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Introduction
Hello LEC fans! Another week has come and gone and we are now approaching the end game of the final LEC Split in 2023. This past weekend of games has determined much, and there are still high stakes abound. While Astralis and Team Vitality have been officially locked out of the Season Finals, and therefore locked out of any possibility to attend Worlds, Fnatic, Team Heretics, Excel, and KOI could still qualify pending the results of the upcoming weekend. Of these four teams, only two more can join G2 Esports, MAD Lions, Team BDS, and SK Gaming in the Season Finals in August.
In this article we'll be going over last week's games, taking a look at the Fantasy leaderboards, and briefly chatting about what we can expect from the games coming up this weekend.
Fantasy Leaderboards
GSON is in the lead this week, with a total of 722.9 points accumulated. GSON has two high-performance G2 members in the top and jungle with one player from three other teams in the other roles - Vetheo, truly a difference-maker for TH in this Split, Noah, who's had an exceptional opening Split in the LEC on Fnatic, and, finally, LIMIT, who, alongside his team, has defeated incredible odds this Split. Congrats to GSON, and let's see if he can go all the way!
Top Player In Each Role During The Past Weekend
Top Player In Each Role Overall
Current Summer Playoffs Bracket Overview
Joining these two teams, and playing tomorrow at 18:00 CEST, we have Team Heretics and Fnatic, who have, respectively, beaten Team BDS and SK Gaming and knocked the two teams out of playoff contention.
This was do or die for Fnatic who, had they lost, would've been out of Season Finals contention due to their low championship points following their very lacklustre Winter and Spring Splits. Even with this low number of points, if Fnatic continue to dominate as they have, and defeat Team Heretics on Friday, they will lock in Season Finals and have a chance at Worlds this year after all. For Heretics, the odds and stakes are the same. They need to defeat Fnatic tomorrow to lock in the Season Finals. For fans of both teams, this will be a tough weekend indeed!
In spite of their losses and the fact that they won't be participating in the playoffs, Team BDS and SK Gaming have both locked in Season Finals thanks to the championship points they've earned over the year. KOI, also locked out of playoffs, still has a chance to join the other LEC teams in the Season Finals, but only if Excel loses their series on Saturday.
This past weekend's results also meant an end to Team Vitality and Astralis' journey in 2023, as both teams have been locked out of Season Finals. We won't be seeing either of these teams before the Winter 2024 Season, and then, they may look like entirely different teams.
Saturday Recap: Group Stage
The first game of the weekend was bound to be a nail-biter. While MAD Lions were struggling greatly this Split after a terrific start, they had a whole heap of championship points they could count on. Fnatic, on the other hand, needed to win for any hope of making it to Worlds. With these stakes in mind, FNC struck first, grabbing First Blood by ganking Chasy very early on in the top lane. Oscarinin pushed his lead, and was 3-0-2 15 minutes in, while on the MAD side, only Nisqy was able to get any sort of lead. 20 minutes in, Fnatic was sitting on a 4k gold lead, had secured both Dragons, and were pushing mid lane with Rift Herald. After winning a fight around mid lane's jungle, FNC was able to secure Baron Nashor, and then they pushed out bot lane as well, never giving MAD Lions a moment to breathe. Though it would take a second Nashor to finish the job, Fnatic took the first game of the series super cleanly and ended things at the 30th minute mark.
Exciting picks abound for game 2, as Trymbi snagged Thresh, Humanoid took Jayce, and MAD drafted Samira and Taliyah bot and mid lane respectively. This Thresh pick truly was a Death Sentence for MAD Lions as Trymbi hooked in Hylissang three minutes in just as Razork had snuck into the lane through the fog of war, and Noah secured First Blood. Unlike the first game, this match had a slower more careful pace, both teams being equal in gold 15 minutes in, though MAD had managed to take both Dragons. The Infernal Drake spawned around the 18th minute mark and both teams were hungry to take it. A fight broke out, as Trymbi hooked Elyoya into his team. Though Hylissang was quick to assist with Magnet Storm, the Vi was killed in moments. Nisqy, however, was able to unleash an incredible amount of AoE damage, and in the end, both Fnatic and MAD lost 4 members, and the Dragon survived it all.
They rolled it back, starting another fight almost instantly at the Dragon Pit, and this time, FNC was able to ace MAD Lions and secure the Infernal. While the game was not over yet, MAD never recovered from that devastating team fight, and they had no answer for what Humanoid became after securing that Quadra Kill at the Dragon pit. After Trymbi was able to catch out Hylissang who was just a little too far from his base, Fnatic easily won a 4v5 and destroyed their Nexus.
Next up, Team Heretics played KOI. Though the stakes weren't quite as dire as they were for Fnatic, both teams really wanted a win here so they could guarantee Season Finals by advancing into playoffs and securing more championship points. With that in mind, game 1 started off veeery slow and patient from both sides, and First Blood didn't happen until 18 and a half minutes in. This was the only kill for another five minutes before things started to get very bloody. Heretics secured the first Infernal Drake, but in the ensuing team fight lost two members and Baron Nashor. KOI took full control of the game and had found themselves at a sudden 6k gold advantage, with six destroyed turrets to TH's one.
