This news comes off the back of Splyce’s successful 2019 season, where they went above and beyond all expectations by producing one of the best seasons in the organization’s history. They finished fourth in the LEC Spring Split, third in the LEC Summer Split, and qualified for the LoL World Championship play-in stage.
Entering the Worlds as Europe’s third seed, Marek “Humanoid” Brázda and his team made it through the play-in stage as the top teams from Group B and further impressed in the main event, where they came out of the group stage tied with the eventual champions FunPlus Phoenix. While Splyce suffered a crushing defeat against SKT T1 in the quarter-finals, they still finished in fifth-eighth place alongside LoL heavyweights DAMWON, Fnatic and Griffin.
Despite a very successful campaign, the off-season was not too kind to Splyce. Tamás “Vizicsacsi” Kiss retired from pro play, Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir left for Origen, Tore “Tore” Hoel Eilersten (formerly know as Norskaren) moved to Excel, and Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup replaced Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen at Team SoloMid, leaving the team with only two players – Andrei “Orome” Popa and Humanoid.
After losing most of their roster, Splyce decided for a complete rebuild which will allow them to start fresh under the MAD Lions banner.
MAD Lions announced their finalised roster for the 2020 LEC season on Friday, November 29. Joining Humanoid and Orome will be ADC Matyá? “Carzzy” Orság and two former mousesports players in jungler Zhiqiang “Shadow” Zhao and support Norman “Gistick” Kaiser.
With new talents joining the team, there is already speculation that MAD Lions could take on two LEC titans – G2 Esports and Fnatic. While it is too early to make any guesses, we have to keep in mind Splyce were known for fostering some of the best League of Legend players in the world, including Martin “Wunder” Nordahl Hansen and Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle.
]]>The first two meetings of the series were fairly one-sided, with SKT showing off their true potential and claiming both. Splyce had their own moments of greatness, but their mid-game struggles prevented them from causing an upset at the Spanish capital.
In game three, Splyce produced what can easily be seen as their best performance of the tournament. The European third seed fearlessly fought back against the Korean giants, who were taken aback by Splyce’s determination and an incredible display of skill.
All the spotlight was on Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir, who managed to strike fear into SKT T1’s roster with his Rek’sai pick. The Romanian jungler did not need long to get himself a substantial lead in the early game, which helped Splyce stabilize their notoriously shaky mid-game.
Splyce’s team fighting prowess shone brightly in game three and the early game lead on top of two Infernal drakes the Europeans snatched early helped them overcome SKT T1 more than a handful of times.
The turning point of the match came in 24th minute of the match when the crowd looked in shock as Splyce decimated SKT T1 to secure the Baron buff and got themselves in a winning position.
This time Splyce took full advantage of the situation, made one last push towards the enemy Nexus and secured the first win of the series to make it 1-2.
With game four on the way, there was a silent hope at the Spanish capital Splyce might be able to turn this series into one for the books and their strong early game suggested we just might witness history.
While Splyce’s top lane suffered, they were slowly but surely gaining a lead at the bottom lane, and while Europeans were still behind in gold for most of the match, they did not give up and kept on pushing.
The loud cheering of European fans went silent for a moment as the two teams met next to the dragon pit for the first big team fight of the match at around the 19-minute mark. It was now or never for Splyce, who once more showed they are not to be underestimated, as they picked up four SKT T1 members while losing only two of their own.
At this point, Splyce were in a very solid position to make something happen and possibly even push the series into five games. That said, their mid-game flaws started to surface.
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok picked up a few kills on his signature Ryze pick, which started the snowball effect for SKT T1.
The Koreans kept on the pressure, won a crucial 3v2 team fight in the top lane in the in the 32nd minute, made one final push through the mid lane and sealed the series at 3-1.
It was a crushing defeat for Splyce, but one that will go down in history with very positive scores. The European third seed made SKT T1 fight for their lives, proved even the gods can bleed and most of all, made Europe proud.
SKT T1 will now face against G2 in the semi-finals, which has the potential to be the biggest and most exciting series of the tournament thus far.
