Rogue, Fnatic and Misfits Gaming are firmly shaping up to be top 4 teams for this season after wins on Saturday. After their last losses, Team Vitality and MAD Lions look shaky - will they recover in time?
Week six of the LEC continued with several much-awaited games. Rogue would have their showdown with Team Vitality, a chance for the superteam to show it is coming in the final stretch in good form. Meanwhile, after going neck and neck for most of the season, Fnatic and G2 Esports would face off in a match that either team could use to get a leg up on their old rivals.
Excel Stop Astralis
First, however, it was Excel Esports and Astralis that took to the Rift. The tenth-place team was quite active against Fnatic on Friday, but this time their early game composition did not yield an advantage. The game slowly turned into Excel’s favor and 39 minutes in, what looked like a catch on Mark "Markoon" van Woensel ended as four kills for his team as the carries were left alive to do the damage. The team is now 7-6 and a top 6 spot is in the cards - but they will face some pretty strong teams in the last two weeks.
Time to shut some stars down! #LEC #XLPLAYOFFS
— EXCEL (@EXCEL) February 19, 2022
SK Gaming on Winning Streak
Game two featured SK Gaming and Team BDS. Despite jungler Erberk "Gilius" Demir’s efforts, the early game remained close and BDS actually got a dragon advantage that turned into a cloud soul at 26 minutes. However, the newcomers were not able to set up a good splitpush and ended up routed in a fight for the Elder dragon. BDS fended off one attack, but 39 minutes in their mid laner Ilias "NUCLEARINT" Bizriken was caught and they had to mount a desperate defense, nearly acing SK before their Nexus fell.
Comeback for Misfits
MAD Lions seemed to have found the perfect start in their game against Misfits Gaming, first securing three kills in a misplayed early dive and then two more after a clutch hook by Norman "Kaiser" Kaiser. However, Misfits rebounded and stabilized the game and had good dragon control. Despite the kill lead, the Lions found themselves outplayed on the map and rebuffed by Misfits’ great poke, losing first infernal soul and then Baron. They had no answer and soon, Misfits secured their fifth consecutive win. Now tied for second, they look to be one of the big surprises of the season.
Big L for Vitality
Team Vitality drafted a very combo-oriented composition for their showdown with Rogue, but despite getting first blood they were unable to control the game. Instead, they had to concede the early drakes and, even worse, a series of picks gave Rogue an early Baron. Vitality soon had their backs against the wall and tried to contest a Baron 4v5 29 minutes in. It ended in four kills, the objective and another win for Rogue, who are now happily sitting at 11-2.
Fnatic Win Rematch with G2
The week ended with the much-awaited showdown between old rivals Fnatic and G2 Esports. It was a scrappy early game where both teams focused on one of their side lanes - G2 top and Fnatic bottom. However, Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz’s Diana was far more effective early on and helped the team get ahead. As teamfights started, Fnatic kept getting the better of their rivals even when it looked like G2 would turn it around. In the end, a messy fight 31 minutes in ended in an ace for Fnatic and they easily took the Nexus to tie Misfits for second place.
Read More:
- Astralis Upset Fnatic as LEC Starts Week 6
- Tyler1 Climbs to Challenger In All Roles
- Recap: LEC Looks Closer Than Ever with Shaky Rogue
The LEC continues on February 25th as MAD Lions come out for a necessary win against Astralis. Meanwhile, you can follow our coverage to stay informed about LoL news and analysis.