With all the drama around the play-offs of all major League of Legends regions, it is easy to forget that the EU Masters main event is going on as well. Here is our rundown of the first week of the group stage!
The EU Masters is the biggest event for teams from the European League of Legends regional leagues. It takes place twice per year after the LEC regular season ends and features a play-in stage for the lower seeds or those from less established regions, followed by a main event and a playoff stage. With the play-ins over, four teams came out of the preliminary stage to join the main event: one of them, France’s LDLC OL, is in fact the reigning EU Masters champion, having won the spring tournament. The sixteen teams are split in four groups, each with a double round-robin format, with the top two teams proceeding to the playoffs. Here is how things stand with half the games already played:
Group A: The Group of Death
With the traditionally strong FC Schalke 04 Evolution team, a K1CK Neosurf that was one of the big surprises of the spring split and the spring champions LDLC OL, Group A was already a hard one to get out of - but when Italy’s Samsung Morning Star took a game off LDLC, things really got messy. Right now, S04 Evolution and K1CK are tied for the first two spots with a 2-1 record, but the other two teams are right behind at 1-2. This is a group where things are likely to go down to the wire.
Group B: Movistar at the Top
Spain’s champion Movistar Riders has so far defeated all comers in the group, standing at 3-0 at the half-way mark. Their main rivals for the top spot are the strong Polish team AGO ROGUE, who are currently at second place at 2-1. Germany’s third seed Team Gamerlegion once more came up from the play-ins but is currently at third place, having only one win - against the Balkan region representatives SuppUp eSports, who are currently at 0-3.
Group C: Can Misfits Keep it Up?
Having won the playoffs in the strong French league, Misfits Premier was the favorite coming in the group - and so far, they are doing as well as expected, having won all three games. The current runner-up is Spain’s Vodafone Giants at 2-1, followed by the Greek Champions We Love Gaming with a single win. Last place goes to the Polish 7more7 Pompa Team, currently standing at 0-3. Still, if there is one thing, we know about the Superliga teams, it is that they can always surprise.
Group D: A Three-Way Tie
Group D is another one where we can expect a lot of excitement, as currently three teams are tied for the first place with a 2:1 record. They are the Prime League’s mousesports, France’s second seed Gamers origin, and the UK champions Fnatic Rising. The last teams in the group, Greece’s second seed Intrepid Fox Gaming, is currently at 0-3, but they could well end up the underdog that trips a favorite and decides how the group goes.
READ MORE:
- LDLC OL Are the New EU Masters Champions!
- K1CK Neosurf Smash Movistar Riders, Advance to EU Masters Final
- LDLC OL Reverse Sweep to Enter EU Masters Finals
The games continue on September 9 as the group stage resumes and it will keep the action going until the start of Worlds.
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