League of Legends: The sixth season of the EU League Championship got underway this past week in Germany. All teams ended up with a 1-1 record, except for standouts Vitality, with a 2-0 mark, and Unicorns of Love, who claimed the only 0-2 losing record of the week.
Vitality undefeated in week one
Vitality were a pleasant surprise, defeating both H2K and Giants in completely different ways. The initial win against H2K was clinical and built on early pressure on the top side of the map, which ultimately snowballed throughout the rest of the game. However, their match against Giants started off poorly, as the Spanish outfit continually pressured out of the gates due to their early-game champion selections of Cho Top, Xayah/Rakan Bot, etc. Vitality seized control of the game as a result of a series of misplays by Giants in the mid-lane, where Vitality successfully punished Giants’ over-aggression, allowing the French side to secure the Baron, and inevitably the win.
While not up against the greatest of opponents, this opening weekend has shown that the current Vitality roster has promise moving forward. Jiizuke has been a pleasant surprise within the mid-lane, being a dominant force in both matchups although standing out in particular against H2K. With a solid foundation, Vitality could continue their nice run of form moving forward.
UOL get off to a poor start
For the Unicorns of Love, an unfortunate combination of poor drafting and poor late-game decision-making contributed to the only 0-2 weekend in the European LCS. Game one appeared to be over from the beginning, with Unicorns picking many niche champions, including first-picking Evelynn, while Giants drafted a composition containing many of the considered “broken” or top-tier champions.
The second game against Splyce was a much more hotly contested battle that ultimately came down to a base race. UOL lost out narrowly here, giving them an incredibly rough first week, especially given that the match was ground out until the 68th minute.
Given how well other middle-of-the-road teams performed, Unicorns of Love look to be in a difficult position moving forward, with hopes primarily laying on star mid-laner Exileh to carry them through this rough patch.
Inconsistency for G2 Esports
The new-look G2 lineup showed their star potential in a convincing win over Misfits, one of the better teams in the league. The question mark for this G2 Esports squad is their consistency, given they immediately fell to ROCCAT – who had themselves lost to Schalke 04 – further clouding the top of the standings. As long as G2 Esports can continue to perform against top-tier competition, concerns will remain at a minimal level.
Misfits had a complete reversal, meanwhile, losing to the former “Kings of Europe” before crushing Schalke 04. Misfits are a model of consistency, with questions ultimately rising about their skill ceiling, given the departure of both PowerofEvil and IgNar in the offseason. Misfits do appear to need more time to integrate their new players, leaving hopes for an upswing in the near future.
Schalke 04 a pleasant surprise
Given their need to use a stand-in, Schalke 04 impressed this weekend, with high hopes – assuming the return of Upset shortly – for the coming weeks. While the loss to Misfits was fairly one-sided, the overall team cohesion and shot-calling were clearly visible in their win over ROCCAT. Nukeduck appears ready to battle it out amongst the best mid-laners in Europe, with a myriad of analysts impressed by his play. Should Upset come back in a timely fashion, Schalke 04 will be a top team this split.
Week one proved to be a quality start to the 2018 EU League Championship Series and Vitality will look to maintain their momentum next time out with a potentially tough schedule against Fnatic and Misfits.
