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Group Stage Format Preview |
The 8 teams qualified for the group stage have been drawn into 2 groups as seen below. Each team will have to win 2 series in order to advance to the playoff stage. There is the safety net of lower bracket, so losing your first match still gives you a chance at making it through. All matches are Bo3s, similar to the LCK and LPL. Drafting becomes more important and being able to adapt quickly will be key to advance to the final stage. Every single game has high-stakes, so prepare for some exciting matches!
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Group Stage Week 1 Preview |
| Group A - Match 1 |
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Team Vitality
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VS
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Team Heretics
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After securing first place during the regular season, Vitality now faces Heretics in the first Bo3. While Vitality is the clear favourite in this matchup, both teams have alternated good gameplay with shakier moments. On one hand Vitality has the better players on paper, but their lategame macro has been somewhat lackluster at times. Not too worrysome considering their Korean and Chinese player still learning English and adjusting. On the other hand Heretics' laning has been rough, but their midgame teamfighting and decision making has been solid, probably thanks to veteran Jankos leading this squad.
| Players to Watch |
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TOPLANE
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Photon
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$212
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JUNGLE
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Bo
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$208
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TOPLANE
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Evi
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$201
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JUNGLE
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Jankos
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$201
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Both teams have a similar focal point; their topside. Photon, former T1 trainee, has been stellar on his carry play. Especially his amazing
Gwen has dragged Vitality across the finish line more than once. Additionally, (and surprising no one), Bo has been crucial to Vitality's early game successes. His play has been very consistent so far. And don't let 2 high-death Vi games fool you, he will do whatever's necessary for his team to win.In a Heretics roster that united veterans and young talent, it have been the experienced members that have stepped up the most so far. Former DFM icon Evi has been looking like one of the best
K'Sante players worldwide. And with 6 solo kills already he makes top 3 in the entire league. Crucial in his success is how Evi and Jankos have been working together quite well. The GOAT EU jungler has been showing he still has what it takes to perform at the top level. Heretics stands or falls with Jankos' early game plays, but with his signature Sejuani being meta, he has been popping off.| Group A - Match 2 |
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SK Gaming
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VS
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KOI
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Before the season started, KOI was expected to be one of our top teams once again, while most had low expectations of this SK roster. But oh how the tables have turned... After a rocky start, SK found their footing, taking down top teams G2, Vitality and... KOI in a single week. Meanwhile a KOI that retained 4 players of their LEC-winning roster has looked a little lost. Perhaps the loss of Odoamne's leadership has impacted them more than expected.
If the regular season has been anything to go by, SK might actually be favourites here, although the young squad might have a hard time against the seasoned KOI roster.
| Players to Watch |
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JUNGLE
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Markoon
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$191
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BOTLANE
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Exakick
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$204
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MIDLANE
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Larssen
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$215
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BOTLANE
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Comp
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$211
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Let's start by stressing how well SK is playing as a whole. Any of their 5 players could have been rightfully featured here. But the first name in our notes has obviously been Exakick. The 19 year old ADC just came into the LEC from the LFL. Those who follow the regional leagues knew how strong and important he was on a dominant LDLC team. And luckily he has continued that form in the big league. He has been a top 3 ADC across about any stats and absolutely crucial to SK's success. And in order for Exakick to carry, there is Markoon to set him up. The Dutch jungler has quickly risen as a very promising player over his tenure with XL and with his proactive gameplay he has been leading the charge for SK.
