The Lions' Jungler carried his team to the finals
Our LEC Playoffs MVP: MAD Elyoya
MAD Lions fought through the lower bracket, playing three series in three days. He did not win the final, but we think their jungler Javier "Elyoya" Prades Batalla is the MVP of the weekend.
It has been a while since MAD Lions fans had a playoff to look forward to. The team did not win a single Best of Five series all of last year, and the loss to G2 Esports in the groups did not inspire confidence. However, the Lions rallied and defeated Astralis to earn their place in the playoffs. There, they defeated the season's big surprise SK Gaming in a five-game slugfest and turned around the series against KOI to ensure they would have their rematch against G2 Esports. They did not win it, but for his performances throughout the weekend, we consider MAD's jungler Elyoya the MVP of the playoffs.
Elyoya only joined the Lions in 2021, replacing their previous jungler Zhao "shad0w" Zhi-Qiang. By then, he had already made a name for himself as a rising star on the ERL Team Movistar Riders and wowed fans at the 2020 EU Masters. He took to the LEC like a fish to water, becoming rookie of the split in his debut season and making a splash at the 2021 MSI in Iceland. While there were rumors tying him to several big names on both sides of the Atlantic, he remains on the MAD Lions roster - and this playoff shows he's as good as ever. After their loss to G2 Esports in the group, MAD Lions went on a big winning streak to earn their spot in the finals - and Elyoya was often leading the charge.
The Spanish jungler had to run the gauntlet to help MAD recapture the LEC title. He ended up playing a total of 12 games against three different teams in three consecutive days, but overall, he gave a great account of himself. He had very strong performances on Elise, Vi and Sejuani, helping his team start the fighs the right way with good engages and strong early presence. The last game of the G2 series saw him deliver a standout game on Wukong in the early game, as well. Overa a total of 6 wins and 6 losses, Elyoya maintained a KDA of 3.54, and often the impact her had on the early map was much bigger than this score indicated.
- Embark on a journey to visual perfection with the Samsung Odyssey G4 Gaming Monitor
| Game | Kills | Deaths | Assists |
Game 1 vs SK Gaming: Elise | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Game 2 vs SK Gaming: Vi | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Game 3 vs SK Gaming: Vi | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| Game 4 vs SK Gaming: Gragas | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Game 5 vs SK Gaming: Elise | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Game 1 vs KOI: Gragas | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Game 2 vs KOI: Vi | 6 | 2 | 16 |
| Game 3 vs KOI: Sejuani | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Game 4 vs KOI: Vi | 9 | 3 | 11 |
| Game 1 vs G2 Esports: Gragas | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Game 2 vs G2 Esports: Sejuani | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Game 3 vs G2 Esports: Wukong | 10 | 7 | 3 |
Read More:
- G2 Esports Are The LEC Winter Champions
- Our LEC MVP for Groups Week 2: G2 Hans Sama
- G2 Defeat KOI in the LEC Winners Bracket
The LEC will return next Saturday with the kickoff games of hte Spring Split. Will MAD Lions remain among the top teams of the EMEA region or would we see another big surprise? Follow us to find out?