The League of Legends World Championship quarter-finals will come to a close on Sunday afternoon when SK Telecom T1 take on Splyce. Let’s take a look at latest LoL odds and the best bets for the last fixture of the first knockout round at Madrid’s Palacio Vistalegre.
SK Telecom T1
$1.02 at GG Bet
SKT entered the 2019 LoL World Championship as favourites to claim their fourth Summoner’s Cup, and their efforts so far would suggest they are rightful holders of that title.
The quarter-final match-up is a dream come true for the Koreans, as Splyce are universally regarded as the weakest of the eight LoL esports teams that made it to Spain.
Normally we can point to strengths and weaknesses on both sides of a contest, but the odds speak for themselves in this instance.
Splyce
$14.97 at GG Bet
Splyce made a remarkable run on the final day of the group stage when they defeated J Team, GAM Esports and FunPlus Phoenix to claim a playoff ticket.
It was a proud moment for Splyce and the whole European region, which saw all three of their teams advance into the final stage of the tournament, but Sunday’s fixture will bring them back down to earth.
Splyce deserve all the praise they can get for what they have shown against their group opponents, but SKT T1 are an entirely different beast.
SKT T1 vs Splyce betting predictions
Under 3.5 maps – $1.38 at GG Bet
Comparing the roster lane-by-lane, SKT T1 come out ahead every time.
And not only do the Koreans come out ahead in terms of individual quality, but the difference in team play, experience and the overall approach to the game is so immense that it is hard to see Splyce producing anything noteworthy.
While clean sweeps are a rarity so deep into the tournament, this fixture is such a huge mismatch that we are confident saying SKT T1 will defeat Splyce 3-0.
The first fixture of the day saw Hong Kong Attitude lock horns with Isurus Gaming to determine who will earn the third ticket leading to Vetri Music Hall. The series had several moments where it looked like they could go either way, however, it was Hong Kong Attitude who edged past Isurus to join their compatriots J-Team and ahq e-Sports Club in Worlds group stage.
The series between Isurus and HK Attitude were expected to be closely contested, however, the first match of the series was anything but. HKA proved to be a class above ISG with clean gameplay and bottom lane pressure that earned them an early lead, which they used to snowball into a victory in under 28 minutes.
Despite struggles in game one, Isurus entered the second match as the dominant side, needing just under 33 minutes to tie the series at 1-1.
With the confidence boost, Isurus jumped into game three eager to take the reins of the series in their hands, but, the pendulum swung back into HK Attitude’s favour, who rolled over Isurus in game three and four, to claim the series.
HK Attitude won the series with a convincing 3-1 score, which earned them a seat in Group A roller-coaster where they will take a ride with G2 Esports, Griffin and Cloud 9.
While HKA versus Isurus gaming was a match that was expected to be a close one, but turned into a fairly one-sided contest, the Splyce versus Unicorns of Love was a completely opposite story, seeing how many expected Splyce to sweep UoL, but the Russians had other plans in mind.
Game one kicked off with a dominant early game from Splyce who took over the match and earned a massive lead which they failed to use to its full potential. Instead, it was a rookie mistake from Tore “Norskeren” Hoel Eilertsen, who got caught out of position that tipped the scale into UoL’s favour.
The Russians took full advantage of their late-game composition to overrun Splyce, who paid the full price of failing to use their early-game advantage.
Learning from their mistakes, Splyce entered game two with all guns blazing. They looked unstoppable and before UoL had a chance to respond, the European outfit levelled the series at 1-1.
With a dominant show in game two, the momentum was on Splyce’s side in game three, where they were ahead of UoL most of the time, and while the Russian side had their moments of greatness, they only stalled the inevitable. Splyce won in just over 30 minutes to take a 2-1 lead.
In-game four Unicorns of Love brought out their unique and creative team composition featuring a Morgana-Heimerdinger bottom lane and Karthus in the jungle, to claw the series back after a long and gruelling 42-minute bloodbath.
