EU LCS Week 5 preview
Riot·6/20/2014, 9:11:57 PM·0 votes·745 views
Week 5 is upon us, and along with a trip to London comes a fairly evenly distributed league. No team has run away with the season, or fallen out completely. Yet, that is. But as the midway point comes, the chances to secure a playoff seed diminish drastically. For some teams, it may already be too late to avoid relegation. And others are just a few games from etching their names into legend.
SK Gaming vs. Alliance
When: Saturday, June 21, 18:00 CEST / 9:00 AM PDT
SK and Alliance are the closest right now to becoming the dominant team in Europe. Both had very strong closes on the spring season, and are now continuing that trend into the summer. If it continues any farther, they may end up being one of the teams to dethrone Fnatic from their long-held place at the head of the table.
And that’s what makes this matchup so exciting. Alliance need to solidify their lead on the league, while SK are hoping to catch up to them. With a 1-0 lead in the matchup, Alliance stand a chance to get their way, especially if Tabzz can pull out a 7.0 KDA against them like he did last time. But Alliance’s Week 4 saw some considerably weak performances. Can they keep up the pace?
Meanwhile, SK are struggling as well. Jesiz and Candypanda remain the deadliest threats on the team, but their consistency is all over the map - Jesiz went from a 0.57 KDA to a 9.0. If SK truly want a shot at the top, they’ll need to prove that they can perform their best even against the strongest players in Europe.
Millenium vs. ROCCAT
When: Saturday, June 21, 20:00 CEST / 11:00 AM PDT
Both Millenium and ROCCAT are on the rise, but the question remains for how long. For Millenium, who launched themselves into the upper half of the league early on with the help of Kerp, a 2-0 sweep in Week 4 signifies that they have what it takes to play with the big dogs. They took both games handily, and marksman Creaton is looking more and more like a reliable player to help anchor the team. Another big week and Millenium might see themselves ascend to first place.
ROCCAT, however, are out to prove them wrong. And after a disastrous first few weeks, they’re out to prove that they’re still relevant. A 2-0 last week and ROCCAT are back on track, but they need to keep the combo going if they want to be taken seriously. CW’s forfeit aside, their win against Supa Hot Crew was a legitimate stomp, showing moments that reflected the dominant ROCCAT from last season. Another solid week will bring the team back to a respectable 5-7 record, which while not perfect, will go a long way towards rebooting their split.
SK Gaming vs. Supa Hot Crew
When: Sunday, June 22, 19:00 CEST / 10:00 AM PDT
The Supa Hot Crew are at a crossroads. They are 5-5, and after jumping ahead in the split, are now tied with Fnatic at the middle of the pack. The Crew are a good team, and when RalleZ lights up, are second to none. But their 0-2 record last week again points to consistency issues that have plagued them for months. Selfie needs to start delivering, or the Crew will find themselves once against barely treading water. Relegation could be looming once again, but the Crew have performed well at times this split and deserve the benefit of the doubt. With SK also struggling, now is the time to strike.
Fnatic vs. Millenium
When: Sunday, June 22, 20:00 CEST / 11:00 AM PDT
Fnatic also needs to step it up. Their 5-5 record is one of the worst openings ever in the LCS, and they can’t roster swap their way out of this one. The three-time champions need to seriously pick up the pace if they want another trophy for their impressive collection. Still, they looked good last week, AD carry Rekkles in particular. But despite his 26.0 KDA for the week, the team still picked up a loss. If Rekkles can’t carry the team, the other members are going to have to step up in a big way. A win against Millenium is at this point necessary if Fnatic want to break back into the top of the league.
SK and Alliance are the closest right now to becoming the dominant team in Europe. Both had very strong closes on the spring season, and are now continuing that trend into the summer. If it continues any farther, they may end up being one of the teams to dethrone Fnatic from their long-held place at the head of the table.
And that’s what makes this matchup so exciting. Alliance need to solidify their lead on the league, while SK are hoping to catch up to them. With a 1-0 lead in the matchup, Alliance stand a chance to get their way, especially if Tabzz can pull out a 7.0 KDA against them like he did last time. But Alliance’s Week 4 saw some considerably weak performances. Can they keep up the pace?
Meanwhile, SK are struggling as well. Jesiz and Candypanda remain the deadliest threats on the team, but their consistency is all over the map - Jesiz went from a 0.57 KDA to a 9.0. If SK truly want a shot at the top, they’ll need to prove that they can perform their best even against the strongest players in Europe.
Millenium vs. ROCCAT
When: Saturday, June 21, 20:00 CEST / 11:00 AM PDT
Both Millenium and ROCCAT are on the rise, but the question remains for how long. For Millenium, who launched themselves into the upper half of the league early on with the help of Kerp, a 2-0 sweep in Week 4 signifies that they have what it takes to play with the big dogs. They took both games handily, and marksman Creaton is looking more and more like a reliable player to help anchor the team. Another big week and Millenium might see themselves ascend to first place.
ROCCAT, however, are out to prove them wrong. And after a disastrous first few weeks, they’re out to prove that they’re still relevant. A 2-0 last week and ROCCAT are back on track, but they need to keep the combo going if they want to be taken seriously. CW’s forfeit aside, their win against Supa Hot Crew was a legitimate stomp, showing moments that reflected the dominant ROCCAT from last season. Another solid week will bring the team back to a respectable 5-7 record, which while not perfect, will go a long way towards rebooting their split.
SK Gaming vs. Supa Hot Crew
When: Sunday, June 22, 19:00 CEST / 10:00 AM PDT
The Supa Hot Crew are at a crossroads. They are 5-5, and after jumping ahead in the split, are now tied with Fnatic at the middle of the pack. The Crew are a good team, and when RalleZ lights up, are second to none. But their 0-2 record last week again points to consistency issues that have plagued them for months. Selfie needs to start delivering, or the Crew will find themselves once against barely treading water. Relegation could be looming once again, but the Crew have performed well at times this split and deserve the benefit of the doubt. With SK also struggling, now is the time to strike.
Fnatic vs. Millenium
When: Sunday, June 22, 20:00 CEST / 11:00 AM PDT
Fnatic also needs to step it up. Their 5-5 record is one of the worst openings ever in the LCS, and they can’t roster swap their way out of this one. The three-time champions need to seriously pick up the pace if they want another trophy for their impressive collection. Still, they looked good last week, AD carry Rekkles in particular. But despite his 26.0 KDA for the week, the team still picked up a loss. If Rekkles can’t carry the team, the other members are going to have to step up in a big way. A win against Millenium is at this point necessary if Fnatic want to break back into the top of the league.