On the other side of the rift we have an inconsistent, but still insanely talented roster. Especially their main carries Larssen and Comp are excellent players. Larssen is Mr. Consistent, not the most flashy player but an absolute rock in the midlane that will do well in lane and be a reliable carry lategame. Down in the botlane they have Greek God Comp aka 'Kite Machine' and known for his pentakills. The meta should still suit him as well. His
Lucian and Caitlyn are excellent.| Group B - Match 1 |
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MAD Lions
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VS
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Astralis
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MAD Lions were seen as somewhat of a wildcard earlier, but they have definitely gone above and beyond expectations. Carzzy and Hylissang look revitalized compared to last split, Chasy made a great debut, Elyoya is great as always and Nisqy is in the form of his life. They are clear favourites vs Astralis, who weren't even expected to make it into the Bo3 stage. It's not that they aren't talented, but there were lots of question marks regarding 113 and Dajor. For a while it looked really bad, although their performances often looked more hopeful than results would indicate. Fortunately, with their backs against the wall their luck finally turned around to make it into the group stage. MAD are clear favourites here, but Astralis has nothing to lose. Another upset incoming?
| Players to Watch |
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JUNGLE
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Elyoya
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$205
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MIDLANE
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Nisqy
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$209
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TOPLANE
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Finn
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$188
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SUPPORT
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JeongHoon
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$182
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There is no way to talk about MAD without mentioning Elyoya. Since joining the Spanish organisation in 2021, the jungler has been one of the best in the league and a natural leader both in and outside the game. Once again Elyoya looks like a top 2 jungler in the LEC, and his play has been crucial to MAD's success so far. And if there is one midlaner that can facilitate his jungler, it has to be Nisqy. But even though the Belgian has been playing for a long time, he still steadily continues to improve. This split so far he has shown more and stronger carry style play than we're used of him, with a pentakill vs Heretics as the cherry on top.
The Astralis topside looked shaky early on, as it took some time for Finn to adjust in his new team. However, with some immaculate performances in the last few games he put his team on his back. Especially his
Gangplank game against SK was a spectacular carry performance in a game that looked doomed from the start. On the other side of the map Astralis is lucky to have a fairly consistent bot duo. Both Kobbe and JeongHoon have had a solid season so far, but it's especially the latter who has had some moments of brilliance. His Nami play in particular is among the best. And the Korean prodigy is only set to improve further.| Group B - Match 2 |
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G2 Esports
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VS
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Team BDS
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G2 vs BDS might be one of the most interesting upcoming matches. This new G2 lineup has looked incredibly dominant at times, but still vulnerable at others. Their creative drafting can be a valuable asset, but they can also take it too far and lose the game before it even started. Either way, it is entertaining to watch. Facing off against Europe's titans, we have BDS, who surprised many people. Last year BDS never really found their footing, but this year's roster changes have worked out well for them. BDS now has to prove that their good run wasn't a one off as they take on G2 Esports.
| Players to Watch |
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JUNGLE
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Yike
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$214
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SUPPORT
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Mikyx
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$195
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TOPLANE
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Adam
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$206
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BOTLANE
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Crownie
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$205
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The departure of Jankos marked the end of an era at G2, but Yike has been filling those shoes quite nicely. Although it's his first split in the LEC, he has been playing great from the get-go, racking up high KDAs along the way. His profficiency on carry junglers is very interesting to see in a meta dominated by facilitators. And G2 is more than willing to play around him. Especially Mikyx has played an important role in creating the space for Yike to take over games. Famously one of the best supports Europe has ever produced, Mikyx has recently shown some of his best form again. Right now he forms a strong duo alongside Hans Sama, and their lane kingdom then opens up the map for Yike (and Caps).
BDS brought back familiar faces with Adam and Crownie (formerly known as Crownshot). Toplaner Adam is known for his unique bruiser/juggernaut heavy champion pool and aggressive playstyle. In the right situations he can pull out things like
Darius or Olaf and absolutely take over games, as seen during his brief stint on Fnatic in 2021. Nowadays Adam has further improved his play and the current meta suits him perfectly. Addtionally former Vitality botlane Crownie & Labrov have been reunited on BDS and are on fire. They have been a stable rock for the team while facilitating Adam's volatility. But they're not just playing weakside, netting them 2v2 kills vs the likes of even Comp & Trymbi. Crownie has been BDS most consistent carry so far, with great KDAs to prove it.|
Conclusion |
That concludes our Regular Season recap, and our Group Stage 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! If you’ve previously used a sell token, know that you now have a new one as a new stage has begun.
