As usual, it is packed full of awe-inspiring talent and have added a new dimension by dividing the teams into two groups...
As we move over into the second week of the European League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split 2017, we get a better idea of who’ll make the cut and those who’ll be left behind.
As usual, LCS is packed full of awe-inspiring talent and have added a new dimension by dividing the teams into two groups – A and B.
In this split, each group will have their teams go up against each other in a best-of-three, double round-robin format, and will later compete against the opposite group in a best-of-three, single round-robin.
This year’s format changed to include two groups and best of threes after Europe tried the experimental format within the summer of 2016, a similar format to that of China’s League of Legends Pro League.
The drafting process was made internally and not broadcast, so let’s get down to business and delve into the teams.
G2 Esports, Fnatic, Misfits, Roccat and the Giants take the reins for Group A this split.
With G2 Esports and their prevalent performance last year, to talented newbies Misfits and Fnatic, with their celebrated ADC Rekkles leading the team, the year’s split offers a host of talent.
For Group B, H2k take the lead spot after earning the second most championship points at last year’s split. With Febiven in the mid-lane and their new botlane duo, Nuclear and Chei, they’re certainly a team to keep an eye out for.
Splyce will be following with the same roster as Worlds, giving them a strong team dynamic.
We’re also eager to see how Unicorns of Love will fare after winning IEM Oakland. Team Vitality however, will have to be careful if they want to keep up.
They held the record number of ties at the 2016 Summer Split; this new format however, eliminates the possibility of that happening again. Playing with an upgraded botlane, let’s see if they can pick up a few more wins.
Last but not least for Group B is Origen. So far they have shown promise, especially against H2K – a valiant effort indeed. If they carry on the way they have, this new roster certainly stands to survive the split.
In week one, Group A set the scene with the dramatic showdown between G2 Esports and Fnatic. Although Caps solo-killed Perkz twice, G2 managed to come out on top with a narrow 2-1 victory.
Surprisingly, Misfits had a bumpy start against the Giants, but brought it home with a killer second game, thanks to Kakao, giving the team a 2-1 victory.
H2K endured a pretty rocky start in Group B. Although their skills weren’t up to usual standards, they still managed to gain a defeat over Origen, a team with very low odds indeed. Could Origen surprise us all?
H2K took the whole experience in their stride and upped their game for the next round against Splyce. Players to watch are Febiven and Jankos especially after taking their team to a win against Splyce.
Vizisacsi is best known for his Irelia, Maokai as well as Gnar, and had a stellar performance in the match against Team Vitality, leading Unicorns of Love to a win when Camille came up for grabs.
At the moment the odds are stacked in Team Vitality’s favour for their match with Origen on Sunday 29th January, 2017, with odds of 1.30.
If you want to delve a little deeper into the match then you can take a look at their chances for first blood, with Origen’s odds at 2.10 and with Team Vitality priced at 1.90.
Currently, the odds are in favour of G2 being overall winners at 2.75, leaving Origen considered rank outsiders at 41.00.
It’s still pretty early on within the LCS, the stakes are high and the competition is fierce.
