Despite a better than normal early game from FC Schalke 04, the Lions did not lose control of the game and capitalized on their mid-game lead to retain their position on top of the LEC.
FC Schalke 04 faced a difficult opponent on Friday, going against the 6:1 MAD Lions. The former rookies had quickly recovered from their opening week loss to G2 Esports to become what many saw as the most consistent team in the LEC
Schalke had a good early game, getting first blood off a top-side gank, though they lost one in the exit. Still, the German team was more active than expected, with jungler Erberk "Gilius" Demir and mid laner Felix "Abbedagge" Braun being very active on the map and getting a second kill in the top lane in the first 10 minutes of the game. Seven minutes later, Schalke got the third drake of the game and looked on point for one of the biggest upsets of the season.
However, MAD Lions did not take this lying down and as the mid-game progressed they hit back. The first sign of their return was when they killed Gilius as the fourth drake respawned and secured it to delay the soul. Over the next several minutes,they equalized the game as they dominated several teamfights.
What looked like a catch for Schalke backfired as MAD got two kills and went for the Baron, then took 3 more as S04 tried to interrupt. Now with an overwhelming lead, the former rookies sieged the enemy base, before a clean ace 28 minutes in let them secure the Baron and pushed the enemy base, getting two inhibitors off it and ending the game shortly afterwards.
With this, MAD are now on a 7-game winning streak on top of the LEC scoreboard and they definitely look like a premier team. Schalke, meanwhile, definitely showed improvement but it was not enough to set up an upset against the favorite.
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