With the scoreboard showing 2-2, it all came down to game five, where it was now or never for Splyce and UoL who produced a fixture worth of being played in the finals.
The teams fought with pride in what was a close contest, which seemed like it had no clear winner. That is up until 36th minute when Splyce took advantage of UoL’s moment of carelessness, secured the Elder Drake, pushed through the bottom lane, and handed UoL the final blow, ending their Worlds dreams.
By claiming the final series of play-ins, Splyce earned a spot at Worlds for the first time since the team got renamed into Splyce (formerly Dignitas). There they will now join FunPlus Phoenix, J Team and GAM Esports in group B.
The 2019 Worlds Play-in stage concluded with the final draw for worlds, which seeded the qualified teams into one of the four groups at the main event. The draw was carried out by former world champion and the ADC for 100 Thieves, Bae “Bang” Jun-sik, who revealed the following groups:
Group A
G2 Esports
Griffin
Cloud9
Hong Kong Attitude
Group B
FunPlus Phoenix
J Team
GAM Esports
Splyce
Group C
SK Telecom T1
Fnatic
Royal Never Give Up
Clutch Gaming
Group D
Team Liquid
ahq e-Sports Club
Invictus Gaming
DAMWON Gaming
Out of all 12 teams, however, there are two that stood out from the rest with their performances on the Summoner’s Rift, which earned them a perfect 2-0 score and a top spot in their respective groups.
The LEC third seed, Splyce, were the first team to showcase their talent, as they clashed with the Japanese champions DetonatioN FocusMe on Wednesday, October 2.
The match was expected to favour the European powerhouse and Splyce made sure there were no surprises on that day, with a strong draft that proved to be too much for DFM to handle.
Splyce needed barely three minutes after being summoned on the Rift to clock in their first kill. That proved to be enough for them to take over the tempo of the match, start the snowball effect and roll over the Japanese outfit, who had no answer for Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir and his Hecarim, who played a huge part in Splyce’s dominance on that day.
Yet it was not only Xerxe who was a nuisance for DFM, but they also had to deal with Kasper “Kobe” Kobberup’s Xayah who had Tore “Norskeren” Hoel Eilertsen’s Rakan as a perfect partner in crime to help him finish the match with a perfect 11/0/5 score.
While not as dominant as in their first fixture, Splyce had no issues trashing Isurus Gaming in the last match of the day either, when they choose a similar strategy compared to that in game one. Meaning, getting an early lead and rolling over the opponents in the mid-to-late game.
Once again it was Kobe’s Xayah and Norskeren’s Rakan who were a huge nuisance for the Chilean team, who failed to stack up with the European juggernauts.
DAMWON Gaming, LCK’s third seed and one of the strongest teams present in Germany are as well off to a great start in their play-in venture, claiming two solid wins against Royal Youth and Flamengo eSports to finish their day one with a perfect 2-0 score.
That being said, the Korean giants did not have smooth sailing to their perfect record, seeing how they had run in some issues facing Royal Youth, where we saw Can “Closer” Celik shine on Qiyana, which left many DAMWON fans worried Royal could upset their favourite team.
Yet it was Korean’s superb objective control that saved the game and earned them their first W of the play-ins.
Knowing their first win was too close for comfort, DAMWON made sure they didn’t make the same mistake in game two against Flamengo eSports, where they came onto the Summoner’s Rift with guns blazing, looking to take care of business in a swift manner.
After some back-and-forth in the opening minutes, DAMWON found their rhythm and flew to their second win of the Play-Ins in just over 30 minutes.
Having dominated their groups on day one, a lot of expectations have been put on Splyce and DAMWON to continue their solid run, repeat their success in the upcoming days, and earn a spot in round two as the first seed. Will the two juggernauts manage to achieve that, however, remains a mystery until Friday, when Splyce jump into round two fixtures against Isurus and DetonatioN FocusMe.
A quirk of the LoL European Championship playoffs format gave Splyce the option play either the fifth or sixth seed in the first round.