The Heretics rallied, taking down three members of KOI as they retreated from an overly-eager push bot lane. These much-needed few kills allows TH to catch up in gold, resulting in another Infernal, and later, Baron Nashor kill. Forty minutes in, it was Team Heretics with a huge gold lead, and four Infernal Dragons to their name. Now, Elder Dragon spawned, and the final team fight of the game alongside it. Malrang separated from his team, waiting behind the Dragon pit patiently to try to steal it, when TH suddenly engaged on the rest of KOI. Flakked was safe to feather away at the KOI lineup, they were quickly aced, and game 1 went to Team Heretics.
With fresh confidence, Team Heretics took control of the early game in the second match of the series. Flakked snagged First Blood 5 minutes in, taking down Advienne after Comp had recalled. Jankos put his focus onto Dragon, and secured the first three Dragons without any fuss from KOI. Twenty minutes in, Heretics, 4k gold ahead of KOI, started Baron Nashor, hoping to take it as smoothly as they had the Dragons. KOI rushed to the scene, but Evi and Mersa were able to keep the enemy away from the Baron Pit, and Jankos and Flakked swiftly took it down. KOI nevertheless initiated, landing an incredible three-man Shockwave, but being unable to deal with Flakked's slipperiness and damage, and they were aced. It would take another Nashor kill before Heretics ended this series 2-0, but there was little KOI could do after that first devastating team fight.
Sunday Recap: Group Stage
In our first series of the day, and the last day of group stage, Fnatic and SK Gaming faced off. The two teams clashed in week 1 of the group stage and SK was able to cleanly defeat Fnatic 0-2. Now, having lost to Excel in the Upper Bracket, SK met Fnatic again for a chance to advance to playoffs. First Blood was secured top lane by Irrelevant after a rather close duel with Oscarinin, and thereafter the Jax was able to start snowballing. Fifteen minutes in, SK was 4 kills to 2, but Fnatic held the gold lead, thanks to excellent Dragon control and a great early game from Razork in particular. By the 20th minute mark, Fnatic had expanded this lead to 4k, and started to make some proactive plays. Razork and Trymbi ambushed Markoon at his red buff, and in the ensuing fight, Fnatic got two, and advanced upon Baron. At that point, it took only a couple more team fights and the Cloud Soul for Fnatic to seal the deal, and win their first game against SK in 2023.
Fnatic weren't about to give Irrelevant the lead he had last game, and Razork pathed top to secure First Blood for Oscarinin 4 minutes in. Having finished his rotation, the FNC jungler made their bot lane too, securing a Double Kill for Noah and setting up two of his carries 7 minutes in. Fifteen minutes into the game, FNC already had a 2k gold advantage, with top and bot having three kills and Humanoid sitting on two as well. Having taken down both of SK's carries, FNC took Nashor 22 minutes in, bumping their gold lead to 8k, and then they engaged on Dragon too. SK knew they had to get on top of Dragon control to have any chance of winning, they contested, and miraculously got three kills, putting Markoon at 6-1 on his Viego. After another great team fight mid lane, it was SK that took Baron Nashor, shrinking the gold lead to just 3k. The fight that sealed it all happened in the mid lane river. Trymbi hooked in Doss, who was separated from his team, and the Rakan was blown up by Humanoid and the rest of FNC: Now 4v5, FNC was able to pounce on SK and ace them, winning the series and securing playoffs.
In the second series of the day, and the final one of the group stage, it was a showdown between Team BDS, last Split's second place, and Team Heretics. While BDS has struggled all Summer, the Heretics have found their footing and then some with their new lineup. BDS was eager to prove they are still the team they were in Summer, and First Blood was secured in the mid lane by Labrov, who roamed up and Flash+hooked Vetheo. Another hook secured another kill as Jankos roamed bot lane but was ambushed by a waiting Nautilus in the tri-bush. Twenty minutes in, BDS was firmly in control, 4k gold ahead with 2 turrets to none, and, having just killed Jankos, they secured Baron as well.
It seemed like this would be the end for Heretics when suddenly they turned everything around. Having chunked out most of BDS' members, TH made the call to go for Baron, even with all of BDS still alive. They managed to secure the objective bounty, and get three kills in the fight that followed. Over the next ten minutes, TH was able to deny BDS the Mountain Soul and stack up 6 kills onto Vetheo, who had done more damage than Crownie and nuc combined. After one more team fight in BDS' base, Heretics were able to end game 1 of this best-of-three.
BDS shrugged that loss off and started off game 2 just as well as the first one, cleanly securing First Blood in the top lane. Heretics took the first Dragon of the game, and a few skirmishes here and there kept the two teams toe to toe.Though this game was a more careful one, Heretics were able to nurse a small lead over the early game, and, 20 minutes, they'd accrued a 3k gold lead by having superior objective control, and a few kills on key carries. In spite of their gold deficit, BDS made for Baron 24 minutes in, and TH was quick to react. In the ensuing fight, both teams lost their ADC and the Baron went unharmed. Twice then was Baron started by Team Heretics, BDS contesting both teams, before TH was able to get a great team fight and take down three of BDS' members. Only then, now 27 minutes in, was Baron killed, and TH pushed the mid lane. It would take one more fight for Team Heretics to ace BDS and take the series 2-0, securing playoffs and keeping their Season Finals dream alive.
