The LEC spring split is halfway done! The weekend offered several clashes that showed the best of European League of Legends. With G2 Esports and Fnatic both ending the week 2-0, the 2020 powerhouses look strong - but other teams have plans of their own.
Week four concludes the first half of LEC split. Since the start of the split, we have seen each of the top level European teams take on everyone else. At the start of week 4, five teams were within one game of each other around the middle of the table, and with Fnatic’s defeat of G2 Esports and FC Schalke 04’s rampage last week, the rankings were primed for surprises.
LEC 2021 Spring Split: Week 4 Day 1
The weekend started with a game between the struggling Astralis and a FC Schalke 04 team that was on a four-game winning streak. The German squad started strong and got an early first blood, but unlike their tempered aggression last week, they overreached - and Astralis punished, with their new mid laner Carl Felix "MagiFelix" Boström leading the team to a strong mid-game and their first win since week 1. Meanwhile, Team Vitality had a hard time keeping up the pressure against Excel Esports and despite a good start fell behind after the UK team snuck a Baron. Once again showing their mid-game prowess, Excel took over the game and eventually took Vitality apart in a fight for the fourth dragon to take the victory.
Game three saw G2 Esports face off against Misfits Gaming. The 2020 summer champions showed once more they know how to bounce back after a loss, getting a great early game where they had an over 4K gold lead just 12 minutes in. Misfits got several key picks that extended the game, but eventually an Elder dragon buff saw G2 claim the victory.
With G2 and Fnatic both on their heels, Rogue had all the more reason to defeat their spring rivals MAD Lions. The Lions tried several early game moves but all backfired in the face of Rogue’s coordinated play, setting them far behind. An attempted pick on Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu 24 minutes in backfired, giving the favorites four kills and the baron, and they ended the game several minutes later. The last game of the day featured Fnatic taking on SK Gaming. The teams started fighting early and just 7 minutes in, Fnatic got a 4-2 fight near the drake. With the help of his jungler, top laner Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau on Riven took over the game and propelled his team forward. When Elias "Upset" Lipp’s Samira also came online, the German team had no way to keep up. Fnatic ended with a dominant victory, punctuated by Bwipo’s riven ending with a monstrous 11-0-9 score.
LEC 2021 Spring Split: Week 4 Day 2
SK Gaming had a second chance on Saturday, taking on a Team Vitality that had been winless since week 1. Despite their best efforts, Vitality would not fare much better in this game either, securing several drakes but unable to get ahead against SK’s scaling composition. 23 minutes in, SK won a key teamfight where Jean "Jezu" Massol’s Vayn ran amok and this let them take the lead and eventually close out the game. This game was followed by a bout between two other teams near the bottom of the table, Misfits Gaming and Astralis. Despite their victory on Friday, Astralis got smashed in the early game, falling 5K gold behind just 10 minutes into the game. Misfits continued pressing their lead and ended up dismantling their opponents in one of the most one-sided games of the season.
The next match saw FC Schalke 04 take on MAD Lions as both teams tried to recover after Friday’s losses. Both teams got advantages in the opening minutes, with S04 trying to shutdown İrfan Berk "Armut" Tükek in the top lane while MAD getting an early solokill mid. The MAD top laner recovered, however, and led his team to victory after several key teamfights. The match of the week - Rogue vs G2 Esports - delivered on our expectations. G2 got an early advantage off their map play and stronger mid-game picks, but even after losing the Baron and falling some 10K gold behind, Rogue fought back viciously and extended the game. It took over 50 minutes, an Elder dragon buff and the baron for G2 to finally take the win and equalize their rivals at 7-2 each.
The evening ended with a bout between Fnatic and Excel that was supposed to come earlier but had to be delayed and replayed because of a Samira bug. In the remake, Fnatic got a good start of the game, eventually taking the infernal soul just 23 minutes in. Excel had a moment of hope when they won a teamfight near the Baron, but when they tried to take it themselves, Fnatic rallied and Upset’s fed Samira carried the day. Fnatic allowed no more surprises and ended the game cleanly to secure their third place at the halfway mark of the season.
With nine games played and nine more to go, G2 Esports and Rogue share the first place with a 7-2 record and Fnatic is third with one win less. Behind them, FC Schalke 04, Excel Esports and MAD Lions are all standing at 5-4.
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The LEC continues next Friday with a German derby between Schalke and SK Gaming. Meanwhile, make sure to check our League of Legends coverage at earlygames.com!