After nine weeks of competitive League of Legends and some tiebreakers, the teams for the EU LCS playoffs are set. The six teams have one goal in common, to win it all and take the number one seed for Worlds. If past Worlds has been any indication, the number one seed is very important. With a chance at an easier group, a team’s goal of lifting the Summoner’s Cup becomes that much easier. However, their first step is to get through the quarterfinals.

So which teams will move on? Which teams will make a run to win it all? Let’s take a look.

FC Schalke 04 (3rd) vs Splyce (6th)

Out of all the matchups for the playoffs, this will likely be the least competitive. But that says more about the level of talent every team has as opposed to how weak these two teams are. While Splyce has had a small dip in performance compared to their Spring Split result, they’re still a dangerous team. On the other side, Schalke has finally recognized their potential as a top team with an amazing Summer Split.

Two big matchups to watch are going to be in the solo lanes between Shalke’s Tamás “Vizicsacsi” Kiss and Erlend “Nukeduck” Våtevik Holm against Splyce’s Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu and Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer. While the other lanes are going to be fairly even in their matchups, the solo lanes will likely decide the outcome of the series. Both teams often rely on their solo laners to be the playmakers, so if either side can get an advantage for their solo laners, a win will likely follow.

Prediction:

While Schalke are the clear favorites for most fans, Splyce shouldn’t be counted out. Despite the duo of Vizicsacsi and Nukeduck having a slight edge over Odoamne and Nisqy, the consistency of the Splyce duo can prove to be a huge advantage in a long best of 5 series. Along with that, Schalke as a whole are still mostly unproven in such a setting and their ability to adapt through a long series has yet to be tested.

However, despite all this, I still see the sheer talent of the Schalke roster coming through and giving them the eventual win.

I give this series to Schalke 3-2

G2 Esports (4th) vs Misfits Gaming (5th)

For a large part of the regular season, this matchup would’ve been a semifinal or a finals matchup. Instead, we’ll be getting this showdown in the quarterfinals. While both teams are fairly used to reaching the final week of playoffs, one of them will have to settle with an early quarterfinals exit. How did both teams get here?

For G2, despite a solid performance all the way through the regular season, an unfortunate 0-2 in tiebreaker action dropped them to the fourth seed. Meanwhile for Misfits, a slight collapse on the last week of play that saw them lose to Vitality and get upset by Team Roccat saw them drop all the way to the fifth seed.

While every lane is an important matchup in this series, the biggest focus should be put on the bot lane. On one side, G2 has a great bot lane tandem in Petter “Hjarnan” Freyschuss and Kim “Wadid” Bae-in, who will look to take over the game. To stop them, Misfits need to rely on all-star ADC Steven “Hans Sama” Liv to keep up with either support Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle or Jesse “Jesiz” Le. While Jesiz is the better support, it could prove to be a better idea to use Mikyx and rely on the synergy already built between him and Hans Sama. While losing bot lane would not be the end of the world for Misfits, it would make their chances at winning much lower.

Prediction:

This is a hard one to call. While both teams should be contenders to win it all, one of them will be eliminated. While Misfits has the advantage in the top lane, G2 appears to have an advantage in every other lane. In the long run, this series will be decided through the drafts. In this case the advantage would go to Misfits, who have had some smart drafts recently.

Ultimately, I give the series to G2 3-2 over Misfits due to their stronger players.

With a strong group of teams in the playoffs this split, EU will have some great representation at Worlds regardless of who attends. For now, fans should simply enjoy some fun and competitive League of Legends as the teams fight it out to win it all.

To watch the EU LCS, visit watch.na.lolesports.com. For more information on the split, teams, standings, and players, visit www.lolesports.com. Recaps of former weeks and other LoL content can be found at https://thegamehaus.com/league-of-legends/.

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