League of Legends: The sixth season of the professional European League of Legends league gets underway this week in Germany.
Week one of the European LCS has a myriad of intriguing matchups, including a battle between two of the favourites to win the Split.
Favourites clash
The initial matchup of G2 Esports versus Misfits is the aforementioned clash of favourites, with each team coming in with major lineup changes. With some players leaving for greener pastures, G2 Esports have four new players, building around star mid-laner PerkZ. Zven and mithy were amongst their departures, joining North America’s Team SoloMid. G2 Esports have put together a solid roster, with the combination of jungler Jankos and top laner Wunder introducing an aggressive playmaking style that G2 have lacked for some time. It should make for an interesting match up against Misfits.
Misfits, meanwhile, who performed incredibly well at the 2017 World Championships, have two new players in Sencux and Mikyx, formerly of Splyce. Misfits retained talented stars in Alphari, Maxlore and Hans sama, giving them the synergistic edge heading into their matchup against G2. However, the key piece that remained within the Misfits organisation was coach Hussain Moosvi, given his performance in the draft preparation at Worlds. Misfits are a team likely to select off-meta selections to catch their opponents off-guard, with an exhilarating matchup against their fellow titans of Europe appearing to be the best match of the week.
Ch-ch-changes with Splyce
The match between Fnatic and Splyce is an example of different approaches to the offseason, with Fnatic retaining all but one member of the team, while Splyce have four new members. Fnatic’s lone change was in the Support role, with the introduction of long-time Unicorns of Love member Hylissang replacing Jesiz, who appeared to be the weak link of the team. Fnatic have been known to perform well in the regular season, with early synergy likely to assist them against the brand new squad of Splyce.
However, Splyce do have an underappreciated roster, built around top laner Odoamne and AD carry player Kobbe, the lone remaining member from the previous lineup. Odoamne was one of the biggest acquisitions of the summer, given his prolonged dominance while playing under the H2K banner for the past few seasons. They are another team with a willingness to play off-meta picks in order to gain an advantage, with jungler Xerxe, in particular, known for his early and often wacky selections. This matchup should be in favour of Fnatic, but if Splyce can pull off the win, it will go to show just how much potential this roster has.
Unicorns of Love look to high upside
One of the most difficult games to judge in the opening week is the Unicorns of Love versus Giants, with each squad having a revamped lineup. Unicorns of Love were a team known for their cohesion, yet this offseason, a multitude of roster moves leaves only two familiar faces, Exileh and Samux. Unicorns of Love focused primarily on acquiring players with high upside, adding both WhiteKnight and Totoro to the roster, while also adding consistency with jungler Kold, known previously as Trashy while on Splyce.
Giants built their roster in a similar fashion, with Betsy and Steeelback as the solid pieces, while Ruin, Djoko, and Targamas have unknown levels. Betsy and Steeelback have continually been underrated, both with solid champion pools complementing their quality play on the rift. However, given the wealth of talent at the top, this matchup will help clear up the middle of the pack, with each team looking to prove themselves.
FC Schalke 04 a potential threat
Misfits also find themselves against FC Schalke 04, a team with a surge of hype surrounding them entering the Split. The roster appears to be stacked, given the presence of veterans Vizicsacsi, Nukeduck, and VandeR, bolstered by young talents Pride and Upset. The only concern for this lineup is how well the players can gel, given their lack of prior history together compared to most teams that kept at least two members from the previous season. FC Schalke 04 are a legitimate threat to make a deep playoff run, with a match against Misfits a perfect judgment point for both sides.
There are a lot of changes and a lot of questions as we enter week one, and only some of those questions will start to be answered. It’s a glorious cliché, but sometimes, they are the best: this year, at the 2018 EU League Championship Series, it would be smart to expect the unexpected.