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.
Thanks to @ Jovy for the signature!
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Introduction
Hello LEC fans! With Week 3 coming to a close last weekend, we've officially made it past the regular season of LEC's Winter Split. Coming into this weekend, we're going to be entering the Group Stage.
These games are sure to be twice as exciting, as we will be switching from watching best-of-one matches to best-of-threes. Furthermore, two of the worst performing teams have been eliminated, which, combined with the best-of-three format, is a sure recipe for more exciting and more competitive games to come.
Before we're ready to watch though, we've got a chance to update our fantasy rosters! Before the new stage begins, you have a chance to wipe your entire roster and start anew. Naturally, with EXCEL and Fnatic out of contention, all of their players are now out of the player pool for your fantasy team. You can also keep going with your current roster, and make minor changes such as possibly changing captains. Whatever you'd like to do, now's your chance to make these changes!
Fantasy Leaderboards
Our previous two first place krabydee is now fourth, whereas Week 1's daltaop has shot back up to second place. But, a new challenger has entered the fray! Week 3's highest point earner is BloomBB, who currently has a total of 527.8 points, which is 171 points higher than the average.
Top Player In Each Role During Week 3
Overall Top Player In Each Role
Current LEC Standings
7-2
7-2
6-3
6-3
5-4
4-5
4-5
3-6
2-7
1-8
Day 1 Recap
The first game of the final weekend of the Regular Season featured Astralis versus SK Gaming. SK was coming off a 3-0 week whereas Astralis had won their first game just days ago. Astralis really needed to win this game to have any hope of securing the Group Stage, so the pressure was on. SK's bot lane scored First Blood onto JeongHoon after a thrilling 2v2 fight that nearly went into AST's advantage. SK's bot side continued to do very well and by 10 minutes, Lucian was 1k gold ahead of the enemy Ezreal, whereas SK as a whole had a 2k gold lead. The gold gap widened gradually, and by 25 minutes, SK Gaming secured Nashor and were 5k gold ahead.
Astralis was still in the game though, and the two teams were tied in Dragons. SK was set to get their fifth win in a row when everything changed as the teams headed towards Baron at minute 33. Finn is able to burst down the enemy LeBlanc before she's a problem, and the rest of Astralis clean up, taking down both the enemy ADC and jungler. With no Smite available, Astralis advance towards the Baron, secure the buff, and gain nearly 6k gold in the process. One more great fight in SK's base was all that was needed for Astralis to win, and keep their hopes of Group Stage alive.
Next up was a match between EXCEL and Team Heretics. This was a very important match for XL who have at that point only managed to win one single game, and were dangerously close to being eliminated from the rest of the Split. Unfortunately, TH was not going to go easy on them. First Blood was taken by Jackspektra's Draven when Jankos ganked the bot side around 4 minutes, just moments after the bot laners had hit level three. Two kills on Draven so early usually spells disaster for his opponent, and it definitely did in this case. By 15 minutes, Draven had 5 kills and 3.6k gold ahead of the Varus. Vetheo did keep XL in the game though, having racked up 4 kills of his own.
Everything changed by the 20th minute mark, however. Between 15 and 20 minutes, Draven was able to obtain 6 more kills, and with the slaying of Baron Nashor, TH was now 10k gold ahead of XL. EXCEL could not deal with the Draven who was, by the end of the game, 10k gold ahead of his bot laner opponent, and Heretics took the win.
G2 and BDS were tied 4-2 and both could still be looking to end the Regular Season in the top two, and earn the right to choose their opponents in the Group Stage. BDS' bot lane scored First Blood as soon as the laners hit level three. What started as an excellent engage by Mikyx and Hans Sama turned into one of the most exciting bot lane 2v2s so far in the Split, and ended with Crownie and Labrov securing two kills thanks to phenomenal play. They continued to show up, and, mirroring the game before, Crownie had 5 kills by 10 minutes and was only getting stronger. The rest of BDS weren't doing quite as well, however, while G2's other laners started to stack kills. By 29 minutes, G2 had taken two Nashors and two Drakes, and was firmly in the lead. Two minutes later, G2 was able to win one last fight and take the Nexus.
