The LEC is currently full of strong teams and all of them will be battling it out for a chance to represent Europe at Worlds in 2020. Keeping up with the standings and where teams are at is important as a fan. That is why this weekly article will take a look at where each team ended the week and give a little analysis as to how they got there. In that analysis will be whether one can expect each team to keep their spot or work their way up or down. With that, here are the LEC Standings after Week 1 of the 2020 Summer Split.
T1. Fnatic 3-0
Surprise, surprise, Fnatic are off to a hot start again. They are definitely the top team right now and not only did their 3-0 showcase that, but it looked like they were already close to mid-season form. Fnatic are not new to regular-season success. This has not been an issue for quite a while now. The bigger issues are when they get to playoffs and fixing their massive losing streak against G2 in playoffs series.
Expect Fnatic to stay near the top throughout the season but, to find success this season they have to already be preparing for the inevitable rematch against G2. They must continue to build out their comps and have the ability to be even more flexible. Again, they will compete at the top of the table and nothing last week or likely this upcoming week will change that.
T1. Rogue 3-0
Before anything else is said, this is a solid version of Rogue. Every single player on this team had an outstanding performance in the first power weekend of the LEC 2020 Summer Split. The only mark against them is that they beat the two worst teams in the LEC along with a Misfits that are still figuring things out. Again, this is not to say that Rogue cannot succeed and compete at a high level, this is only saying to temper expectations for now. A 3-0 start is definitely a good sign for Rogue as they will look to make playoffs and prove that they are a top team.
Week 2 will come with a bit more of a challenge for Rogue as they play a surprising 2-1 Vitality squad along with another surprise team in G2. The only issue is that G2 generally looked really rough last week. Depending on which side of each team Rogue face, they could be looking at a strong 5-0 start and already a pretty easy road to playoffs with normally nine wins being enough to make it in.
T3. MAD Lions 2-1
Somehow MAD Lions faced G2 at their best even during one of their worst weeks in many years. Had they seen the team that played terribly Saturday and Sunday, there is a good chance MAD Lions could be 3-0. Alas, that is not the case but, that is completely fine because MAD were dominant in their last two games of super week. They crushed a bottom tier team and then beat an SK team that is on the rise. What is best for MAD Lions is they are already showing improvements from last split. They are being flexible in draft and executing their comps in the appropriate fashion.
This upcoming week’s games will give MAD Lions a chance to show just how far they’ve come. The Fantic game will be obviously tough but that has never stopped MAD before. If they can even make that game close then it is basically a win for MAD. Along with that, they will have a chance to show that Vitality is not even in the same realm as them. Expect MAD Lions to continue fighting at the top of the standings if they can show consistency.
T3. SK Gaming 2-1
Jesiz is a winner no matter where he goes. The man has a knack for coaching League of Legends and an incredible understanding of the game overall. This is why nearly every team he has coached has seen success. SK Gaming seem to be no different as they shocked everyone and were vying for a 3-0 weekend. A stomp by MAD Lions definitely took SK down a peg but they look to be at least a fringe playoff team and one that could cause problems.
For top-level teams around the league, SK Gaming fighting near the top is extremely bad news for them. Unlike last Split, they will be unable to chalk their games against this SK as a near-automatic win. Instead, they will have to fight against the brain of Jesiz and the talent of Crownshot and ZaZee. SK will have a chance to continue their path the playoffs against Misfit and Excel. These are both winnable games but SK cannot slouch. They must continue to show the drive an tenacity of their Week 1 games otherwise they could quickly be back at the bottom of the standings.
T3. Vitality 2-1
If anyone said they had Vitality winning more than one game in their opening week then they are either a genius or lying. Most likely the latter. This is because they had a 50/50 game to start the Split versus Schalke but then had Fnatic and G2 to finish out the week. They won their 50/50 game and got stomped by Fnatic but then had the most surprising result of the year by stomping G2. It was like the team was playing on autopilot as everything they did was uncounterable by G2. Were the additions over break really that good or was this a one-time thing?
Either way, Vitality look much more cohesive. Milica is a massive upgrade that the team has been waiting for due to visa issues. Labrov had some bonehead moments throughout the weekend but was solid enough. Nji did his job. Comp was spectacular and Cabochard reminded everyone what he could do when he wasn’t the only good player on the roster. There is little doubt that this team has some talent but it will be interesting to see if they can stay in a playoff position. This coming week they will continue their brutal march through the top teams with Rogue and MAD Lions up next. If they can take even one game without it being a fluke then it may be time to say that Vitality are the real deal. If they get stomped, then it seems like the best they can be is a fringe playoff team and truthfully, there is nothing wrong with that for the young squad.
