LEC Winter: First pentakill, XL out and four teams ahead

The Regular Season of LEC Winter 2023 is almost over! After three super weeks, today is the last day before moving on to the Group Stage. So far, Team Excel have been eliminated with a score of 1-7, while Fnatic have one last chance to make it to the Group Stage.

Some teams have totally surprised in the LEC Winter Split, while others performed below expectations, including Excel and Fnatic. On the other hand, particularly strong teams this season are G2 Esports, SK Gaming, Vitality, and MAD Lions, who even recorded the first pentakill of the season by the hand of Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer collected. 

MAD Lions get first pentakill

The popular midlaner Nisqy was voted MVP in the last Summer Split and is once again proving his skills. He managed to get his team’s first pentakill of the season in a game against Team Heretics, where MAD Lions struggled at first, but then were able to pull off a comeback. With this win, they moved up to the same spot in the leaderboard as Team Vitality. It was a bitter ending for Team Heretics, as they were actually ahead with a 5,000 gold lead and close to winning the match.

Odoamne and XL want revenge

After Excel lost to SK Gaming, the team’s fate was sealed for the remainder of the Winter Split. They finished at the bottom of the leaderboard with just one win and seven losses. The team remains below expectations and for the LEC Summer champion Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu in particular, not playing in the group stage will undoubtedly be frustrating.

He switched from Rogue/KOI to XL and it looks like his team needs to settle in and change something if they want to keep up with the other teams in the next split. “It’s a tough environment,” Odoamne commented in the interview after the match. He said it was hard to perform but he’s always managed to come back and will do so in the next split. Now his team must grow together and then return to the next split with renewed strength.

Group Stage teams 

The LEC 2023 Winter Split Group Stage starts on February 11  with Vitality, MAD Lions, G2 Esports, SK Gaming, Team BDS and Team Heretics having already secured a spot. That means there are still two spots left for three teams, and today we’ll find out who can grab them. Astralis, KOI, and Fnatic remain, but one team won’t make it further today.

It’s amazing that Fnatic and KOI are struggling, given that they’re one of those teams that are expected to do a lot. After all, KOI won the final against G2 last Summer with a clean 3:0, but they lack this strength at the moment, maybe also because toplaner Odoamne is no longer there?