Like EXCEL, Fnatic was also precariously close to being eliminated in the Regular Season, and they needed to win this next match against MAD Lions, who were gunning for top two. Razork went for an early game skirmish that got him one kill, but MAD Lions got two on Nisqy's Cassiopeia. In the bot lane, Carzzy and Hylissang secured a kill on Yuumi, giving the Lions an early 1.5k gold lead over Fnatic. The gold lead continued to grow, and MAD Lions had 12 kills by 15 minutes, two Drake, and an 8k gold lead. The two biggest problems were incredibly strong solo laners on MAD Lions as well as excellent objective control. As soon as Baron spawned, it was taken by the Lions. Imbued by Baron, the MAD Lions took down two inhibitors and then finally the Nexus as well.
With the close of Week 2, Team Vitality was the only team to have secured their spot in the Group Stage. If Vitality could keep first place, they'd be the top seed and able to choose their opponents for the Group Stage. Their first game of Week 3 was against KOI. While KOI had been underperforming all Split, they were still the reigning champions, and unlike Vitality, they still had a lot to prove. The game started slow, and First Blood wasn't secured until Malrang and Larssen decided to roam top together and dive Photon alongside their top laner Szygenda. They succeeded in taking down the Gnar, but Perkz Teleported in and traded one kill back.
By 20 minutes, KOI held a significant lead, however. They were only 2k gold ahead, but they had three Drakes to their name and Vitality had none. Moreover, Trymbi's Enchanted Crystal Arrows were able to single-handedly get KOI many advantages, particularly in the form of killing the dangerous LeBlanc before they could react. KOI secured the win just before they were able to snag the Elder Drake as well. Team Vitality lost Perkz to another perfect Ashe ultimate and the rest of the team couldn't beat the full might of KOI. Instead of taking Drake, KOI took Vitality's base.
Day 2 Recap
After EXCEL's loss on Saturday, they needed to win against SK in order to have any chance of making it past the Regular Season. SK lost to Astralis on Saturday, but only narrowly, and they have still won 4 out of the last 5 games, so this was sure to be a tough match for XL. In spite of the stakes, XL tried something spicy, drafting Yasuo bot lane with Senna, to play against the very meta Zeri and Yuumi duo. First Blood was secured top side, however, as Xerxe ganked Irrelevant before he even hit level three. Not much happened after that, but XL held a steady 2-3k gold lead for the rest of the early game.
Things changed drastically when XL started to take Baron at 27 minutes, and Markoon was able to walk up to the pit and steal it. Not only did XL lose Baron, they also lost 4 members in the ensuing fight. With just the one fight, SK raked in nearly 7k gold, and two kills on their carry. This lead exploded, granting SK two Inhibitors, then Chemtech Soul, then a second Baron Nashor, and finally XL's Nexus. With that loss, EXCEL was eliminated from the rest of the Winter Split.
Next up, Team BDS faced off against Team Vitality, both teams still hopeful to reach top two of the Regular Season, and both teams coming off a loss the day before. In the middle of a prolonged top lane skirmish, Sheo grabbed First Blood onto Bo, who unluckily failed to Vi Q over a wall to safety. Twenty minutes in, the scoreboard was confusing indeed. BDS had 7 kills to Vitality's 0, but Vitality was 3k gold ahead due to their excellent objective control, having destroyed 4 of BDS' turrets.
Vitality earned their first kill only at the 24th minute, as Photon killed Adam in BDS' jungle after BDS managed to steal Vitality's Drake. Photon snowballed then, earning four more kills within the next 10 minutes. Vitality managed to snag more and more kills, but, more importantly, they kept up with their Drake control and they secured Elder Drake at 42 minutes. BDS couldn't hold back the Photon's 8 kill Gwen, and Team Vitality took the Nexus.
