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Introduction
Hello there fellow LEC fans! Welcome to the second instalment in our series of articles covering the LEC Winter Split and our Fantasy Tournament!
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. That means spoilers are up ahead. If you’re still catching up on the VODs, be warned!
Fantasy Leaderboards
Out of just over 2500 participants, daltaop is currently in the lead with an impressive score of 185.4. This is more than 50 points higher than the current average score of 130.6. daltaop can thank G2 Esports' Yike, his captain, for earning him a whopping 60.2 points this week.
Top Player In Each Role During Week 1
Current LEC Standings
3-0
3-0
2-1
2-1
1-2
1-2
1-2
1-2
1-2
0-3
The newly formed KOI had some fantastic games on Saturday and Sunday, beating XL and BDS, but they lost to Fnatic on Monday. They are sitting at 2-1 alongside the MAD Lions, who lost only to the dominating Team Vitality. The rest of the teams are currently sitting at 1-2, some showing great potential and hinting at better scores in the future.
Astralis is the only team that did not manage to grab a win, and they are sitting at 0-3 right now. While this sucks, it's worth noting that Astralis had a particularly difficult week of match-ups. They played Team Heretics on Saturday, the MAD Lions on Sunday, and G2 Esports on Monday. This next week will be a better indication of what's to come in this split for Astralis.
Day 1 Recap
The first game of the LEC Winter Split was a match-up between G2 Esports and EXCEL. G2 is one of the favourites to win the split, whereas XL has had mixed success in the league, so odds were stacked against them. It was XL, though, who managed to snag First Blood, killing G2's new jungler Yike in their jungle. Shortly after, however, G2 equalised the score by getting a kill on Hans Sama in the bot lane. After that, G2 maintained a steady leady in kills and gold so that by the 25th minute mark, they were ahead by 4 kills and 8000 gold. The game was over 5 minutes after that, with G2 13000 gold ahead of XL. All in all, XL showed some fire, but they were no match for G2 Esports.
Next up were KOI versus Team BDS. KOI was the expected winner, as the team consists of four former Rogue teammates, and Rogue had won the last LEC split. Team BDS, on the other hand, doesn't have the greatest LEC track record. As both teams drafted relatively tanky comps, this game was going to be less explosive than the last. KOI's Malrang grabbed First Blood in the top lane, though things slowed down after that.
By the 20th minute mark, both teams were still relatively even, though KOI had a gold advantage thanks to an incredibly early Baron Nashor. Though this gold advantage stayed on KOI's side, Team BDS started to take some great fights and ended up leading in kills by the 25th minute mark. Team BDS was gearing to capitalise on their lead when KOI managed to steal Nashor from them. With Baron-imbued minions, KOI stormed BDS's base and took the win.
Astralis and Team Heretics faced off next. Both of these teams had something to prove. Team Heretics has no history on the LEC, and they're coming in today to show the fans what they can do. Astralis, on the other hand, has had a very bad history on the LEC, generally ending in the bottom three. Astralis started off hot, grabbing First Blood at the upper Scuttle, taking the Dragon bot side, and snagging two more kills in the upper River once more.
The two teams clashed then and exchanged kills, but by the 20th minute mark, Astralis was still, ever so slightly, in the lead, gold and kill wise. As usual, a Baron fight is what sparked change. While Astralis managed to take Nashor, they lost three members and the Infernal Dragon soul in turn. Astralis failed to properly use their Baron buff, and before long, it was Team Heretics who nabbed Nashor. Astralis needed to stop the Baron buffed Team Heretics from grabbing the Elder Drake as well, but this team fight was a catastrophe for them. Having aced them, Team Heretics didn't bother with the Elder, and just took their base instead.
MAD Lions and SK Gaming took to the stage next. Though MAD did not have the best Summer Split, they were the favourites to win considering their past success and their new roster with Carzzy and Hylissang bot lane. First Blood was achieved by MAD Elyoya, though they lost Hylissang in trade. After that, it was quiet. There were no new kills before the 17th minute mark, though MAD did maintain a small gold lead. The lead didn't expand until about the 20th minute mark, when MAD got three kills in quick succession and then nabbed the Baron Nashor. Things quickly snowballed after that and SK Gaming lost control of the game entirely.
The final game of the day was going to be a spicy one - Fnatic versus Team Vitality. Again, both of these teams had much to prove. Team Vitality has been trying to take off with their "superteam" roster for the past year, whereas Fnatic has been in a slump for several Splits, and now hope to reclaim glory with Rekkles back in their orange colours. Bo, Team Vitality's new jungler, aggressively ganked bot lane right after grabbing Red Buff, killing Fnatic's bot laner. The two teams were about equal by the 10th minute mark, with a slight gold lead in favour of Fnatic.
