On The Edge Of Playoffs

Beyond the inevitable fight for first, there is another far more impactful story about to reach its climax. The teams placed fourth to seventh - MAD Lions, Excel Esports, Fnatic, and SK Gaming - are divided by just one win and some fierce rivalries likely to last well into playoffs could be forged this weekend as Fnatic take on both SK and Excel. Here are their stories so far…

MAD LIONS

After convincing the world that Misfits Gaming was one of the best teams in the league by losing to them in week one, MAD Lions have looked to be on the road to recovery. I checked in with their TCL imported top laner Irfan “Armut” Tükek after their victory against Excel in week two, during which he indicated that they still had their eyes on the front of the pack - 2-2 was “below expectations” and macro issues was still a big concern within the team. They didn’t lose again until they were utterly dominated by SK Gaming last Friday and currently sit on a 4-3 scoreline.

SK GAMING

Janik “Jenax” Bartels and company had the hardest possible first two weeks, facing and losing to G2, Rogue and Schalke who have all gone on to be contenders for first place. Their journey since has been difficult, with wins against Misfits and MAD showing promise but a twenty-nine minute stomp by Excel leaves questions unanswered about SK’s execution and mid game composure.

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EXCEL ESPORTS

The first of the two teams to catch out Schalke has held their form spectacularly since the start of the season, only dropping one game against anyone outside the top three. Perhaps the British underdog story is getting old for a reason, maybe this is Excel’s time at long last?

FNATIC

The focal point of the split found their feet last Saturday to take down G2, and could well be the best of these four teams, they’ve just taken their time to show it. With four wins in the last five games, tied with Schalke and Rogue, Fnatic should be looking to dominate week four.

MAD have the hardest task of the four teams this weekend, as they face both Rogue and Schalke. Fnatic have it a little easier with fellow middle of the pack sides Excel and SK Gaming, and both Excel and SK’s other matchup is the floundering Team Vitality, making their conclusions to the first half of the split easiest, at least in theory.

The LEC starts tonight (Friday, February 12) at 5pm GMT, with the first match impacting these four, Team Vitality vs Excel Esports starting at 6pm. In the meantime, stay tuned for more news, interviews and features here at GGRecon!

 

Images via Riot Games