Having an option to pick between Team Vitality and Rogue, Splyce decided to avoid the unpredictable French side and instead picked a side they have already beaten twice this split.
Splyce odds – LEC Summer playoffs
$1.14 at GG Bet
Splyce are arguably the third-best team in Europe and they have the results to back up that claim.
They have a solid roster led by the gifted Marek “Humanoid” Brázda, who earned four MVP awards throughout the split and legitimately looks like one of the best EU midlaners.
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The real strength of Splyce, however, comes from the depth of the team, as they have talented players in each of the five positions.
Their consistency throughout the season earned them a spot in the final six barely seven weeks into the split, when they brought up their 10th win in 14 games.
Splyce showed class and quality this split and deserved to reach the playoffs.
Rogue odds – LEC Summer playoffs
$5.40 at GG Bet
It’s hard not to be impressed with Rogue, who improved drastically compared to their spring split campaign when they won only two fixtures throughout the whole season.
Having experienced one of the worst records in the history of LEC, changes were needed and the Rogue brains trust did not hesitate to make them.
In late May they signed Pawe? “Woolite” Pruski, Emil “Larssen” Larsson and Kacper “Inspired” S?oma on top of a couple of changes in coaching personnel.
Marcus “Blumigan” Blom, a former player, analyst and coach for Ninjas in Pyjamas, joined as an assistant coach, whereas Ismael Pedraza took over the role of a performance coach.
All in all, Rogue can be happy with their first-ever playoffs appearance, which they earned with a 7-11 record that included a win over Fnatic in week five.
Splyce vs Rogue betting predictions
Rogue have never defeated Splyce before, meaning they are 0-4 against their Friday opponents.
The underdogs have come a long way since spring and deserve all the praise they get, but there are serious concerns about their ability to compete in a tough best-of-five (Bo5) series against the best EU has to offer.
While it will be a split to remember for Rogue, we do not see them upsetting a Splyce side that has designs on the LoL World Championship.
Splyce to win – Best odds at GG Bet
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Giants Gaming vs. FC Schalke 04 Esports
These two very different teams have had a similar start to the season – neither of them are ecstatic about their poor play and numerous losses. Both of them need improvement, and they need it fast, since Giants have looked awful all split, and Schalke are light years away from the form needed to achieve their goal of a deep playoffs run.
It’s safe to say that Giants’ LCS-winning ADC Steeelback is a strong contender for the worst LCS player this split. The Frenchman’s lack of impact on his team’s play has become somewhat of a meme, and Giants are basically playing with only one carry, the versatile mid laner Betsy. Schalke’s high-profile signings aren’t faring much better individually, though. Vizicsacsi has been very disappointing throughout the season, and Upset still has to work on his positioning to be considered a top-tier prospect. The one thing Schalke can do well, though, is getting an advantage in the early game. That’s what makes them the favourite here, as Giants seemingly can’t do anything if they get crushed early. (GIA 30%, S04 70%).
Best bet: Bet on FC Shalke 04 to win, paying $1.51 at GG Bet
Team ROCCAT vs. Unicorns of Love
After an okay start for a team with a sick AD carry, Unicorns of Love have once again experienced an 0-2 week and have looked rather poor. Roccat have been on a run of three 1-1 weeks in a row, and a win against Unicorns would help them retain that streak very much, since their next opponent is the in-form Fnatic.
UOL’s bot lane has been an issue over the entire split, with Samux looking like he hadn’t had a chance to adapt to the new bot lane picks. Luckily for him, his favourite Xayah is coming back, and that may be a focal point for the Unicorns. However, the top lane is where Roccat will have a substantial advantage, as Profit is currently far superior to WhiteKnight. As a unit, Roccat are simply more consistent than the volatile Unicorns, and they should be considered favourites coming into this game. (ROC 65%, UOL 35%)
Best bet: Bet on Team ROCCAT to win, paying $1.72 at GG Bet
Team Vitality vs. H2k-Gaming
Another day, another tough matchup for H2k. The winless, 10th placed, seemingly hopeless team will be facing Vitality, who are looking good in the new meta, and are never out of new experiments and surprises. It’ll be interesting to see both teams on 8.13, and if the return of traditional ADC picks has had an impact on their level of play.
