The LEC returns with the the debut superweekend of the 2023 Spring Season. When the smoke cleared, SK Gaming and Vitality reign supreme with 3-0 results.
After the rollecoaster of the Winter Playoffs, the ten teams of the League of Legends EMEA Championship reconvened last weekend for the start of the LEC 2023 Spring Split. The new season will have a similar season to the one that just ended - a single round robin taking place over 3 superweeks, following by Best of 3 groups for the top 8 teams and Best of Five Playoffs for the four squads that come out on top. The winter champions G2 Esports look to defend their title, but between a Team Vitality joined by prodity AC Carry Elias "Upset" Lipp, MAD LIons and KOI eager to take the next step after making top 3 in Winter and SK Gaming eager to show last split was not just a fluke, the LEC is looking spicy!
Pentakill for Hans Sama in G2 Opening Game!
The Spring Split started with a match between Fnatic and Excel Esports, the two teams that surprised us the most - negatively - in the winter. Excel looked considerably better and Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu took over the gme for his team. Team BDS, meanwhile, started strong against SK Gaming in the next game, but SK came back in the mid-game with some good teamfights to start their spring campaign with a win. Team Vitality also started strong against MAD Lions, punishing an early towerdive, but they permitted no comebacks in what turned out to be anextremely one-sided game.
The fourth match of the day, featuring Astralis and KOI, proved quite contested, but the underdogs managed win a clutch fight 27 minutes in that saw them turn around a KOI engage and get four kills, leaving the way to the enemy base open. The last game saw Team Heretics take on the winter champions G2 Esports and although Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski did all he could to make it tough for his former team, G2 would not be denied. Steven “Hans Sama” Liv was given Draven and he showed just how good he is on it, getting a Pentakill 20 minutes in that made the game completely one-sided.
Astralis Pull off Amazing Upset on Day 2
MAD Lions, already coming off a loss in their first game, fumbled against Team BDS, losing several skirmishes and having to concede the initial Baron. MAD tried to exploit the recalls and get two towers and some kills, but BDS punished their overreaching and took control of the game. In the second match of the day, we saw Team Vitality overpower Excel Esports in the early game - and while a sneaky Baron for the UK organization kept the game going a bit longer, it was not enough to derail the Vitality pain train. Meanwhile, SK Gaming took on Fnatic and, like Excel on Saturday, focused their efforts on their rookie top laner Óscar "Oscarinin" Muñoz Jiménez. Fnatic, still fresh off theirroster changes after the winter split, was not able to compensate in other lanes. With both a weak toplaner and poor teamfight coordination, they racked another loss.
G2, meanwhile, found themselves heavily pressured by Astralis. While the winter Champions' good objective control kept their gold and dragons strong, the underdogs won several teamfights and eventually out-executed G2 in the mid-game to take the victory. The final game of the day proved out to be an absolute slugfest as Team Heretics and KOI battled back and forth. Despite KOI having the mid-game lead, TH hung in the game until a key decision to contest Baron even as super minions were heading in their base - and while they were able to secure the objective, they paid for it with their Nexus.
Vitality Demolish Fnatic for 3-0 Week
On Monday, SK Gaming faced off against Astralis and dominated their rivals with a very strong early game that resulted in a big lead when teamfights. In the end, Astralis' winning streak was broken as SK recorded a perfect 3-0 week. Things were very different for Team Heretics, who remain winless after a very spicy early game where Adam "Adam" Maanane was heavily punished for his early actions to help his teammates. Still, it worked out well for Team BDS, whose carries absolutely gapped Heretics' and who dominated the teamfights.
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In a rematch of the winter semifinal, MAD Lions faced off against KOI and after a weekend of disappointments finally showed slivers of the team that surprised us in the playoffs. An early game lead in the bot lane and strong objective control saw them siege the KOI base and slowly grind them down to secure their first win of the season. Game four of the day saw G2 bounce back from the sunday defeat with another strong game, this time against Excel Esports, as Hans Sama was once more given Draven and took over the game. The day ended with another stomp - Team Vitality wasted no time battering Fnatic's side lanes and was soon fully in control of the game. Fnatic tried to contest an early Baron only to get aced, adding the final nail in their own coffin.
Read More:
- LEC Spring Split 2023: Everything You Need To Know
- League of Legends: Our Predictions for the LEC Spring Split
- The New Fnatic-Roster For The LEC Spring Split 2023 Revealed
The LEC 2023 Spring Split continues on Saturday, March 20th, as the surprisingly strong Astralis face off against winter finalists MAD Lions. Make sure to follow our LoL coverage for more news, analysis and the spiciest hot takes!