However, by the 15th, Vitality led in kills 5 to 2, with the five kills being split between Bo and VIT Photon in the top lane. Fnatic kept fighting, and by the 25th minute mark, they were in the lead, with three Dragons to their name. A minute later, they secured the Dragon Soul, and it looked like that would be it for Vitality. It all changed when Fnatic engaged Baron Nashor just before the 30th minute mark. FNC secured the Nashor, but the ensuing teamfight went terribly for them, with Bo grabbing three kills, while Photon and Perkz killed Rekkles and fended off Wunder. It only took one more successful teamfight for Team Vitality to storm FNC's base and win the game against all the odds.
Day 2 Recap
The Sunday games started off with a game between SK Gaming and Team BDS. Neither team managed to snag a win on Saturday, so the pressure was on. First Blood was secured by Team BDS, who thereafter maintained a subtle gold lead until the 10th minute mark. Though the score was equal, SK had a small gold lead, and BDS had a Cloud Drake to their name. By 20 minutes, Team BDS re-established their lead, but the gold was still very close, and SK was by no means out yet.
By the 30th minute mark, SK and BDS were nearly completely equal across the board, and it was still anyone's game. Team BDS finally established a strong lead after laying claim the Baron Nashor. By 35 minutes, they were ahead by 3000 gold and looking to grab the Drake soul. Just as the Mountain Drake spawned, a fight broke out and BDS claimed two... then three... then four kills. They decided to play it safe though, and waited for the Elder Drake. About 4 minutes before it spawned, another fight broke out mid lane and BDS managed to ace SK, push mid lane, and snag their first win!
Astralis failed to secure the win against Team Heretics on Saturday, but they showed a lot of potential and had some great team plays. MAD Lions, on the other hand, won rather decidedly against SK Gaming. Like yesterday, Astralis started off well. AST Finn took First Blood in the top lane, solo killing MAD Lions' Chasy. However, MAD Lions quickly established a lead after that. By 15 minutes, MAD had secured two Drakes, and racked up four kills, whereas Astralis stagnated. By 25, Astralis managed to score some kills onto Finn and 113, but MAD Lions had three Drakes, three towers, and a 3k gold lead. In just one minute, the scoreboard changed drastically. MAD Lions nabbed four more kills, bringing them up to 10 versus Astralis' 3, and secured Soul Drake. After that, MAD Lions took Nashor, pushed mid, and got the win.
Both Team Vitality and Team Heretics came into Saturday with a win, though both wins were hard fought. First Blood was taken by Bo and Perkz in the mid lane, though TH Jankos and TH Mersa were hot on their trail and got two kills in return. Things were calm for a while before a huge team fight erupted at the 11th minute mark in bot lane. Initially, the Heretics were planning a four man gank bot lane, but before they could execute it, four members of Team Vitality found themselves on that side of the map too. Mersa engaged, and the two teams exchanged blows. TH nabbed two kills, but ultimately Team Vitality won the team fight and grabbed Drake.
By 15 minutes, the two teams were equal in kills, though Vitality was up about 2000 gold. The next big fight happened as the Chemtech Drake spawned, and, once again, the powerful teamfight of Braum, Sejuani, Azir got Vitality a win. By 25 minutes, Vitality was totally in control, with their two main carries having 6 and 5 kills respectively. One last team fight in the top lane sealed the win for Team Vitality.
EXCEL had a tough game on Saturday against G2 Esports, but they still had a chance to prove themselves this week. KOI on the other hand scored a nice win on Team BDS. KOI drafted Kalista and Soraka in the bot lane, which seemed unusual but ended up working beautifully. Trymbi played an impressive, aggressive Soraka and grabbed a double kill for First Blood. By 10 minutes, in spite of not getting any more kills. KOI was ahead by 2000 gold and kept a steady advantage. By 20 minutes, however, XL managed to score some kills - Odoamne grabbing a double kill bot lane - and take Cloud Drake, equalising the scoreboard and gold. The next big fight wouldn't happen until KOI started making moves on Baron Nashor. XL interfered, and took down Malrang, but Larssen, Szygenda, and Comp took down everyone else. After that ace, it was easy for KOI to nab the Nashor. The game would go on for 40 minutes, but it all came down to that moment. KOI got control of the game after that team fight and never let it go.
