After four weeks, G2 Esports once again hold the single first place in the LEC. Now head-to-head against both major competitors, they look set to hold it.
Schalke win German derby
The two German organizations in the LEC, SK Gaming and FC Schalke 04, faced off in the first game of the day.
The two teams were evenly matched at the start, with SK eventually securing a lead. However, a series of plays gave Schalke a way back into the game and they patiently chipped away at SK’s advantage.
Eventually, Schalke overtook them in the mid-game, being ahead in kills and threatening an infernal soul. SK finally got their fight 29 minutes in after a great engage by Kim “Trick” Gang-yun on Dianaresulted in a 3-1 and a dragon for his team. This equalized the game, though Schalke’s better scaling and the looming threat of an infernal soul buff left their opponents no room for error.
The teams clashed again for the next Infernal drake, but this time Lukas “Lurox” Thoma secured it for Schalke and a teleport flank cut off SK’s escape. This led to an ace and the win for the Royal Blues.
While neither team has a chance to qualify for the playoffs, this win shows that FC Schalke 04 are in somewhat better shape. They avenged their loss from Week 3 – ironically, the last win SK has had so far this split.
Excel Esports: the tortoise that beat the hare
While Team Vitality no longer had any chance to make playoffs, Excel Esports needed a victory in the match and bet on a late-scaling composition against the struggling French organization.
It seemed risky as Vitality took two quick kills and continued dominating the early game. Excel managed to slow down the tempo, though, and 17 minute in, they got two key kills near the Rift Herald to get back in the game.
Vitality had some chances, such as securing a third dragon 25 minutes in to threaten a soul, but overall they were at a disadvantage. Curiously, Excel played very conservatively and did not pressure. Vitality had a chance to turn the game 35 minutes in near the dragon pit, but they committed too early and the battle cost them four deaths, the baron and a middle inhibitor.
The final fight came six minutes later near the Elder Dragon, and while Vitality appeared to be winning, they lost sight of their base. With a minion wave on the nexus towers, Excel top laner Ki “Expect” Dae-han teleported to secure the win.
While the team needed the win, it was not a convincing one. With games against Fnatic and G2 in the coming week, Excel should show more if they hope to make it to the playoffs.
Strong performance for Rogue
With only five games to go, Rogue and newcomers MAD Lions had an equal score and were barely ahead of Excel in a fight for the last playoff spots. That made their match so much more important.
Rogue started off strong, killing Andrei “Orome” Popa’s Renekton in a tower dive. Then, they relentlessly increased the pressure, having a 5-1 kill lead and a nearly 3K gold advantage just 8 minutes in. Afterward, they slowed down the tempo somewhat and MAD found a way to push back but the Spanish team was still very much the underdog.
The Lions started the Rift Herald 16 minutes in but the pit proved to be a trap – while they secured the objective, Rogue took four kills in return and soon extended their lead to an impressive 6K, with big advantages in all lanes.
MAD eventually took a gamble and started a baron 23 minutes in but they miscalculated how far ahead their opponents were. Rogue aced them, took the baron and ended the game three minutes later.
This win means a fourth place and a comfortable two-win buffer in the fight to avoid missing playoffs. More importantly, however, Rogue tied in head-to-head with MAD.
The Misfits slide continues with loss versus Origen
The tie-breaker games continued with a clash for second place between Misfits Gamingand Origen.
Early on, the junglers split the map and Misfits used that to take first blood 8 minutes in when they tower-dived Elias “Upset” Lipp. Origen kept the game close, however, and both teams would proceed to have a very even mid game with good vision control for both sides.
The parity ended 25 minutes in when a Misfits attempt to catch Mitchell “Destiny” Shaw left them open to an Origen flank that resulted in a 4-1 and the baron for OG. They soon followed up with several towers and took over the map. This paid off 32 minutes in, a kill on Iván “Razork” Martín Díaz led to a Misfits rout and a win for Origen.
With this, Origen end the week tied for second with the loser of the Fnatic-G2 showdown. Misfits, meanwhile, end another 1-1 week that sees them slide to a shared fourth place.
G2 take showdown with Fnatic
The match of the night featured the two teams tied for the first place – Fnaticand G2 Esports.
The 2019 LEC champions returned to a dual support composition, giving one to Janna Martin “Wunder” Hansen, while Fnatic put Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek on a rare Yasuo. The game started with G2 having a minor gold lead but Fnatic quickly overtook them with good map movements, resulting in two early towers. G2’s gambit to give Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski Olaf seemed to have failed as they were slipping behind.
The veteran jungler made up for it 27 minutes in he stole a Baron right under Fnatic’s noses to give his team the key buff. A big fight 30 minutes in ended with no one falling but G2 got mid-lane priority and took an inhibitor. Fnatic looked for a counterstrike, but G2 gave them no chance. Three minutes later, an attempt to find a pick on Rasmus “Caps” Winther ended with a 4-0 for G2, who quickly closed the game.
With this, Caps and co are once more alone at the top of the standings. More importantly, they hold a 2-0 head-to-head record against their two main competitors. With only four games to go, G2 are poised to end the regular season in style.
Next Friday, the LEC continues with ten more matches. If you missed what happened during Week 7’s Friday LEC games, you can check our recap here. Will the favorites continue their fight to the top, or will we see another round of surprises to throw the LEC elite back into a bitter fight?