Team Heretics took on MAD Lions next. Jankos was punished early on when he tried to steal Elyoya's raptors. Nisqy and Elyoya collapsed on him, and Vi took First Blood onto Jankos. The early game ended with no significant gold or kill leads, and each team having one Drake under their belts. TH secured a double kill bot side and then advanced for Baron at the 20th minute mark, securing it, but losing their mid laner in the process. With that, TH took more control of the game, and, although MAD Lions secured Ocean Soul, TH stayed in the lead and secured a second Baron Nashor six minutes later.
They pushed mid, grabbing the Inhibitor and one of the two Nexus turrets. Before they could grab the next one and end it all, Nisqy respawned. Alongside Carzzy and Elyoya, Nisqy's Sylas took down one... then two... three... four, FIVE members of Team Heretics, earning himself a Pentakill. After that, MAD Lions were suddenly in control, and they wasted no time charging TH's base and taking the win.
Astralis and Fnatic faced off next, both teams being 2-5 at the time and both skirting on the edge of elimiation. The first fight broke out in the bot side of Fnatic's jungle, as 113 was trying and succeeding in stealing Razork's Grump. Both bot lanes and junglers found themselves in this small part of the jungle and two Flashes and a fantastic Bubble Prison from JeongHoon later Razork was killed by 113.
The game slowed down then, but the early game ended with most of the Astralis' members having a slight gold lead over their opponents, except for Dajor who was 1k behind Azir at the 15th minute mark. This tiny lead exploded just a couple minutes later, however, as Astralis contested Fnatic's attempt to take the Cloud Drake. AST managed to kill four members of Fnatic, grab the Dragon, and stack three kills onto Kobbe. Shortly thereafter, they also took down Baron Nashor. 23 minutes in, AST had a 5k gold lead, Cloud Soul, and were gearing to assault Fnatic's base. With this win, Astralis was now 3-5 and ever closer to making it to the Group Stage, whereas FNC would have to hope for a tiebreaker to keep them in the Split.
The final Sunday game was between G2 Esports and KOI. While G2 was still hoping to end in the top two, KOI was not yet locked into the top 8 teams and could still theoretically miss out on Groups. With that in mind, Malrang ganked mid lane early on and secured First Blood for Larssen. G2 took on a slight lead by 10 minutes, after an excellent kill bot lane from Mikyx and Hans, and a Cloud Drake secured by Yike. By 15 minutes, however, the small leads KOI had in the top and mid lane were quashed as G2 continued to rack up kills, farm, and neutral objectives. G2 solidified their lead after an excellent team fight in the top side of KOI's jungle, wherein BrokenBlade grabbed a double kill and G2 aced KOI. It didn't take long for G2 to turn that won team fight into a Baron and, eventually, a won game.
Day 3 Recap
The last day of the Regular Season still had some spicy match-ups, but BDS vs TH was one of the few games with lower stakes. Both teams had secured Groups and neither team would be in the top two. The first fight happened before minions spawned, as a 5v5 fight erupted in the bot lane, costing each team a couple of Flashes and Ruby his life. Though they lost First Blood, TH took control of the game in the early game, getting 1k gold ahead by 10 minutes. BDS closed the lead by 15, however, and both teams had about an equal amount of kills, gold, and Dragons as we entered mid game.
At 27 minutes, Heretics were up 4 gold, had destroyed 6 turrets and just took down an inhibitor. But, just as they were planning on gracefully exiting BDS' base, a fight ensued in the bot lane. Labrov shot out an Ashe ultimate that was meant for Mersa. He flashed, and the arrow unfortunately hit Jackspektra instead. Sheo capitalised with a Cease and Desist onto the stunned Varus, and BDS scored four kills in total, taking Jackspektra down first. With Jankos dead as well, BDS grabbed Baron Nashor, and suddenly found themselves ahead in gold. TH was unable to bounce back, failing to grab the Cloud Soul and losing another Baron Nashor to BDS. After a couple more skirmishes, BDS stormed the TH base and took the win home.
