If you haven’t seen the Week One competition on the European Summoner’s Rift, you’ve surely missed out on some great plays. Schalke 04 shattered SK’s dream of qualifying to Worlds and used their momentum to carry their win streak even further. G2 and MAD Lions – what could have been a good start to a new rivalry in LEC has ended in a rather disappointing Best of Five. Rogue did not live up to the hopes and dreams of a regular season’s leader and have yet to prove they’re worth the LEC final. Here’s our recap of LEC Summer Play-Offs: Week One.
Week One results
Schalke 04 vs SK Gaming: 3-0
Game 1
| SK Gaming |  | 0:1 |  | FC Schalke 04 |
| Jenax Volibear |  |  |  | Odoamne Renekton |
| Trick Lillia |  |  |  | Gilius Hecarim |
| ZaZee Ziggs |  |  |  | Abbedagge Orianna |
| Crownshot Jinx |  |  |  | Innaxe Senna |
| LIMIT Morgana |  |  |  | Dreams Nautilus |
What the first Week One match brought, except for an extravagant draft, was a surprising rotation on SK’s side as their toplane and botlane changed positions. This was supposed to grant SK a good start into the game and possibly get Juš “Crownshota” Marušić, the most consistent player on their team, an early advantage. Schalke however didn’t let themselves get intimitated by their opponent’s action and quickly reacted to the chaos, claiming First Blood and finishing the first fifteen minutes with a 2k gold lead. From then on, the team from Gelsenkirchen only added to their advantage. One good teamfight around the 22 minute mark let Schalke swipe SK off of Summoner’s Rift, claim Baron Nashor and kick off the series 1-0.
Game 2
| SK Gaming | | 0:1 | | FC Schalke 04 |
| Jenax Gangplank |  | |  | Odoamne Sion |
| Trick Lee Sin |  | | | Gilius Hecarim |
| ZaZee Syndra |  | | | Abbedagge Orianna |
| Crownshot Ezreal |  | | | Innaxe Senna |
| LIMIT Yuumi |  | | | Dreams Nautilus |
After SK failed their first experiment in the draft, they decided to go back to a safer team composition. This resulted in a decent early game on their side, as SK took control over what was happening on the map. They were able to get First Blood on Felix “Abbedagge” Braun. Kim „Trick” Gang-yun also secured a first dragon of the match, but Schalke was far from standing idly. After a few times SK players were caught off-guard during their map rotations, Schalke managed to secure an Ocean Dragon and two Herolds that allowed them to slowly but surely build their gold advantage.
Just like most of the split, SK’s strategy in this match revolved around providing Crownshot the best possible situations. Therefore, one of Schalke main goals in the late game was settled – shut down SK’s ADC. That happened in the 29 minute, as Erberk “Gilius” Demir finished his hunt and allowed Schalke to secure Baron Nashor, bringing SK to their knees. From then on, it took Schalke 8 minutes to finish the base siege. With this disposition from Schalke, SK could only hope for miracles, as they needed three consecutive wins to advance to the next round.
Game 3
| FC Schalke 04 | | 1:0 | | SK Gaming |
| Odoamne Vladimir |  | |  | Jenax Shen |
| Gilius Kha’Zix |  | | | Trick Volibear |
| Abbedagge Azir |  | | | ZaZee Ziggs |
| Neon Senna | | |  | Crownshot Kog’Maw |
| Dreams Nautilus | | | | LIMIT Morgana |
6 minutes – it was all it took Schalke to tear apart SK’s dreams almost completely. With a great Teleport botlane from Abbedagge, the German midlaner claimed a quick triple kill that favoured Schalke despite losing First Blood. Throughout midgame, SK was actually doing quite well in terms of not falling much behind. However, after scoring an Ace in a teamfight around the Ocean Drake, Schalke prepared their ground for a Baron Nashor and with this buff, they began their march for SK’s base and another week of competition. One well-played teamfight in the 31 minute meant that SK Gaming was out of play-offs while Schalke officially kept their win streak up to 10-0 after Week One.
