LEC Superweek recap

Vitality lost five straight games to miss the playoffs, day two was filled with 50 minute bangers and Fnatic’s bot lane just saved their season this weekend.

First seed

G2 Esports came into the LEC Superweek aiming for the top spot and they did not let go of the pedal until they got there. The battle for the first seed happened on the first day, in which they beat the MAD Lions and claimed the top spot. Despite having the same record, this win helped G2 even out the score 1-1 against MAD, and the shorter game time gave them the first seed. They won the last game against SK as well, going into the playoffs on a five-game winning streak, and qualifying for Worlds as Europe’s first seed with 210 championship points.

Second seed

Despite not securing the first seed, it would be a lie to say that the MAD Lions had a disappointing Summer Split. Mid laner Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer continued his stellar performance en route to probably his first ever LEC MVP award. The MAD Lions missed the Spring Split playoffs but the addition of Nisqy catapulted the team back into contention and thus securing Europe’s third seed at Worlds. Despite losing to G2 on the first day, the MAD Lions took care of business the rest of the weekend, handling losses to SK Gaming and Astralis. That 50-minute game against Astralis played a crucial role in the lower part of the standings and prepared us for drama-filled day three.

Third seed

Rogue’s superb laning and team fighting secured them a top three seed by beating Excel on day one, but then they managed to blunder it on day two. Instead of sticking with the late game drafts that resulted in a Markos “Comp” Stamkopoulos pentakill on Sivir on day one, they tried playing Kalista and lost to Team BDS of all teams on day two. But they learned from their mistakes, coming back on day three with a Sivir/ Viktor comp that was a meat grinder for Vitality’s tanks. With 140 Championship points, they are comfortably moving into the playoffs, having directly qualified for the group stage at Worlds as the second seed.

Fourth seed

If you thought the top of the standings was interesting, then you missed the fist fight that was at the bottom of the table. After stomping Fnatic in the tiebreaker match, Misfits secured the fourth seed despite losing to them earlier in the day. Misfits got manhandled by G2 on day two after beating Team BDS on Friday, which made Sunday’s matches deciding on who makes the playoffs. Misfits made the mistake of giving Elias “Upset” Lipp Zeri after Saturday’s performance against Vitality, but removed it in the tiebreaker match. Despite both teams qualifying for the playoffs, they had to close out the Superweek with an 11 pm match to decide seeding, which Misfits won convincingly despite a strong early game from Fnatic.

Fifth seed

Speaking of Fnatic, this weekend was a huge roller coaster of emotions for all of their fans. Astralis handed them a win on day one by drafting a composition with no engage, and Upset put his team on his back on day two. In a 50-minute high-pressured slugfest against Vitality, Fnatic’s bot lane proved why they are probably the best one in Europe. Words can’t describe Upset’s 1vs9 performance, but the job wasn’t done yet. Their mid-laner Marek “Humanoid” Brázda finally showed up after subpar performances for the last four months, but Misfits didn’t ban Zeri and Fnatic secured playoffs. The last game of the day was another showing of Fnatic’s inconsistencies when a 4000 gold lead at 15 minutes turned into a 29-minute Misfits win, of Humanoid’s mistakes and Fnatic giving away Yuumi. Despite this and the wonky format for choosing Europe’s fourth seed at Worlds which we covered, it appears that Fnatic will be taking up that slot, with 80 championship points.

Sixth seed

Excel made the playoffs for the second split in a row after failing to do it in the previous three years of competition. They lost to Rogue on day one and handled business on day two versus SK Gaming, but their squad showed up when it mattered most. They won both games on day three, which would have sent them packing for the season if they lost them. The AOE onslaught from the Azir/ Zeri combo was too much to handle for Astralis, who got eliminated from playoff contention with this loss. Excel also crushed the hopes of Europe’s super team, beating Vitality in the first tiebreaker match of the day and securing  the playoffs. The game was close until Excel’s Draven cashed in, and a few mistakes from Vitality, later on, sealed the deal.

Vitality and Astralis falter

The clear losers of this weekend were Vitality, who went from a four-game winning streak and being tied for third place, to losing five in a row and missing the playoffs. We’ll definitely see roster changes, considering they made the playoffs as the sixth seed the previous two splits with a roster that had a way smaller budget. Astralis also managed to blow it, by losing to two teams they were tied with for the sixth seed in this Superweek. Granted, this split was a much more competitive showing from them compared to previous splits, but we are yet to see Astralis achieve something notable as a part of the European League of Legends scene.

Header: Riot Games