EU LCS Week 4: Individual Match-Ups

Week 4 marks the beginning of cross-group series. Teams from Group A will face teams from Group B. Since we have only watched LCS squads play within their groups, it is a bit more difficult to compare skill between A teams and B teams. However, the following individual match-ups should be spicy, regardless of how the rest of their teams do.

While G2 versus H2K in Week 4 should make for an exciting match overall, keep an eye on the mid lane. Perkz and Febiven bring similar mechanical skill to the table, but their playstyles are slightly different. Febiven has proven himself to be most dominant in lane in Group B, while Perkz tends to bring more to roaming and teamfights.

As for champion pool, these two do overlap a bit. Perkz and Febiven have played Syndra more than once with middling success. They have both also played one game on Cassiopeia. Febiven has played Corki once and lost, while Febiven has won three times on the champion. The most noticeable difference in played champions is Perkz’s Ryze and Leblanc. He has played Ryze twice, Leblanc twice, and was a menace to other mid laners on those champions. Febiven has not played either so far. However, Febiven’s most dominant performance was on Jayce, finishing 9-0-10 against Splyce.

Group A’s pool of mid laners seems stronger overall than Group B, so expect these two to match up pretty closely. H2K should try their best to give Febiven the favorable wave-clear match-up to prevent Perkz’s ability to roam. On the other hand, Febiven has shown a lackluster performance on Viktor. If it comes down to it, he should pick up the safe Corki, which he has demonstrated in wins against Unicorns of Love and Team Vitality.

Misfits should have the overall advantage in Week 4. They sit second in Group A, while Splyce are third in Group B. Nonetheless, the AD Carry match-up will be a fun one. Kobbe and Hans sama have relatively similar statistics. The main splitting point is in KDA and damage per minute. Hans sama’s numbers paint him as playing more safely: giving fewer deaths with lower damage. Kobbe dies more, but does more damage to enemies in the process.

The meta marksmen pool is relatively small at the moment. Most games include the utility carries, Varus, Jhin, or Ashe, so it is not surprising to see a large overlap in Kobbe and Hans sama’s played champions. But their success is drastically different, depending on which champion they draft. Hans sama has won four out of five Varus games, two out of three Ashe games, and one out of two Jhin games. Meanwhile, Kobbe won three out of five games on Jhin, his one game on Ashe, and neither of his games on Varus. Kobbe has also successfully utilized Caitlyn in a game against Origen.

Misfits could leave Varus up during the draft, knowing that Hans sama has shown comfort on the champion and Kobbe has not. Splyce could try to target out marksmen and see how deep Hans sama’s champion pool goes. However, most of the draft phases have been revolving around other roles, so the bot lane will most likely be a matter of execution, rather than a favorable champion selection.

Fnatic versus Team Vitality should be fairly one-sided in Week 4. One area of the map that could get tilted the most is top lane. While Cabochard has not been as dominant as expected during the laning phase, he does generally come out ahead. SOAZ has had a few flashy plays here or there, but most of the time he is simply getting by until he can group with his team.

These two players’ champion pools look much different. Cabochard has played Camille, Jayce, Trundle, and Fiora, none of which sOAZ have played. SOAZ has locked in Gnar and Illaoi, both of which Cabochard has not. They have both lost a game on Poppy, yet both have shown convincing games on Shen. SOAZ looks much more comfortable on Nautilus. But the largest difference is their Maokai play rate. SOAZ has won three out of four games on Maokai. Cabochard has not played the champion yet this split.

Team Vitality should leverage this top-side imbalance to their benefit. Cabochard needs to play a lane dominant champion, and they need to try to force sOAZ onto Poppy, Nautilus, or a carry. If he can gain a large advantage in the early game, then Team Vitality have a chance. But, if sOAZ is allowed to play Shen or Maokai, Fnatic will have a much higher chance of winning.

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