SK Gaming and EXCEL Esports kick off the LEC Summer Split Group Stage with a bang

The second phase of the LEC Summer Split 2023, the Group Stage, is already underway, and we have the first big surprise in Group B. It is the resounding victories of SK Gaming against Fnatic and EXCEL Esports against MAD Lions. As a result, two of the favorite teams of this Group Stage will have to play for their lives in the next series.

Undoubtedly, we all expected both Fnatic and MAD Lions to start with victories in this Group Stage. MAD Lions came from being champions in the Spring Split, while Fnatic was one of the best teams in the Summer Split regular season. However, this shows the high competitive level in the LEC and that anything can happen in the Group Stage.

Let’s see what happened on the first day of the LEC Summer Split 2023 Group Stage.

EXCEL Esports surprise by beating MAD Lions

The British squad surprised the whole scene with a true master class in game reading and compositions. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that MAD Lions were overconfident, as they did not respect EXCEL’s choice of Rumble and Rell. As a result, MAD Lions fall against EXCEL and are on the brink of elimination from the Summer Split

EXCEL Esports’ first Group Stage is off to the best possible start, proving that the level of play at the end of the regular season was not a mirage. After completely improving their roster for this Summer Split, EXCEL Esports is one step away from sealing their ticket to the playoffs.

Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu’s choice of Rumble was pivotal in this BO3 series, which, combined with Rell, managed to wreak havoc with MAD Lions in both the first and second games. As a result, EXCEL takes an extraordinary victory to take a giant step forward in this Summer Split.

#XLWIN@EXCEL defeat @MADLions_EN! #LEC pic.twitter.com/l2VVV29xiKj

— LEC (@LEC) July 15, 2023

Fnatic fell to their historical tormentors, SK Gaming

While it is true that the history between these two teams throughout the entire history of the LEC largely favors SK, the present time of both teams was completely different. However, SK Gaming surprised everyone by taking a crushing 2-0 victory to send the Black&Orange to the brink of elimination.

While it is true that Fnatic had an extremely good regular season, it is no secret that when the team faces SK Gaming, their performance drops significantly. Moreover, let’s remember that in the regular season, Fnatic’s last game was a loss to SK Gaming, and, despite that, they were chosen as opponents for this first game of the Group Stage. In conclusion, it backfired on Fnatic, as, once again, they could not beat SK Gaming.

Now, Fnatic will have to play for their lives against MAD Lions in the Elimination Match, while SK Gaming will play for the ticket to the playoffs against EXCEL Esports.

2⃣-0⃣:@SKGaming take down @FNATIC! #LEC pic.twitter.com/I4hwzHwPbX

— LEC (@LEC) July 15, 2023

Group A matches between G2 Esports vs. KOI and Team Heretics vs. Team BDS occur in the next hours.

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