It’s been remarkably tough for H2k’s talented bot laner Sheriff to adapt to anything else than crit-stacking ADC’s. The inconsistent Shook is often the best player of the team, doing the best he can on carry junglers, but the rest of the squad is often very late to follow his calls. Vitality should be comfortable with roaming around the map in search for picks on the disorganized H2k players. This stylistic advantage would be enough to label them as favourites, and when the difference in quality is added to the mix, it is clear that Vitality have a much better chance of winning. (VIT 70%, H2K 30%).
Best bet: Bet on Team Vitality to win, paying $1.34 at GG Bet
G2 Esports vs. Misfits Gaming
Here it is, the match of the week, if not the match of the split so far! G2 and Misfits meet in a clash of the only two undefeated teams in EU LCS who have shared the #1 spot in the standings since the start.
The battle of the hugely different styles G2 and Misfits used to dominate the rest of the league will be a treat for the viewers. G2 have been excellent at funnel strategies, putting Perkz on Kai’Sa or Lucian and giving him all that he needs to annihilate the opposition. Misfits are the polar opposite, playing a modern version of the traditional team comp with an ADC and an AP mid laner, with Hans Sama being unstoppable so far. It’s nearly impossible to name the favourite in this game. Since G2’s style is more volatile and prone to going awry, a tiny advantage goes to the side of Misfits. (G2 45%, MSF 55%).
Best bet: Bet on Misfits Gaming to win, paying $2.15 at GG Bet
Splyce vs. Fnatic
Two of Europe’s Rift Rivals representatives meet in the last match of the day, both with their own goals and dreams. Fnatic will want to keep up with the leading two, in hopes of snatching away that playoff bye in the future, while Splyce should be looking to get into the top 6 for the first time.
Splyce are looking better than they did during their 0-4 run, but there is still a lot to be fixed. The Snakes have had a substandard performance at Rift Rivals, but a surprise win against Team Liquid shows that they have what it takes to beat a top team. Fnatic, though, might be too big of a challenge. Unless Splyce stomp the early game (which they very rarely do), Fnatic’s flexible and unpredictable squad should take the win here. (SPY 25%, FNC 75%)
Best bet: Bet on Fnatic to win, paying $1.45 at GG Bet
]]>The third place match will be played on Saturday, with Splyce and Team Vitality fighting for pride, honor and championship points.
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Team Vitality team news and form
Vitality have been somewhat of a Kryptonite for Splyce’s stable, mid-game focused approach throughout the regular split, being the team to break their 5-game winning streak and also demolishing them with a bot lane Ziggs earlier on. Their playstyle hasn’t changed much since the start, but they always seem to pull something unexpected out of their pocket and give every opponent a run for their money.
In the semi finals against Fnatic, the French team got crushed in the early game by Broxah’s terrific counterganking that rendered Gilius and his pressure practically nonexistent. It’s safe to say that without a gold lead, Vitality don’t really know how to decisively play a team fight-focused mid-game and usually rely on their guerrilla tactics to catch an odd 2v2 fight and go for baron from there, or just wait for a serious mistake from the enemy side, as was the case in the 3rd game against Fnatic.
When they do get baron, though, Vitality become a force to be reckoned with. With their well-organised 1-3-1 formation with Jiizuke and Cabochard in the sidelanes, the Bees tend to tear down multiple towers or inhibitors and get massive gold leads from just one power play. If Gilius makes his ganks less predictable and Vitality get a substantial early lead, the games could end quickly in their favour.
Splyce team news and form
Splyce, on the other side, have been excellent at 5v5 teamfighting for the entire split, or at least up until the semifinals. Against G2, they messed up at the most important points of the game, making their usual mid-game comebacks impossible.