Monday Recap: Playoffs
In spite of Excel’s super impressive comeback in Summer, many LEC fans probably expected a swift 3-0 start to the playoff stage. Instead, we got Silver Scrapes and five gruelling games. Game 1, however, did go the way many expected the series to go. G2 secured First Blood in the bot lane, and Caps and Hans Sama proceeded to go on rampages by the 10th minute mark. Twenty minutes in, G2 had achieved nearly an 8k gold lead and aced Excel, opening up the door for Baron. Excel showed some sign of life - they had a few great picks and for a long time they maintained superior Dragon control. However, by the time the game ended, G2 had a whopping 14k gold lead over Excel, and there was absolutely nothing they could do against Hans' 15 kill Kai'Sa.
G2 started game 2 off strongly as well, securing First Blood for BrokenBlade before minions spawned. XL shrugged that minor mistake off and took control of the early game, securing a 2k gold advantage by the 10th minute mark, with the biggest lead going to Peach's Maokai, who found himself all the right ganks. As LIMIT found and caught Caps out in the river, Abbedagge was able to secure his sixth kill of the game and firmly establish himself as a menace for G2 in this match. With so strong a mid laner and a 6k gold lead to their names, Excel felt confident enough to start Baron 20 minutes in. G2 contested, but three went down, including Yike, and Excel's gold lead lept to 8k. A couple more team fights sealed the deal for Excel, as they aced G2 and finished the game in 28 minutes.
The teams were now 1-1 and game 2 didn't really feel like a fluke from Excel, but G2 were still hoping to close the series out in two more games. BrokenBlade especially, as he lunged onto Odoamne and secured a 1v1 kill three minutes in. The game slowed down after that and, fifteen minutes in, G2 nursed a tiny gold lead. Twenty minutes in, through some odd kills and there, G2 expanded that lead to 3k, and a fight was brewing top lane as four members of XL closed in on three members of G2, killing three but losing three in return. A few moments later XL decided to try to sneak away a Baron, and secured it, but they were mowed down by Caps and Hans Sama in the fight that followed. In spite of the Baron kill, XL was aced and those kills that went on Hans Sama would spell doom for them for the rest of the game. A couple of skirmishes later, G2 was able to close out game 3 and get to match point.
G2 sprung into action immediately, with Yike ganking and the G2 bot side diving XL's bot lane just 3 minutes in, though LIMIT was able to take one back with Ignite. Thereafter the early game actually went in favour of XL, who held a small lead 10 minutes in, while G2 maintained Dragon control. As Chemtech spawned 18 minutes in, a fight broke out and went heavily into G2's favour - they were on Soul point and Caps had earned a Double Kill. However, after a mid lane team fight went wrong for G2, XL was able to flip the script, secure Baron Nashor, and find themselves a 2k gold lead. 24 minutes in, XL was able to contest G2 and deny them the Chemtech Soul, securing three kills, and making their way then to the second Nashor of the game. In the fight that followed, G2 was mowed down Patrik's feathers and the few members of the team that remained couldn't hold the base, as XL tied the score and sent us to game 5.
Game 5 started off a bit less explosively than the previous games, and First Blood wasn't secured until players started to hit level 6. However, the action picked up after that, and by the 10th minute mark G2 had secured 5 kills, 4 of them on Yike's Sejuani. Losing out on kills, XL focused on objectives, securing the first three Dragons relatively uncontested, a Rift Herald, and even managing to get away with a pretty safe Baron pick 22 minutes in. With Baron buff at hand, LIMIT initiated a mid lane fight and took down three, opening the door for Chemtech Soul, which they secured 30 minutes in. However, things turned ugly for XL as Odoamne found himself pushing bot lane alone. He was caught out and killed just as Nashor spawned, and G2 advanced upon the objective. XL carefully approached, and were assailed by Hans' long-ranged poke; ultimately two died, and G2 claimed the objective bounty. Elder Dragon spawned next and both teams knew it could seal their fate. Ultimately XL had found that, all of a sudden, this Kog'Maw could not be stopped. After decimating XL in the final fight of the game, G2 pushed their bot lane and ended the series 3-2, securing a spot in the finals.
Finals Weekend Overview
VS
VS
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VS
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Conclusion
That concludes our week 2 recap and our week 3 preview. We hope you'll enjoy this coming weekend of games as much as we will! Remember that there's still a few more hours to update your Captain or use up your sell tokens if you think that a player you have is going to be putting your fantasy team at risk. If one of the top point earners is in your team, consider making them your captain this week! Also keep in mind that while you can switch your Captains between each game day, you only have one single sell token!
Credits go to LoL.fandom Wiki for their collection of player portraits, up-to-date statistics, overviews and all-around fantastic work documenting LoL esports.