The LEC is back for the Summer with some teams making a lot of changes and others sticking with their five from the Spring. Each of these teams will be duking it out to not only win an LEC Championship but also to get the chance to go to Worlds. Now, the homestretch of the season has arrived with a Super Week and three games to wrap things up. It still feels like nearly any team could win, except for one. Here are the LEC Picks for Week 8 of the 2022 Summer Split.
[Related: LEC Picks Week 7 Summer 2022]
Overall Pick Record: 45-30
Pick Record from LEC Week 7: 5-5
Misfits vs. BDS
Misfits are on a role right now and there is no way BDS will stop them. Look for Neon to feast on xMatty and LIMIT as Misfits win their fifth game in a row to start off Super Week.
Vitality vs. SK
SK Gaming have won some pretty important games and Gilius, in particular, has beaten the odds numerous times. That said, Vitality have to win this game in order to try for first and an automatic Worlds birth. If they lose here then Fnatic and Rogue will not be any easier. Look for Vitality to take care of business.
Rogue vs. Excel
This game is crucial for both teams for very different reasons. For Rogue, they need to start off a three-game weekend with a dub to stay in the race for first. For Excel, they need a win to stay in the playoff hunt after an amazing start that has fizzled out. Rogue are the better team here but if Mikyx doesn’t run it down, then Excel have a strong chance to take it. Sadly, Mikyx has not shown that he can stop himself over the past few weeks and costs his team another win here.
Fnatic vs. Astralis
The story of the weekend will be that every win counts. The separation between all the teams is a game or two, outside of BDS. Both of these teams will come in at 7-8 and one will leave with a massive win towards their playoff chances. Fnatic have not been able to put it together consistently while Astralis are about as consistent as they come. Sadly for Fnatic, this game will put their playoff chances nearly out of reach.
G2 Esports vs. MAD Lions
In a weekend full of entertaining and likely tense games, this one may be the best of them all. MAD have a relatively easy schedule after this one while G2 will go through a bit of a guantlet. MAD have looked like the best team all Split until this past weekend. Now G2 are on fire and when this team catches a head of steam, it is hard to stop them. Look for G2 to either win or lose this game in the first 15 minutes.
Rogue have to and should win this one. It is their only relatively easy game of the weekend sandwiched by XL and Vitality. Sorry to BDS as no one will be taking their games easily and sadly their talent is just not there.
After what is likely a loss to Rogue, if Excel want any chance to still make playoffs, they have to beat the teams below. Unless SK go on a god-Gilius-style run, Excel should be able to take care of this one. Look for Markoon to counter Gilius at every turn while Nukeduck takes care of Sertuss to give Excel a mid-game lead and a huge win.
One will have to feel bad for Astralis in this one. MAD will need a win here. Either to stay away from a tiebreaker for first or to try and makeup for a three-game skid. Either way, they will not be messing around. Astralis, even as a potential playoff team, will not be able to stand in their way.
At this point, Fnatic will be desperate. That means that either they will become stronger or dumber, there really will be no inbetween. It is in this moment that the best players shine. In this situation, that will be Perkz. He is a dark-horse candidate for MVP and may put on that type of performance here against his long-time rival.
The two hottest teams in the LEC square off in another titanic battle at the end of the day. Misfits are arguably the hotter team but are they the better team? This one is a coinflip but it is hard to not like G2’s chances even against the best as they ramp up for playoffs and Worlds.
Day 3 starts off with one of the biggest games of the split. These two may very well be the two teams left fighting for that last seed. Both have veterans and young players with minimal playoff experience. That makes this one feel like another fifty-fifty type game. With that, the more clutch players are the ones who generally win. Excel are the better team on paper and Mikyx, after all his struggles, is the most clutch player of the ten. After a terrible last half of the split, he will come through and deliver Excel to their chance at a run to Worlds.
Again BDS are in the way and facing arguably the best team in the LEC. MAD will be very excited to get to this game. One win before it will very much give them the best chance to automatically qualify for Worlds. Two wins and this game becomes a quick and well-deserved ticket for an incredible squad.
In 2022 the one thing G2 have done is focus up when it matters. In the past they may have dropped these games and made their playoff lives just a bit harder. This will not be the case here. Regardless of SK’s hopes, any chance of making playoffs, even with two wins before this game will be dashed here by BrokenBlade and company.
This game will likely just be for seeding at this point. If both teams are 2-0 by the time Sunday rolls around then the winner will have a chance at locking up a Worlds spot. Both of these teams crave that opportunity so look for yet another coin flip game to be a spicy one. Perkz has been the catalyst for Vitality, Rogue will shut him down and put themselves in a solid position heading into playoffs.
If Fnatic are out, would they throw this game just to hurt some of their rivals or would they play hard because they have too much pride? Honestly, it may not matter. Misfits are the better team right now and will drive home the final nail in the coffin for this iteration of Fnatic as they will miss playoffs for the first time ever.
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