Kobbe was especially guilty of bad positioning and having little impact in fights, but we have to cut him some slack because G2’s jungler, top and support were picked exactly to tender him useless. Xerxe’s pathing also got figured out very early on by Jankos, and the official #1 jungler in EU this split couldn’t do much to get his lanes rolling. Howewer, Gilius is not very likely to try adapting to Xerxe, being one of the more lane-oriented junglers in the league, and Splyce’s top and mid lane likely won’t have to worry that much.
Splyce’s mid laner Nisqy has been on fire recently, dashing out serious damage in teamfights, and also going even or better in lane in most games. He and Kobbe should be the main focus of the team, and if Vitality doesn’t get far ahead early, I don’t think their one-carry playstyle can break Splyce’s terrific group play. Odoamne’s thoughtful engages are much better than anything Vitality has to offer in that regard, and if he can force a brawl, Splyce will likely end up as victors.
Betting prediction & odds
Team Vitality: $2.37
Splyce: $1.53
Splyce, in my opinion, have more win conditions than Vitality, and also have a much more adaptive playstyle that isn’t likely to fall to the same strategy thrice. Although Vitality have looked good in BO1’s against Splyce, I think winning three games will be too much of a challenge for them.
Best bet: Splyce to win paying $1.53 with GG Bet
]]>EU LCS semifinals are on this weekend, with the top four teams in the regular split standings all still in competition. G2 and Splyce will be playing a rematch of the spicy playoff duel from last Summer’s quarter final which saw G2 take down Splyce 3-2, with mixed results this split with G2 taking down 2 games to 1 leading up to the semifinal.
G2 and Splyce have formed a bit of a rivalry with all the important matches they’ve played over the past couple of years, and like all of those, this semifinal is set to be a highly entertaining matchup.
Will Splyce have what it takes to dethrone the quadruple European champion.
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G2 key players
G2 haven’t been on fire recently, even though they managed to beat Splyce in their last regular season game. Their captain and leader Perkz, in particular, is having unusual issues with decision-making and positioning in teamfights: Europe’s best mid laner over the last couple of years is sometimes the direct cause of G2 falling behind. Speaking of that, though, the reigning champs still have a decent early game, especially in the top lane where Wunder demolishes everyone who is brave enough to face him. The Dane has been stellar this split, boasting the best DPM and laning stats in the entire league, and his carry performances have helped G2 win multiple games where the rest of the squad was faltering. Their jungler, the famed First Blood King, is also very active early on, and in his recent form he’s been doing very well in either getting his teammates ahead, or getting ahead himself.
G2’s bot lane, however, is their most noticeable weak point, and it is exactly where Splyce shine. Hjarnan struggles on immobile champions like the popular Varus and is very prone to dying to ganks, which is exactly what happened in the last match of these two opponents: Hjarnan died twice in lane, and G2 had a much harder job of winning against a snowballing Kobbe. Admittedly, though, he can do very well if Jankos gives him loads of help early on, often at the expense of Perkz.
Splyce key players
Splyce, on the other hand, are a very different team. Their early game isn’t their strength (they even fell behind in 2 out of 3 games against Roccat, who they comfortably 3-0’d in the quarterfinals), but it is their terrific mid-game teamfights and macro play that made them such a formidable team this year. The Snakes are one of the most coordinated teams in the West when it comes to teamfights, with Kobbe and Nisqy playing an almost unkillable backline while Odoamne and Xerxe engage on the opponent and KaSing provides his signature ambulance play.
Odoamne and Xerxe work extremely well together, and the Romanian duo often roams together to look for picks and create fights. Nisqy prefers to stay quiet and safe in lane and that’s where G2 might look for an opportunity: even though Perkz isn’t doing as well as he could, he is still a great laner, and putting Splyce’s mid far behind in CS and snowballing an additional lane might be the way to go for G2.
Game Predictions
This match has a lot of potential to be a gruelling five-game series, with everything being decided in the last game. The teams are very evenly matched, and if there is an advantage to either of them, I would actually say that Splyce’s reliable teamfighting can win them this series. The clutchness of Perkz and the pure skill of Wunder is nothing to be scoffed at though, and the Kings of Europe might grab their fifth consecutive spot in the finals.
