The LEC is back in action with the best team in the world heading their league in G2. The question will be, who will be joining them for Worlds in a couple months? Well a good place to start is in Week 1 as everyone else battles for the last two spots. So without further ado, here is where all the teams are ranked to start the season.
10. Rogue
Yet again Rogue will be looking up at everyone else for most if not all of the Summer Split. While that will be a bad thing for now, Rogue will be testing out a ten-man roster. With the addition of Marcin “Selfie” Wolski in the Mid Lane this team may have a little something stable. Their hope should be that a couple of these ten players actually show something, otherwise this entire year will have been a total wash.
To start their Summer Split Rogue will play Misfits and exceL. Their hope should be that Misfits are distracted by their new ten-man roster and their disappointing Spring Split. It is unlikely that will happen so a loss is probably in the cards for them. As for exceL, this will be their opportunity to try and scrape out a win this weekend. The problem is that exceL not only won five games last split but, they also made some pretty big improvements during the break. Expect another loss here for Rogue and an 0-2 start to what will be a long Summer Split for them.
9. exceL Esports
There is some hope for exceL fans, they will probably be the better of the two bottom teams again. But, even that may not be giving them enough credit. They went out and brought in Son “Mickey” Young-min and Petter “Hjarnan” Freyschuss as upgrades in areas of need. This team could actually contend with the amount of veteran talent they have mixed in with their young upstart jungler. It will definitely be interesting to see if they are able to mix well. Should they, it is possible that they could be fighting for that sixth Playoff spot.
This week exceL play the easiest schedule in the LEC. They will start against Schalke who will definitely have an advantage over them. It isn’t likely that they pullout a win in their first game but that’s fine as long as they can keep it close. As for their game against Rogue, it is a must win. Even this early in the Split they need to beat the one team that is below them otherwise even with all of their moves, this could be a pretty rough Split.
8. FC Schalke 04
This team barely missed out on the Spring Split Playoffs due to a tiebreaker loss to SK Gaming. This was not their only problem though, they wet on a miserable five game losing streak right in the middle of the Split. This was after they looked like a for sure Playoff team just a couple weeks in. Schalke have a good mix of younger players and veterans who all had their good and bad games last Split. The hope is that Kim “Trick” Gang-yun can come in and provide some more veteran play to help them in the jungle where they struggled quite a bit.
It will be a relatively easier start to the Split than most as Schalke play exceL and SK Gaming. While exceL have improved, this game should allow Schalke to shake off the rust and get the win. As for the SK game, Schalke will be looking for revenge against a very evenly matched opponent. It will be a close game that could go either way.
7. SK Gaming
It would be understandable if fans were upset for this placement, that said they barely made the Playoffs last Split and are very much still a .500 type team. Taking out Jorge “Werlyb” Casanovas Moreno-Torres and replacing him with Toni “Sacre” Sabalić is definitely an interesting move but probably not one that will catapult them into the Playoffs. They will have to hope they 2-0 the teams below them, split with the teams right above them and not get embarrassed by the top three teams this Split.
The Summer Split will begin with games against Fnatic and Schalke. The Fnatic game will really depend on if SK can take advantage of a team that is known for starting out slow. If they can’t then it may be a pretty quick loss. The Schalke game will be one of the most even games of the weekend. It will truly be a flip of the coin. Whoever has the better draft and whoever executes will get the win.
6. Misfits
This may be optimistic considering how disappointing Spring Split was for them. That said on paper this team should be doing more than just hoping to make the Playoffs. As of now it looks like they may be mixing and matching to find the right combination of players as they have announced a ten-man roster, bringing up all of their academy players. No one really knows how many of the academy players will play considering how good their starting five should be, but either way it should make Misfits better in the long-run.
This week Misfits will play Rogue and then Fnatic. Misfits need to take care of business against Rogue and take the win. Fnatic on the other hand should win but Misfits split with them during the Spring so there is a chance they pull it off. If their roster performs as it should, then it will be a close game if nothing else.
5. Splyce
Splyce aren’t the most fun team to watch for most fans. That said, they have a very distinct style and they have kept it through multiple iterations of their team and metas. For that, they have their win condition and it is slow and steady wins the race. This has helped them to reach the Playoffs but not necessarily gotten them that far in it. They may have to learn to adapt more in order to make a push towards a Summer Split Playoff appearance and if they can really figure it out, a shot at Worlds.
Week 1 will not be an easy one by any stretch. They will faceoff against G2 and Team Vitality to start. The G2 game will be their first since MSI and as was seen in the LCS last week, Team Liquid dropped a game to the other team they played that wasn’t in the Finals against them. So, Splyce will have to hope for the same. As for Vitality, it should be a pretty even matchup that could go either way.
4. Team Vitality
The Katy Perry song, Hot N Cold, may sum up this team perfectly. They look like an unstoppable force in some games and then like a disorganized mess in their others. Vitality need to find some semblance of consistency if they hope to make a deep Summer Split Playoff run and have a chance at Worlds. They will look to coach Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi and star Mid Laner, Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro to help them find that consistency.
Vitality will start off Week 1 against Origen and Splyce. These are both solid teams but ones that are beatable for the likes of Vitality. They went 2-0 against Splyce and were able to split their games against Origen last Split. Even coming out of the weekend 1-1 would be a solid start for Vitality as they look to make another Playoff appearance.
3. Fnatic
As of right now there is a very clear top three teams in the LEC and then everyone else. Fnatic start this but the argument could be made for them being in second even with their 3-1 loss against Origen in the playoffs. Everyone knows the potential that this team has. It’s possible that they are the only team that could take on G2 but, until they can show consistency and play at the level they should, they will have to settle for third in the LEC.
Of the top three teams, Fnatic have the easiest Week 1 schedule. They will be playing SK Gaming and Misfits. While neither of them are slouches, considering SK were a playoff team and Misfits should have been, Fnatic should be able to win both of these games. Getting off to a 2-0 start would allow for Fnatic to weather any bumps in the the road later on like they had last Split.
2. Origen
There is no doubt this team has talent all over its roster, its only problem is that G2 has their number. They have lost seven of their eight games played against G2 so far this year including having the quickest ever Finals in the history of the league. Origen will need to solve the G2 puzzle and play like they did in the second half of the Spring Split to secure their spot at worlds.
It wont be an easy first week by any stretch for Origen. They play the always ambitious Vitality squad to start the Split. This should be a pretty close game that could very easily go either way. As for their second game, that will be against G2. Hopefully, for Origen’s sake, they have something new and well-practiced to show G2, otherwise they better hope that G2 are unprepared if they expect to get a win.
1. G2 Esports
Was it ever going to be anyone else at the number one spot? They embarrassed Origen and Team Liquid in the last two Finals they played in. It is likely that this is the best team in the world right now which means that they can use the LEC as their playground. G2 will be able to test out new strategies and essentially walk themselves into playoffs before really having to try. Sure they may lose a game here or there, but they are without a doubt, currently the best team in the world.
This week they play Splyce and have a rematch against Origen. Splyce will do what they always do and play a slow and methodical game, which is heavily countered by a team as proactive as G2, so expect a quick win there. Then Origen may have some fight in them as they look for revenge. Look for that game to be closer but still a G2 win.
Need More?
You can ‘Like’ The Game Haus on Facebook and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Robert!
“From Our Haus to Yours”