The Recap: EU LCS Week 1
Riot·5/23/2014, 3:19:28 AM·0 votes·2,300 views
The European LCS Summer Split began with a bang. Several teams emerged from Week 1 with promising results: both Millenium and Alliance showed their strength in fast fashion. European powerhouses, SK Gaming and Fnatic picked up where they left off, while ROCCAT and Gambit Gaming stumbled.
Surprises were expected after a tumultuous offseason. Many established names changed hands. From Alexey "Alex Ich" Ichetovkin and Maurice "Amazing" Stückenschneider dropping off Gambit and Copenhagen Wolves, respectively, to the additions of Markus "Kottenx" Tingvall to Millenium and Sebastian "niQ" Robak to Gambit Gaming, the EU LCS looked significantly different than last split. Teams that we didn’t necessarily expect to do well like Alliance and Millenium did, while, last split's good stories like ROCCAT and Gambit Gaming fell off. However, it's still early and there's plenty of LoL to play for. The EU LCS looks to be full of parity once again, so several new teams may emerge and take the crown of Europe's finest.
The rematch of arguably the best European playoff matchup, Fnatic and SK Gaming delivered on the hype. Fnatic used aggressive rotations and dives to control the match, and got off to an early lead as a result. Despite a 5-0 advantage in kills for Fnatic, SK Gaming fought back and kept it close with better team-fight execution. Led by Adrian "CandyPanda" Wübbelmann's great burst damage and focus fire with Lucian, SK Gaming eventually took the gold lead from Fnatic after nearly 30 minutes of trailing.
Fnatic looked strong from the onset of the game, but crumbled to SK Gaming's more decisive team-fights. Missed opportunities from Fnatic's Martin "Rekkles" Larsson and his Graves in several fights to clean up champions cost the team momentum. After a long, back and forth battle, SK Gaming flexed their muscles and took the first game of the split with a very convincing comeback.
Day 2: Alliance v. Fnatic
On Day 2, Alliance looked continue their strong start to convince fans that this split was theirs. A victory over one of the long-time European powerhouse Fnatic in a rematch of their playoff matchup would do just that. Alliance took the early game momentum and parlayed that into complete map control throughout the match. With fast reactions and slow objective pushes, Alliance snuffed Fnatic's attempts to come back. Alliance's Erik "Tabzz" van Helvert’s Kog’Maw was the star, showing up in the middle of every skirmish and fight and making the key kill in several moments.
Fnatic was dominated from the first minutes, suffering from overextension and weak rotations. Alliance took advantage of both and played on Fnatic's side of the map for the majority of the game. The weaknesses Fnatic showed in their early appearances this split may be the wake-up call for the champions of Europe if they want to repeat their success.
Day 3: Millenium v. Gambit Gaming
This symbolic "passing of the torch" matchup pitted two of Europe's finest. Former favorites Gambit Gaming struggled against the new flavor in Millenium. A slow early game from both teams benefitted Gambit Gaming in theory, but Millenium's movement and faster champions ran circles around the veteran squad in nearly every team-fight and gank. Adrian "Kerp" Wetekam made this matchup into his personal LeBlanc highlight reel. Dragon steals, kill streaks, and gasp-inducing plays reduced Gambit Gaming's chances of winning to nil. Eventually, Kerp was so unstoppable that Gambit Gaming failed to bring him down even once.
Gambit Gaming played from behind the entire game, and could not recoup any lost momentum. The loss dropped the once-promising squad to 1-3 and in dire straits already. If this game wasn't an indication that Gambit Gaming was in trouble, the next week may prove to be.
The rocket launch was stalled in Week 1. The Cinderella story of the last split began with a thud. ROCCAT's 1-3 record isn't the end of everything, but for such a talented team, it wasn't expected. These Poles have all the talent and it needs to start with jungler Marcin 'Jankos' Jankowski stepping up his game. However, it’s just the first week, so don’t count out ROCCAT quite yet.
Last split, Fnatic suffered from the same issues of inconsistencies. A win streak followed a losing streak and uncertainty hogged the team's headlines. This split started the inconsistent trends yet again. Losses to SK Gaming and Alliance were only salvaged with victories over ROCCAT and Copenhagen Wolves. But, the losses to Alliance and SK Gaming may not be damning, as Fnatic are known for turning it on when it matters most.
