The European League of Legends Championship Series has continued to be full of parity, with last place duo FC Schalke 04 and H2k-Gaming just three games behind Splyce and Team Vitality, who are tied for third.
Splyce take advantage of new patch
One of the two teams to secure a 2-0 weekend was Splyce, who took down both G2 Esports and ROCCAT.
Splyce utilised innovation within the new patch, showing off picks such as Ivern and Xayah without Rakan in order to take Cassiopeia early. Splyce showed consistency in both acquiring and snowballing a lead into an early Baron Nashor; the key to success during this new patch given the power of both Baron and Banner of Command.
As teams adapt, Splyce could take a step back, especially given their tendency to be up and down all year long, but nonetheless the victory over a previously surging G2 Esports is incredibly impressive.
UOL improve their position
The other team to claim a 2-0 was the Unicorns of Love, who have climbed off the bottom of the rankings as a result. Unicorns have been on a nice run of form, but questions remain about whether their victories were more about their quality play, or the poor play of others. That question is still unanswered given their two wins were over the current bottom teams in the league – Schalke 04 and H2k.
However, the momentum is certainly on the side of the Unicorns, with players across the board outperforming their horrendous opening to the year. The core to UOL’s success has thus far been getting priority champions for both Exileh and Samux, while securing a frontline with engage in the rest of the roles. This should be a solid strategy moving forward, but in the same vein as Splyce, other sides should adapt better to the new patch next week when UOL’s schedule also gets more difficult.
A mixed week for Vitality
Team Vitality finally ended their losing streak with victory over Schalke 04 before falling to top side Fnatic later in the weekend. After ascending to the top of the European LCS, Vitality had cratered back to earth with four straight losses in the preceding two weeks.
Vitality got back to their roots this weekend, particularly in the draft, bringing out Ashe, who has been absent from the pro scene thus far this year. However, the issues in closing out games still remain for Vitality, with an inability to dispatch Schalke, who have continued their downward spiral, being a particular concern. Allowing one of the worst teams in the league to hang around in a meta that is completely based off early advantages is a massive worry moving forward.
The next match against the suddenly streaking Unicorns of Love next week could be another stumbling block for Vitality, but they should have a shot against ROCCAT in the same week.
Misfits a dark horse
Misfits Gaming’s inconsistency was on full display this past weekend, with a victory over top dogs Fnatic immediately followed by a disappointing let down at the hands of H2k.
Misfits were another team with a willingness to try something different in the wake of the new patch; their take being a high priority on Anivia in the Mid lane. The match against Fnatic highlighted all the strengths of Misfits, with top tier coaching supplementing a solid foundation of talent within the game. Alas the team have continually struggled to maintain this level against the sides towards the bottom of the table.
Misfits are an incredibly dangerous team especially with the playoffs looming as they look to replicate their success towards the tail end of 2017. If Misfits can find the same fire against the lower tiered competition that they show against the top dogs, then they look to be a potential dark horse to win the competition overall.
