0-3 start for Fnatic shows problems remain in the iconic team
Team Vitality and SK Gaming Reign in LEC Opening Week
The LEC 2023 Spring Split has kicked off with a three-day superweek which saw SK Gaming and Team Vitality remain undefeated.
The top teams of the League of Legends EMEA Championship only had a week of rest after the winter finals where G2 Esports regained the cup, before they had to jump back into the fray of the Spring Split. Like the short winter searon, it will feature a single round robin “regular season” followed by the top 8 teams making it into the group stage and fighting for the four playoff spots. While the winter champions remained big favorites, Team Vitality addition of Elias “Upset” Lipp to their roster made fans expect a closely-fought battle. Of course, as the winter season showed, even the supposed underdogs could turn out to have a bite to match their bark…
Day 1: G2 Start Season with a Penta
Day 1 kicked off with a clash between Fnatic and Excel Esports, two teams we had high expectations of before the year but who underperformed in the winter split. And while Excel showed some promising signs, Fnatic’s woes seem to continue as they were completely dominated in the mid-game for a very one-sided loss. Team BDS looked to have a strong showing against SK Gaming, but the German organization came back with great teamfighting and turned the game around.
There was no comeback in the bout between MAD Lions and Team Vitality, however. The Winter finalists messed up an early towerdive and after that the game was completely one-sided. The game between Astralis and KOI proved more contested, but in the end a clutch teamfight for Astralis 27 minutes in saw them take over the game. The last game featured G2 Esports starting their season with a confident win against Team Heretics, who gave Steven “Hans Sama” Liv Draven and paid for it. Despite the heroic efforts of Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski, the G2 AD Carry surged ahead and made a statement 20 minutes in as he got a Pentakill that made it clear just how over the game is.
Day 2: Astralis Upset the Champions
MAD’s woes continued on the second day as despite getting first blood they ended up losing several skirmishes to Team BDS. The underdogs got Baron and exploited a MAD overreach to take over the game and score their first win of the season. Game two saw Team Vitality mount a full court press against Excel. An inspired early Baron kept XL in the game for awhile, but it was not enough to withstand Vitality’s aggression. SK Gaming, meanwhile, clashed with Fnatic and chose to target rookie Óscar "Oscarinin" Muñoz Jiménez. Fnatic tried to launch an advantage in the bottom lane but it was not enough and the top lead and better teamfight coordination resulted in another loss for Fnatic.
G2, fresh from their Saturday win, found Astralis a tough nut to crack. The champions lost several early skirmishes and despite having strong objective control found themselves in a very close mid-game where Astralis executed cleanly and won. The day ended with a slugfest of a game between Team Heretics and KOI. TH had the early lead but a good comeback fight 22 minutes in saw KOI come out ahead. Heretics managed to stall the game with several clutch catches and it came to a risky late-game Baron where Heretics got the objective only to watch as super minions destroyed their base.
Day 3: Upset's Revenge
The first Monday game saw SK Gaming break Astralis´ undefeated streak with a very strong early game that led to a huge advantage in teamfights. Speaking of streaks, Heretics´ series of losses continued against Team BDS, who sacked Adam "Adam" Maanane's early game on Sion to get an advantage for their carries and won out as their carries proved clutch in teamfights.
- Have the keynoard to back you up with the Razer Huntsman!
MAD Lions finally got on the board against KOI after their early bot lane lead and strong objective control saw them secure the dragon soul. With it, they broke in the KOI base and, after a long siege, secured the win. In the fourth game, G2 Esports were back in form against Excel, coming out ahead in the early game with another stellar Hans Sama performance on Draven and ending with another one-sided game. The last game of the week was another stomp as Team Vitality dominated Fnatic´s side lanes and took over the map. A desperate Baron contest 20 minutes in saw Fnatic aced and resulted in Vitality securing a perfect week as Upset demolished his former team.
Read More:
- LEC Spring Split 2023: Schedule, Standings, Teams & More
- LEC Spring Split Predictions
- Vitality Secures Upset as Their New ADC for the Upcoming Split
The LEC continues on Saturday, March 20th with the resurgent Astralis take on another Winter finalist - MAD Lions. Don´t miss it!