The stakes of the next match were much higher with neither KOI nor Astralis yet managing to lock in Groups. 113 scored First Blood at the 4th minute mark in a solo duel against KOI's jungler in the top side river. The next kill didn't happen until 16 minutes when both teams had one Drake to their names and were equal in gold. In the top lane, KOI's top laner, mid, jungler, and support all roamed up, overwhelming Astralis' top laner and getting a kill onto Larssen.
The next big fight happened mid lane instead, at the 20th minute mark. Malrang initiated, flashing into 113 and Kobbe and activating Cyclone. The rest of AST were quick on the scene, but so was the rest of KOI. In the ensuing 5v5, both Larssen and Comp managed to score double kills, and KOI advanced to Baron. At the end of all that, KOI was 7k gold ahead and poised to grab as many objectives as they wanted. Six minutes later, they secured a second Nashor, stormed Astralis' base, and won the game. Though AST lost in this head to head, they were not eliminated from Groups just yet. KOI on the other hand, secured their spot.
It was Fnatic's turn to secure their spot at Groups, but they needed to beat SK to do it. If they lost this match, Fnatic would be eliminated, and AST would lock in top 8 instead. With stakes that high, Razork navigated mid lane as soon as his ultimate was up, and took First Blood onto Sertuss. In spite of this promising start, Fnatic were behind 2k gold by 15 minutes, as SK was able to snag Rift Herald, two Drakes, and two turrets to Fnatic's nill. The first of the more impactful team fights occurred at the 22nd minute mark in the mid lane. Wunder managed to isolate Exakick with Camille's The Hextech Ultimatum and FNC took down SK's carry. However, one three-man Gnar ult later and SK Gaming was able to take two kills back, and also secure the Mountain Soul, with Razork being one of the two FNC casualties.
Shortly thereafter, SK was able to secure Baron Nashor as well, losing only Irrelevant in the process. With both the Baron and Mountain Soul at their side, SK was a little too tanky and a little too strong for Fnatic to repel them when they stormed their base at the 28th minute mark. One last skirmish was all that it took for SK to take the win. SK Gaming knocked Fnatic out of the Winter Split, and secured a spot in the top 8 for Astralis.
With the top 8 teams locked in, it was now time to find out which of them were going to be the top 2, and gain the ability to choose their first opponents in the Group Stage. Before the Monday games, MAD Lions, G2 Esports, and Team Vitality were all 6-2, but whether it would be MAD or G2 alongside Vitality in the top 2 was still up in the air. In spite of these stakes, G2 came out with a highly unorthodox draft, with Karma top lane, Kindred in the jungle, and Taliyah support. The first kill of the game did however go to the Taliyah, as Mikyx roamed mid lane to help Caps kill MAD Lions' mid laner.
By 15 minutes, the two teams were even in nearly every way, though G2 had a slight gold advantage. The first team fight of import happened at the 22nd minute mark as Mikyx pushed a Yuumified Sejuani into BrokenBlade and Yike. Elyoya's teammates were close by, and what looked like a quick pick onto the enemy jungler, turned into four deaths for G2 and a lost Baron Nashor. With the Baron buff on each member of the MAD Lions, the team stormed G2's base and took them down before the 25th minute mark.
The final game of the regular season was to be a match between first and last place. There were no stakes to this game, as Vitality was locked into top 2 and XL was eliminated on Sunday. This didn't stop the two teams from giving the fans an entertaining and, frankly, excruciating final game. The was hard-won by Vitality a little bit before the game hit 54 minutes. Though XL managed to secure Cloud Soul and stay ahead in gold and kills by 52 minutes, Vetheo was caught out in the mid lane by Bo's Cease and Desist and this led to XL's doom. So late into the game, Vetheo's death timer was a whopping 76 seconds. This game Vitality more than enough time to push out mid lane, take XL's Inhibitor, and win the game.