EU LCS Week 8 Preview
Riot·7/9/2014, 10:17:53 PM·0 votes·1,130 views
Super Week is over - ten games remain for each team. Nothing is guaranteed. Fnatic and ROCCAT are on some serious midseason surges, while Millenium threatens to fall behind after a brilliant opening to the split.
However, the biggest news comes from a team that has only won a single game in the last three weeks. Gambit is letting go of two more members from their squad, leaving only the bottom lane untouched. Can it save them from almost certain relegation?
Roccat vs. SK Gaming
When: Thursday, July 10, 5pm CEST / 9am PDT
It’s undeniable at this point that Roccat are on a roll. After a 1-7 opening to the split, they’ve gone 7-3 to close the gap with the rest of the league. This week, they’ll face their toughest competition yet, with SK and Alliance looking to defend their hard-earned records. None have more to lose right now than SK, though, who are close to falling into third place and losing their bye in the playoffs. With Fnatic hot on their tail, SK Gaming is going to have to prove they belong in the top two with every game they play.
Watch Roccat carefully in this one. As teams adapt to the ever-changing meta, these guys never fail to try the extreme to find victory. Their wins aren’t always the cleanest, but lately they’ve been finding their way to the Victory screen. Right now, Jankos is the rock anchoring them down, and he’ll be crucial if they want to extend their win streak. SK, on the other hand, need a big game from Jesiz and CandyPanda. SK do great when those two play well, but if they’re held in check, SK will have some serious problems.
Supa Hot Crew vs. Fnatic
When: Thursday, July 10, 7pm CEST / 11am PDT
Fnatic, like Roccat, are on a roll. A weak opening has been tossed aside and the team is now in the midst of a four-game winning streak, having escaped from Super Week unscathed. Meanwhile, Supa Hot Crew are a game behind them, and are having a mini surge of their own, winning four of the last five. To make matters more interesting for Fnatic, Supa Hot Crew haven’t dropped a game to xPeke and company yet this split. Will Fnatic be able to overcome and extend their streak even further?
For them to do so, they’ll have to find a way to shut down mid laner Selfie. That new mid scent is gone - Selfie has come into his own as a solid player for the Crew, and he can put up some great games when the team needs him to. Fnatic’s best shot at victory is, as it has been all split, AD carry Rekkles. Their youngster marksman is now on a real tear, and if he keeps it up, Fnatic have a chance to retake the league and come out champions yet again.
Millenium vs. Alliance
When: Thursday, July 10, 8pm CEST / 12pm PDT
With Alliance at 14-4, there’s not much now that can stop them, despite their 2-2 record last week. Even if they go .500 for the rest of the season, they still end up at 19-9, which is still a better record than any EU team during the Spring Split. Simply put, the team is a lock for playoffs and it would take a serious turn of fate for them to miss advancing to the finals. Froggen has gathered a deadly squad, and after they took the Spring Split to meld as a squad, Alliance have blossomed into one of the strongest teams Europe has ever fielded.
Millenium, on the other hand, are on the cusp of falling even further behind. With a 9-9 record, they’re just ahead of Roccat. And with the Polish team on a tear, Millenium need step up their game to avoid sure relegation. Their only win last week was against Gambit, who have all but thrown in the towel on the summer. Kerp and Creaton can still put up big games occasionally, but they need to find consistency if their team is going to succeed in the playoffs. A win against Alliance would go far towards righting the ship. Now they just need to do it.
Fnatic vs. SK Gaming
When: Friday, July 11, 8pm CEST / 12pm PDT
SK Gaming have had a great split so far, but the time has finally come for a reckoning. Fnatic have a lot going for them—presuming they top the Supa Hot Crew on Day 1, they’ll have a five-game winning streak to propel them into this matchup. And while SK have been doing great, their match history right now with Fnatic is 1-1. This is anybody’s game.
SK need to buckle down on the basics. Protecting CandyPanda and Jesiz is a must, and Fnatic will be sure to set their sights on those two players early and often. In their last game together, Fnatic kept the pair to just 3 combined kills, to 12 deaths. Rekkles and xPeke, on the other hand, only had 3 combined deaths—and ten kills each. With Fnatic heading in with momentum, it’ll be tough to keep them in check. But if SK Gaming want to remain in second place, that’s exactly what they’ll need to do.
Watch Roccat carefully in this one. As teams adapt to the ever-changing meta, these guys never fail to try the extreme to find victory. Their wins aren’t always the cleanest, but lately they’ve been finding their way to the Victory screen. Right now, Jankos is the rock anchoring them down, and he’ll be crucial if they want to extend their win streak. SK, on the other hand, need a big game from Jesiz and CandyPanda. SK do great when those two play well, but if they’re held in check, SK will have some serious problems.
Supa Hot Crew vs. Fnatic
When: Thursday, July 10, 7pm CEST / 11am PDT
Fnatic, like Roccat, are on a roll. A weak opening has been tossed aside and the team is now in the midst of a four-game winning streak, having escaped from Super Week unscathed. Meanwhile, Supa Hot Crew are a game behind them, and are having a mini surge of their own, winning four of the last five. To make matters more interesting for Fnatic, Supa Hot Crew haven’t dropped a game to xPeke and company yet this split. Will Fnatic be able to overcome and extend their streak even further?
For them to do so, they’ll have to find a way to shut down mid laner Selfie. That new mid scent is gone - Selfie has come into his own as a solid player for the Crew, and he can put up some great games when the team needs him to. Fnatic’s best shot at victory is, as it has been all split, AD carry Rekkles. Their youngster marksman is now on a real tear, and if he keeps it up, Fnatic have a chance to retake the league and come out champions yet again.
Millenium vs. Alliance
When: Thursday, July 10, 8pm CEST / 12pm PDT
With Alliance at 14-4, there’s not much now that can stop them, despite their 2-2 record last week. Even if they go .500 for the rest of the season, they still end up at 19-9, which is still a better record than any EU team during the Spring Split. Simply put, the team is a lock for playoffs and it would take a serious turn of fate for them to miss advancing to the finals. Froggen has gathered a deadly squad, and after they took the Spring Split to meld as a squad, Alliance have blossomed into one of the strongest teams Europe has ever fielded.
Millenium, on the other hand, are on the cusp of falling even further behind. With a 9-9 record, they’re just ahead of Roccat. And with the Polish team on a tear, Millenium need step up their game to avoid sure relegation. Their only win last week was against Gambit, who have all but thrown in the towel on the summer. Kerp and Creaton can still put up big games occasionally, but they need to find consistency if their team is going to succeed in the playoffs. A win against Alliance would go far towards righting the ship. Now they just need to do it.
Fnatic vs. SK Gaming
When: Friday, July 11, 8pm CEST / 12pm PDT
SK Gaming have had a great split so far, but the time has finally come for a reckoning. Fnatic have a lot going for them—presuming they top the Supa Hot Crew on Day 1, they’ll have a five-game winning streak to propel them into this matchup. And while SK have been doing great, their match history right now with Fnatic is 1-1. This is anybody’s game.
SK need to buckle down on the basics. Protecting CandyPanda and Jesiz is a must, and Fnatic will be sure to set their sights on those two players early and often. In their last game together, Fnatic kept the pair to just 3 combined kills, to 12 deaths. Rekkles and xPeke, on the other hand, only had 3 combined deaths—and ten kills each. With Fnatic heading in with momentum, it’ll be tough to keep them in check. But if SK Gaming want to remain in second place, that’s exactly what they’ll need to do.
op