Games of the Week
Day 1: Fnatic v. SK Gaming
The rematch of arguably the best European playoff matchup, Fnatic and SK Gaming delivered on the hype. Fnatic used aggressive rotations and dives to control the match, and got off to an early lead as a result. Despite a 5-0 advantage in kills for Fnatic, SK Gaming fought back and kept it close with better team-fight execution. Led by Adrian "CandyPanda" Wübbelmann's great burst damage and focus fire with Lucian, SK Gaming eventually took the gold lead from Fnatic after nearly 30 minutes of trailing.
Fnatic looked strong from the onset of the game, but crumbled to SK Gaming's more decisive team-fights. Missed opportunities from Fnatic's Martin "Rekkles" Larsson and his Graves in several fights to clean up champions cost the team momentum. After a long, back and forth battle, SK Gaming flexed their muscles and took the first game of the split with a very convincing comeback.
Day 2: Alliance v. Fnatic
On Day 2, Alliance looked continue their strong start to convince fans that this split was theirs. A victory over one of the long-time European powerhouse Fnatic in a rematch of their playoff matchup would do just that. Alliance took the early game momentum and parlayed that into complete map control throughout the match. With fast reactions and slow objective pushes, Alliance snuffed Fnatic's attempts to come back. Alliance's Erik "Tabzz" van Helvert’s Kog’Maw was the star, showing up in the middle of every skirmish and fight and making the key kill in several moments.
Fnatic was dominated from the first minutes, suffering from overextension and weak rotations. Alliance took advantage of both and played on Fnatic's side of the map for the majority of the game. The weaknesses Fnatic showed in their early appearances this split may be the wake-up call for the champions of Europe if they want to repeat their success.
Day 3: Millenium v. Gambit Gaming
This symbolic "passing of the torch" matchup pitted two of Europe's finest. Former favorites Gambit Gaming struggled against the new flavor in Millenium. A slow early game from both teams benefitted Gambit Gaming in theory, but Millenium's movement and faster champions ran circles around the veteran squad in nearly every team-fight and gank. Adrian "Kerp" Wetekam made this matchup into his personal LeBlanc highlight reel. Dragon steals, kill streaks, and gasp-inducing plays reduced Gambit Gaming's chances of winning to nil. Eventually, Kerp was so unstoppable that Gambit Gaming failed to bring him down even once.
Gambit Gaming played from behind the entire game, and could not recoup any lost momentum. The loss dropped the once-promising squad to 1-3 and in dire straits already. If this game wasn't an indication that Gambit Gaming was in trouble, the next week may prove to be.
Biggest surprises
Millenium and Alliance's amazing start On paper, these teams look great; it's been like that since last split. But, there are differences between projections and actual fact, as evidenced by both squads’ struggles in Spring. The surprise is how they're doing it. Millenium's victories were over a couple of last split's strongest teams, Gambit Gaming and ROCCAT. Alliance took victories over Gambit Gaming and reigning European champions Fnatic. When both rosters were announced and the retool began, expectations poured in. Their fantastic Week 1 starts proved that they can become more than just a collection of highly talented players; they can become great teams. ROCCAT's disappointing start
The rocket launch was stalled in Week 1. The Cinderella story of the last split began with a thud. ROCCAT's 1-3 record isn't the end of everything, but for such a talented team, it wasn't expected. These Poles have all the talent and it needs to start with jungler Marcin 'Jankos' Jankowski stepping up his game. However, it’s just the first week, so don’t count out ROCCAT quite yet.
Biggest disappointments
Fnatic's inconsistencies
Last split, Fnatic suffered from the same issues of inconsistencies. A win streak followed a losing streak and uncertainty hogged the team's headlines. This split started the inconsistent trends yet again. Losses to SK Gaming and Alliance were only salvaged with victories over ROCCAT and Copenhagen Wolves. But, the losses to Alliance and SK Gaming may not be damning, as Fnatic are known for turning it on when it matters most.
Piglett