Everyone loves watching G2 Esports and Fnatic duke it out, and this Split we didn't have to wait long for this match-up to happen. G2 Esports had a dominating performance on day one, whereas Fnatic had a great game that slipped away from them in the last few moments. How would they fare against each other? Many were expecting a nailbiter, but those people were very mistaken. Hans Sama picked his signature pocket pick - Draven - and went to town on Fnatic. With the help of G2 Yike, Hans and Mikyx grabbed not only First Blood, but three kills in quick succession before the 5th minute mark. By 10 minutes, Draven had three kills, and was about 40 CS ahead of Rekkles. G2 Esports was ahead by 4000 gold. At the 20th minute mark, G2 secured Dragon, and was leading in gold by over 10000. The game was quick, G2 Esports winning before the clock striked 25 minutes.
Day 3 Recap
As of 2023, every week in the LEC is superweek, and we get to enjoy a third round of games on Monday. The first game was between Team Heretics and SK Gaming. SK lost both of their games on Saturday and Sunday, but they had to play MAD Lions and Team Vitality, who were looking very strong. Team Heretics wouldn't be easy to defeat either, though. As Evi proved when he took First Blood in a 1v2 top lane. This kill turned into a double kill when Jankos stopped by to help. In the bot lane, though, Exakick's Zeri took their first kill.
By 10 minutes, the teams were tied, with SK in a slight lead due to an extra kill and a slain Infernal. SK kept up the pressure, taking the second Drake, and putting more kills on Zeri. At 23 minutes into the game, Heretics grabbed Baron Nashor, equalising the gold difference and taking more control over the game in spite of the kill disparity. SK Gaming stayed cool and collected, however, and continued to stack kills on Exakick. Eventually, they took Baron Nashor, and stormed Heretics' base, earning their first win of the Split.
Next up, XL was looking to get their first win as well, and they had to beat Team BDS to do it. First Blood was taken by Crownie, thanks to Labrov's perfect Lux Q. Xerxe helped the XL bot lane take back some control by ganking a minute later, which Labrov and Crownie were still missing Flash. In the meantime, both BDS Adam and nuc got kills on their respective enemy laners. BDS continued to maintain a steady lead over the next 20 minutes. However, though behind in kills and gold, XL managed to maintain full control over the Drakes, and to secure the Hextech Dragon Soul at the 30th minute mark.
It all came down to a fight at the Elder Dragon. BDS was ahead in kills 12-4 and 2000 gold up, but XL managed to outmanoeuvre them in the Dragon pit, kill nuc and Sheo, and get the Elder Dragon. BDS managed to defend their base, but the game was much closer now. XL grouped up and took down each of BDS' inhibitors then, before finishing them off while the Aspect of the Dragon was still up.
Astralis had a tough weekend, and they had to face G2 Esports now. G2 sported an unusual draft, with BrokenBlade on Karma, Caps on Zac, and Mikyx on Ashe support. First Blood was secured by AST 113 in the mid lane (3/3 on the First Blood count for Astralis!), though this kill was paid for with the lives of both 113 and Dajor. Caps and Yike both snowballed hard after those two kills, and by the 15th minute, both players had 3 kills. By 20, Caps had five kills on his mid lane Zac. Though Astralis had a few nice picks, they had no answer to Caps' incredibly fed Zac. G2 started taking objective after objective, and finally took down the Nexus at the 24th minute mark.
Fnatic was down 0-2 and really wanted to get their first win on the board. However, KOI had a great weekend and were looking to get a win streak. First Blood was secured by Malrang in the bot lane, but Razork reacted quickly and the FNATIC bot lane took Trymbi down as revenge. Malrang didn't stop there, and by the 10th minute mark, he had racked up 3 kills and 2 assists, putting KOI at a 4000 gold advantage.
They held a steady lead for another 15 minutes before Fnatic stole Baron Nashor from KOI and won the ensuing team fight. After Baron, it was FNC who held a 4000 gold lead. Furthermore, FNC had been controlling the Drakes all game, and were about to take Mountain Soul. The fight at Drake pit went terribly for KOI, who lost another team fight and the Soul as well. After this, KOI lost any control they had left over the game, and FNC scored their first win this Split.
MAD Lions and Vitality had both been undefeated, but one team had to give. This game started hot, with Bo grabbing First Blood, and MAD Lions getting two kills in return before the 4th minute elapsed. By 10 minutes, Bo had 3 kills to his name, and Perkz's Azir racked up 4. These two fed playmakers spelled disaster for MAD Lions. The MAD team had a few good skirmishes, and Carzzy in particular was doing well, but the 9 kill Azir proved too difficult to manage, and Vitality kept their win streak alive in the end.
Week 2 Preview
Conclusion
That concludes our week 1 recap and our week 2 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. A huge thank you to Silverman who helped me craft this article, and gave me lots of inspiration from when he covered Worlds.