G2 Esports vs MAD Lions: 3-1
Game 1
| G2 Esports |  | 1:0 |  | MAD Lions |
| Wunder Gangplank | | | | Orome Shen |
| Jankos Sett |  | | | Shadow Hecarim |
| Caps LeBlanc |  | | | Humanoid Azir |
| Perkz Kalista |  | | | Carzzy Senna |
| Mikyx Nautilus | | |  | Kaiser Taric |
G2 kicked off their first match of the series with a strong desire to keep Marek “Humanoid” Brázda’s Azir away from the centre of the action. After only 7 minutes, MAD’s midlaner already had 2 deaths on his account and was greatly falling behind his vis-à-vis. G2 were quickly able to snowball their lead, claiming 5 kills compared to opponent’s 0 and gaining a huge 7k gold advantage. Even a triple shutdown for Zhiqiang “Shad0w” Zhao’s Hecarim was not enough to stop Rasmus “Caps” Winther’s LeBlanc (who finished with a stunning 8/0/11 record) of leaping in and out and providing G2 a burst in most teamfights. With an Ocean Soul and a Baron Buff in their pocket, G2 was able to secure a convincing win over MAD Lions.
Game 2
| MAD Lions | | 0:1 | | G2 Esports |
| Orome Camille |  | |  | Wunder Neeko |
| Shadow Lillia | | |  | Jankos Sejuani |
| Humanoid Galio |  | |  | Caps Irelia |
| Carzzy Ezreal | | | | Perkz Senna |
| Kaiser Shen | | | | Mikyx Nautilus |
The second duel proved to be the longest in this Best Of Five series, as it took over 38 minutes for both of the teams to bring it to an end. MAD Lions decided to try something more surprising with Shen for Norman “Kaiser” Kaiser and Lilia for Shad0w, while G2 turned to Martin “Wunder” Hansen and Caps’ comfort picks in the form of Neeko and Irelia respectively.
The first few minutes were rich in action for midlane has become an ARAM battlefield twice. G2 were able to slowly but steadily build their gold advantage in the early game, although MAD Lions did not give up so easily. After catching their opponent’s a few times, they managed to come back around the 20 minute mark. This was a time to shine for both Caps and Wunder – their teamfight disposition, along with a 2v3 outplay in the toplane let G2 turn the game into their favor. After securing a Mountain Soul and the Baron Buff, even a living mountain itself – Humanoid’s Galio – couldn’t do anything to stop G2 from confidently taking over MAD Lions’ base.
Game 3
| MAD Lions | | 1:0 | | G2 Esports |
| Orome Camille | | | | Wunder Shen |
| Shadow Lillia | | | | Jankos Lee Sin |
| Humanoid Galio | | |  | Caps Syndra |
| Carzzy Ashe |  | | | Perkz Ezreal |
| Kaiser Lulu |  | | | Mikyx Yuumi |
Third game showed that even G2 can be taken off-guard. Shad0w has shown everyone what Lilia is capable of if played correctly, as his incredible movement speed and kill participation allowed him to turn her into an absolute monster in terms of 1v1 and a valid addition to every teamfight. 16 minutes into the match, he was 3 levels ahead of Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski’s Lee Sin and carried the second highest creep score.
MAD Lions absolutely dominated the mid game. They managed to score an Ace before the fourth dragon that earned them an Ocean Soul, followed shortly by a Baron Buff. With a 10k gold lead, it took them less than three minutes to turn one good teamfight into a victory. However, if they wanted to still have a viable chance for semifinals, they had to win the next two games.
Game 4
| G2 Esports | | 1:0 | | MAD Lions |
| Wunder Neeko | | | | Orome Shen |
| Jankos Sett | | | | Shadow Hecarim |
| Caps Zoe |  | |  | Humanoid Twisted Fate |
| Perkz Senna | | | | Carzzy Ashe |
| Mikyx Braum |  | |  | Kaiser Thresh |
First Blood in the fourth game was scored on Kaiser in the botlane. One gank toplane from Jankos resulted in Andrei “Orome” Popa’s death, let Wunder outfarm his opponent in a matter of minutes and provided G2 a chance to destroy the first turret with the help of a Rift Herald. After that, both teams seemed to slow down the pace – this way we could witness only 10 kills in the first 20 minutes. The situation in gold was pretty stable, MAD Lions even led by one dragon, but at this moment G2 decided to take the matter into their own hands. They took the botlane path into MAD’s base, made their way into a good teamfight and took down 4 of their opponents.