Best bet: Splyce to win $2.62 with GG Bet
On our radar are this weekend’s quarterfinal matches, which will decide who plays Fnatic and G2 in the semifinals, here are our free betting predictions.
SPLYCE (#3) vs. TEAM ROCCAT (#6)
Splyce and Roccat open the knockout stage on Saturday with a match that will determine who goes on to fight G2 Esports. While Splyce are clearly aiming towards the trophy, Roccat will surely put up a fight in their first playoff run since 2015.
Splyce survived their terrible start to the split and soared up the ladder to claim a third place finish. Previously a major weakness, top laner Odoamne found his old form and is currently a force to be reckoned with, while Nisqy improved substantially over the course of the split and fixed most of his laning problems. Their main strength, however, remains the terrific bot lane of Kobbe and KaSing, who both excel in mid-game teamfights and provide stability in lane.
Roccat have retained their simple snowballing strategy throughout the split, and are likely to use it against Splyce. Blanc and occasionally Profit carry the team with Memento providing them with frequent roams, and off of that, Roccat will try to put their mid laner ahead and end the game before 30 minutes, as they did against Misfits, Vitality, and even G2.
Their problem might lie in the bot lane, since KaSing’s defensive ranged picks work perfectly against Norskeren’s preferred heavy-engage supports.
Splyce could fall to Roccat’s win-lane-win-game playstyle in the top and mid lanes, but they are also one of the best mid-game teams in the league. Splyce know how to play from behind and that was one of their main strengths this year: having to make comebacks through top-tier teamfighting and clever macro is where Splyce thrive.
Roccat might take a game at most, but I don’t think they have the coordination and individual quality to cope with the Snakes once the game goes late.
Best bet: Splyce to win 3-1, paying $3.20 at GG Bet
TEAM VITALITY (#4) vs. H2K GAMING (#5)
Two teams that, prior to the start of the split, were thought of as bottom tier, on Sunday have the opportunity to fight for a trial of fire against Fnatic in the semifinals. In this hard-to-predict match, both H2K and Vitality have the potential to make it further.
Vitality started the split as the team to beat, dominating the league with a 7-1 run, but fell off the charts after their mid-centric and early game focused playstyle was figured out by the rest of the teams. Vitality’s usual strategy was to put jungler Gilius on tank and gank duty, and camp mid to crush the opposing laner and get Jiizuke rolling like a train.
The Italian has showed a massive potential to carry games on multiple champions, and he will most likely be Vitality’s win condition once again. The bot lane of Minitroupax and Jactroll is not to be scoffed at, though, especially considering Mini’s favourites Caitlyn and Jinx are in high demand. On the other hand, Jactroll’s inconsistency and fairly weak champion pool could be targeted by H2K. Cabochard can be week when left alone in top lane, but H2K’s SmittyJ probably won’t be much of a hassle for him even without jungle support.
The polar opposite to Vitality, a team that started 1-7 and went on a rampaging run towards the end of the split, H2K plays a very late-game and teamfighting focused playstyle. Their signature fights rely on Sheriff’s brilliant hypercarry play, and Shook’s intelligent pathing and synergy with Selfie gets them through the early game without a huge deficit. The key to H2K’s victory will likely lie in the hands of the veteran jungler: if Shook can stop Gilius’s early roams and bully him out of lane, Vitality’s snowball will be shut down and they will be left without a useful jungler for the entire mid-game, which is the time to get Sheriff fed. The main downside of their roster, however, is the weak laning in all the lanes, and especially SmittyJ’s tendency to simply get run over.
This match has a large chance to go to a five-game bloodbath, and both teams could end up victorious. I think Vitality has a slight edge due to their good early game and star carry in the mid lane, but H2K can definitely fire back if the games go to late game. Drafts will be very important here, especially handling the Caitlyn pick, a staple for both AD Carries.
Best bet: Back Team Vitality to win at $1.40 at GG Bet
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