T6. G2 Esports 1-2
While starting 1-2 this Split was not completely out of the question for G2, many would have thought those loses would come to MAD Lions and Origen respectively. Instead, they beat MAD, lost to Origen and to Vitality. Funny how things play out isn’t it? For those jumping off the G2 train, they may need to get their brains checked. Sure they looked pretty bad this past week but this team has done things like this numerous times. No matter what, when push comes to shove they put things together and win the games they need to. There is almost no possible way that they stay near the bottom of the standings for very long.
Coming up in Week 2, G2 have Schalke and Rogue. This will be another test week for them. If they bear Schalke and lose to Rogue there may be fair questions to ask about if they are a middle-level team right now. If they lose to Schalke and beat Rogue then it is clear that they are lacking focus, which this team has done too often during the regular season. Now, if the dreaded scenario of them losing both games happens then something needs to change. This is not Spring Split or previous seasons where they can just coast. They have to be a top-three team this Split or they are not going to Worlds. Hopefully, G2 fans are prepared for all the scenarios because the only good one is a 2-0 weekend.
T6. Misfits 1-2
After changing their bot lane completely in the last month, Misfits had arguably the toughest start to the Summer Split having to faceoff against Orgien, Fnatic and Rogue. This resulted in them barely pulling off the upset in their third game of the weekend to avoid the dreaded 0-3 start. Luckily as the games went on the team started to seem like they were coming together. With Kobbe added, this team should only improve on how well they played in the Summer Split. The hope will be that they can continue to go at least 1-1 for the next few weeks while they continue to gel and then make a big push in the second half of the Split.
Their Week 2 opponents are SK Gaming and Schalke. If one had looked at this week before the season and said that a 2-0 was easily obtainable then they would have been right. Instead, SK Gaming are back in a big way and cannot be taken lightly. Misfits should bank on at least the win against Schalke. Then, if they can either win or at least make it a close loss to SK Gaming then the Misfits should be feeling pretty good. Misfits definitely have the ability to push for a top spot and even potentially a Worlds spot once everything comes together.
T6. Origen 1-2
Similarly to Misfit, Origen had one tough Week 1. Having to play against G2 and Misfits was hard enough but then they got to see the revamped SK Gaming in action and the weekend looked pretty gruesome for a team that many picked to represent the LEC at Worlds. Luckily because they were able to take down G2, this team is still able to fulfill those expectations. Origen have the tools to be competitive at a higher level but they struggle to adapt against teams like G2 and Fantic. While it is admirable for Origen to continue their style of play, they need to use the rest of the split to show that they can play more than a couple of ways. Specifically, they need to be able to have multiple strategies to win for three and five-game series.
Like so many other teams, Origen have one easier game and then a tough one. Excel will provide solid warmup and a nice win to get back to .500. Then comes Fnatic who will be working on trying to cement themselves alone at the top of the League. Origen need to come in with a strategy and execute if they want to have any chance of slowing down Fnatic. If they just go back to their normal late-game farm comp, they will likely lose because Fnatic already know how to beat them at that game. Look for Origen to make adjustments and start working their way back up the standings.
T9. Schalke 04 0-3
There is a fair argument that can be made that Schalke are the worst team in the LEC by a pretty substantial amount. One could even say the worst team between the LCS and LEC but that argument is neither here nor there. Schalke are not building off the momentum they had in the second half of Spring and the sad thing is, there is talent on this team. At different points, Innaxe and Abbedagge have been solid players. Also, Odoamne is historically one of the best top laners that Europe has ever seen. The problem right now is that this team seems to have no idea where they are going. This is both on and off of the Rift. Things need to change and quickly, otherwise, this team has a real chance of going completely defeated.
Unfortunately for Schalke, their woes will continue in a major way in Week 2. They will faceoff against a likely ticked off G2 and a Misfits team that is way better than their record would indicate. This team might need a miracle or just Craps to show up to win either of these games. While being 0-5 would not mathematically eliminate them, it would likely put this team so far behind that they would have to go on a run of epic proportions to even sniff playoffs.
T9. Excel 0-3
While everyone knew there would be growing pains when Excel announced that Special and Kryze would be starting for the Summer Split, no one could have imagined this. Not only did Excel go 0-3 to start the Summer Split but they were embarrassed in every single game. So much so that they actually destroyed more towers than opponents. Yes, Excel took down 11 towers while only managing to get seven kills in three games. One could argue that they played the map well and that kills aren’t everything but even Schalke got 15 kills. The one saving grace, from a certain point of view, is that Excel’s opponents went a combined 8-1 in the first week. That said, this means that Excel fans should not expect them to compete against the top teams any time soon.
There is probably only one team that Excel might be favored against currently and they are not playing them in Week 2. Instead, they will try to challenge Origen and SK Gaming. Both teams are currently much better than Excel and similarly to Schalke, the team would need a miracle in order to win. Unfortunately for them, they are not facing a team that has a player who can single handily Craps a game. Excel should use these games as an opportunity to become more cohesive and hone their comms. Otherwise, there is a real possibility that their only wins could come from the likes of Schalke.
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