LEC Summer 2022 playoffs week two preview

Week two of the 2022 LEC Summer Split playoffs kicks off this Friday, with the battle for the last Worlds spot.

Fnatic Misfits

Fnatic’s turbulent season hasn’t come to an end just yet, courtesy of their experience and composure. The team managed to squeeze into the playoffs during the last day of Superweek, and engineered a reverse sweep against Excel in the first round of the playoffs, to keep their title hopes alive. “One game at a time” is the philosophy head coach Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi is probably preaching to his players, as they head into their lower bracket matchup with Misfits. The French team showed resilience in their 3-1 loss to G2 Esports last week, and considering today might be the franchise’s last League match, they have nothing left to lose.

The draft will be the deciding factor between these evenly matched teams today. Misfits have won when they pick Yuumi and a hyper-carry for bot laner Matúš “Neon” Jakubčík. On the other hand, Fnatic’s refusal to use a ban on Yuumi drove analysts insane last week, but I guess you can’t argue with the results. They reverse swept Excel giving them Yuumi in the last two games, after losing to it in the first two. The winner of this game will face off against the MAD Lions on Sunday in the third round of the lower bracket.

Rogue G2 Esports

Saturday’s match in the upper bracket semifinals will host the first-seeded G2 and third-seeded Rogue. The winner will advance to the Grand Finals, while the loser gets another chance through the lower bracket semifinals. Rogue were pushed to their limits last week, in a five-game series against the MAD Lions. They emerged victorious but if they want to replicate that today against the reigning champs, they will need to step up.

G2 have had Rogue’s number ever since they entered the LEC, scoring a 13-2 record in head-to-head matches. The only time Rogue won a series against G2 was in the 2021 LEC Spring playoffs, when the Rekkles fiasco happened and Rogue had Inspired and Hans Sama. With two world-class mid laner facing off, in Emil “Larssen” Larsson and Rasmus “CaPs” Winther, this one should be a joy to watch. Can Rogue’s top side withstand the early aggression or will G2’s rookie bot lane make enough of an impact to secure the win? Find out on Saturday, September 3 at 5 PM CEST on the LEC Twitch and Youtube channels.

MAD Lions lower bracket run

On Sunday the MAD Lions will match up against the winner of Friday’s showdown between Fnatic and Misfits. That is probably the toughest game to forecast, considering the trajectories of both teams. Misfits looked better than usual against G2, but are still prone to mistakes throughout a long series. Fnatic’s season has been filled with ups and downs but the composure they showed over the last three games last week sparks hope for a turnaround. Both teams however are a tier below the MAD Lions, who should take care of business on Sunday and prepare for next week’s match against the loser of the Rogue-G2 match.

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