’s Jinn.

Excel did find some wins, and eventually, jungler Marc Robert "Caedrel" Lamont stole the dragon that would have given Origen mountain soul. However, Origen rolled with the punch and secured the Baron instead.

The Baron push resulted in two inhibitors, and they looked to have finally broken their losing streak when indecision struck. Despite the superminions, Excel were able to secure mountain soul, chase Origen off several Barons and eventually secure an Elder drake, get the ace and take the win.

FC Schalke 04 Defeat Fnatic

It was a key match for both teams as Schalke fought to keep their miracle run alive and Fnatic wanted to avoid missing playoffs. The spring finalists took the first blood, but Schalke found kills top lane with another great performance by jungler Erberk "Gilius" Demir. However, a good teamfight for Fnatic 16 minutes in saw them nearly ace Schalke after catching them at the dragon pit.

As the midgame progressed, however, Fnatic’s coordination went out the window. Fnatic’s signature “deathbrush” backfired 20 minutes and, instead of cutting their losses after support Zdravets "Hylissang" Galabov was killed, they stayed around and lost three more. Schalke continued getting the better of their rivals, eventually acing them after an attempted pick on Han "Dreams" Min-kook and ending the game.

MAD Lions Avenge Loss to Misfits

After Rogue’s earlier loss, MAD Lions had a chance to take the sole first place if they could defeat the Misfits Gaming team that dealt them one of their few losses. The former rookies started strong, took an early first blood and bested Misfits in several early teamfights, leading to a 3.5K gold lead at the 15-minute mark.

Misfits’ decision not to ban Lee Sin cost them dearly as Zhiqiang "Shad0w" Zhao put out another clinic on the champion. At 18 minutes in, MAD got a 3-0 fight and used the Rift Herald to further extend their lead.

Misfits found no answer to MAD’s aggression and map movement and while the game lasted just over 30 minutes, the Lions never lost control of it.

G2 Esports Hammer SK Gaming

The final Friday game featured spring champions G2 Esports taking on SK Gaming, a team that had shown a lot of improvement during this split and was tied with them at 8-7 in the standings. The two teams were close over much of the early game, as although SK took an early first blood, G2 had better objective control and eventually secured the gold lead.

The game remained nearly even until 22 minutes in, however, when a crucial flank from G2 top laner Martin "Wunder" Hansen caught SK unprepared, leading to two kills, a dragon and a very fed Syndra in the hands of Rasmus "Caps" Winther.

SK committed to killing Mikyx 32 minutes only to once again get flanked by Wunder, and lost four in return. G2 nearly ended the game off this push and while the German squad barely defended their nexus, they could not repeat that feat in the next push.

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It has been a horrible start of Super week for Origen and Fnatic as the two venerable organizations risk losing a playoff spot. The LEC super week continues on Saturday with a clash between the resurgent underdogs of Team Vitality and FC Schalke 04. Don’t miss it!

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