All four participants have already clinched a spot in the playoffs before the Spring Relegation tournament, but that doesn’t make the European Challenger Series 2 Finals any less climactic. While there is some jockeying for final seeding for first round byes, the meat and potatoes of this finals is simple: money and momentum. Winning Challenger 2 wins an extra two thousand dollars, and has an advantage heading into the playoff tournament.
Never G1ve Up vs Reason Gaming
When: Thursday March 27. Directly after the Supa Hot Crew vs Fnatic LCS game
The online third place game for the European Challenger Series 2 features a French team in Never G1ve Up taking on the primarily UK based Reason Gaming. Before being swept by Ninjas in Pyjamas, Reason notched a win over former LCS squad Meet Your Makers while Never G1ve Up played a close series with Steve Bakes Cookies. Both teams have clinched spots in the upcoming playoffs.
The game is littered with some of the best performers in EU Challenger. NGU's support Masterwork actually sits at third for kills-deaths-assists (KDA) of the entire tournament. He is a big reason that Ritix, NGU’s AD Carry, holds the top gold per minute (GPM) in the tournament as well as the most kills. Reason Gaming is not to be underestimated in their statistical prowess, though. RG’s AD Carry Krislund has the second most kills in the tournament and his support BarneyD has the second most assists. All of the bloodthirsty tendencies from both sides set up a very explosive match up in the bottom lane. Expect early pressure AD carries, supports that bring heavy kill pressure, and a plethora of Doran's Shields in the bottom lane.
While the bottom lane will look to kill each other, every lane will need to keep a wary eye on the jungle. Both teams’ junglers have shown a penchant to be the spark for their team. NGU's Lasagna and RG's Trashy are both in the top five for total assists, and Trashy is fifth for most kills. They've gravitated toward early pressure junglers, so focused jungle bans from either side could result in some pick/ban shenanigans as both teams try to get their jungler comfortable.
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Departed
When: Friday March 28 live from the EU LCS studios. Directly after the Copenhagen Wolves vs Team ROCCAT game
The finals feature a pair of teams that have only lost a single game between them in the entire EU Challenger Series 2. Ninjas in Pyjamas dropped a single match to Gamers 2 in the Quarterfinals, but have been unblemished since. Departed will look to complete an undefeated series against NiP. During their undefeated run, they knocked off EU CS 1 champion Cloud 9 Eclipse, and have looked impressive throughout.
Mid laner niQ 760 and AD Carry Woolite control the game pace for Departed. They're fourth and fifth in top KDA, and second and third in GPM. Through both EU CS 1 and 2, niQ 760 has shown a diverse champion pool that makes banning him out very difficult. Woolite has shown an excellent Jinx, but he also can play other champions including the popular Sivir.
Ninjas in Pyjamas are the most veteran team in the entire Series. They enter the finals as the favorites and have already locked up a first round bye in the playoffs. Four of their five members have LCS experience so playing on stage won't phase the group. While even the team commented that they weren't improving very much as recently, current results seem to indicate that they have finally turned the corner as a five man team. What makes this team so strong is that they can call on any of the three main laners to carry if necessary. Zorozero was nigh unkillable on Shyvana during their match against Reason Gaming. He lived in RG’s backline, but then mid laner Nukeduck stepped up on Fizz to blow opponents to pieces. They all play statistical second fiddle to Freeze, the NiP AD Carry. Freeze tops KDA for the tournament, holds fourth in GPM, and has the third highest gold per game (GPG).
All four teams meet with momentum at the forefront of their minds. Who will come out on top? Tune in on Thursday and Friday to find out, and be sure to swing by
Lolesports.com for all the information regarding these matches as well as the upcoming Challenger Playoffs.
Related Article