MAD’s fate was sealed as they were moved to the lower bracket. G2 on the other hand, except for celebrating the advance to the semifinals, can be proud on securing a Worlds 2020 spot.
Rogue vs Fnatic: 0-3
Game 1
| Rogue |  | 0:1 |  | Fnatic |
| Finn Renekton | | |  | Bwipo Urgot |
| Inspired Sejuani | | |  | Selfmade Evelynn |
| Larssen Azir | | |  | Nemesis Lucian |
| Hans sama Senna |  | | | Rekkles Ashe |
| Vander Nautilus | | | | Hylissang Thresh |
Rogue approached Week One’s series with Fnatic as a regular season winner. It didn’t prevent them from making mistakes, though, as Oskar “Vander” Bogdan let Fnatic get a First Blood and open the kill count after four minutes. Rogue tried to answer on toplane but Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek was also in the region, simply denying any bigger action Rogue wanted to undertake and scoring two kills on the go. Neither a dragon, nor a first turret was helpful in Rogue’s attempts of completely reducing the gold disadvantage they’ve fallen into. Fnatic in the meantime secured objective after objective, including a Baron in the 23 minute – a direct reason to their win 3 minutes later.
Game 2
| Rogue | | 0:1 | | Fnatic |
| Finn Gangplank | | |  | Bwipo Ornn |
| Inspired Sett | | |  | Selfmade Karthus |
| Larssen Azir | | | | Nemesis Lucian |
| Hans sama Kalista | | | | Rekkles Senna |
| Vander Blitzcrank |  | | | Hylissang Thresh |
The second game has a drastically different start as Rogue showed a more active side of their play. Vander’s Blitzcrank granted himself the spot of a quarterback and provided Rogue with easy-kill situations. This allowed them to feel the gold advantage for a while, but at the end of the day it was Fnatic who found a spectacular teamfight leading up to a quick Baron and the opportunity to knock down Rogue’s Nexus.
Game 3
| Rogue | | 0:1 | | Fnatic |
| Finn Gangplank | | | | Bwipo Sion |
| Inspired Sett | | | | Selfmade Evelynn |
| Larssen Azir | | | | Nemesis Kog’Maw |
| Hans sama Ezreal | | | | Rekkles Senna |
| Vander Braum | | | | Hylissang Nautilus |
The last game was probably the closest Rogue was able to come to winning. Although Fnatic took an early lead in dragons and turrets, Rogue slowly made their way back into the game, kill by kill. Two dragon steals gave them the confidence to think about conducting the pace of the game in their own way. Fnatic however didn’t let Rogue catch the wave and around the 34 minute mark won a teamfight near Baron Nashor. Long death timers at that point was what brought Fnatic the desired win in Week One and let them finish this series 3-0.
Hopes for Week 2
As MAD Lions were relegated into the lower bracket, they take on Schalke 04 on Friday. Considering Schalke’s disposition and their spot as the fan-favourites due to their miracle run, this Best of Five might be one of the most thrilling in the Summer play-offs. The winner of this face-off will be able to start preparing a schedule for the upcoming Worlds trip to Shanghai, while the loser will leave with nothing.
Saturday is Europe’s favourite rivalry – G2 takes on Fnatic in a match for the Summer Final. Taking into account that both teams have shown us a rather surprising regular season in their aspect, the upcoming BO5 between them is going to determine which one has already found their flow and which one will get another chance.
Rogue will show what they’re capable of on Sunday – they will face whoever comes out on top in a Friday match. Whether it’s going to be Schalke or MAD Lions, we are sure to witness a great performance, for Rogue will try to demonstrate their stronger side after getting knocked down by Fnatic.
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