With week three in the bag, the LEC is finally starting to take shape. It was also the week people started taking MAD Lions seriously as a title contender. No longer can we claim they had an easier start to Summer Split, they’ve proven they mean business. G2 Esports pulled off a victory against Fnatic, in surprisingly casual fashion as they continue their surge up the table, but a day one defeat to SK Gaming halted their progress.
On the other end of the table, Schalke 04 continue to drop games, and just don’t look up for it the Summer Split. With matches against Origen and Fnatic this week, they could find themselves hitting the halfway point of the season having failed to win a match. Excel and Vitality both picked up one victory each, as they slowly create a gap from 10th spot and start their slow climb into playoff contention.
Fnatic v SK Gaming
Fnatic has struggled in recent weeks, and a match against SK Gaming in Week four would have looked like an easy week before the split. Coming into this match, Fnatic finds themselves in the lower half of the table and could really use a 2-0 week. Fnatic would be favorites on paper for this game, given recent form the game could be close. We have Fnatic at (2/7*) to take the match.
SK Gaming has quietly started to sneak up the standing, picking up victories from week-to-week and finding themselves at week four and in 3rd place. SK Gaming ADC Crownshot has often been one of the sides top performers when they find a victory, and he’ll be hoping to pull off a victory against Rekkless come Friday. Whilst their 3rd place position is a surprise, we have SK Gaming at (49/20) to take the match.
Rogue v Origen
Rogue has given us an exciting battle at the top with MAD Lions. After their defeat this past weekend it’s time for Rogue to re-focus and continue their dominant start to the Summer Split. On Friday they face off against Origen, who is something of an unknown still. Origen has picked up big wins against Fnatic and G2, yet they continue to be unpredictable, and not always in a good way for them. We have Rogue at (21/20) for this match.
As we said above, this is all going to depend on what Origen shows up. Origen has a big weekend ahead of it — with a big game against Rogue on Friday followed by Vitality on Saturday. Origen needs to show up, analysts keep saying they’re finally showing the potential they’ve promised. The game against Rogue is the opportunity to prove any doubters that they mean business, especially off the back of Rogue losing to top spot rivals MAD Lions. We have Origen at (5/7) to take the match.
G2 Esports v Excel
This is the weekends’ David v Goliath. For G2 Esports this is a must-win game. They’ve had a weird Summer Split, some big wins against Fnatic and Rogue, but have lost key matches to the likes of Vitality and Origen. G2 will have all the pressure on their shoulders on this series, it might be an obvious win for them at 4/23, however, we think their opponents on the other side of the Rift could be worth a shot. One important note, G2 Esports will be without ADC Perkz who will be replaced by P1noy for week four due to personal reasons.
Excel Esports has had a disappointing Split thus far. They made changes at the start of Summer Split and had been looking to make playoffs this split, with the overall goal of hitting Worlds within two years. Those two years are up this split and Excel just hasn’t quite hit the mark, yet. Excel will face Vitality on Friday, and victory in that series could spur them on to a victory against G2 Esports. Whilst they will be outsiders at 7/2, G2’s roster change could give Excel a chance. This is especially so when their ADC Patrik has looked like their best performer. The only downside for Excel will be that G2 seems to be on a slight upswing, though they’ve had a tendency to drop matches against weaker opposition.
*All odds correct at time of writing.