The LEC has finally kicked off for the new year, and the first-ever winter split the league has seen. With a brand new format, new faces, and new teams, EMEA is the place to be to see the best in the business face off for the chance to take on the world.
Week 1 has begun with a bang, and while most results went as expected, some teams came out much stronger than we ever hoped. Here's everything you need to know about what went down on day 1 of the new split.
Build Your Collection: Shop League of Legends Collectables at Sideshow
LEC Winter 2023 Week 1 Day 1 Results
Just so you're all caught up, here is the full list of results from day 1:
- G2 vs XL
- KOI vs BDS
- AST vs Heretics
- MAD vs SK
- Vitality vs Fnatic
Patch 13.1 doesn't leave much room for creativity, with Lucian Nami and Zeri Yuumi still being the overwhelming priority. Wukong, Vi and Maokai still rule the jungle too, but in the mid-lane, we got a chance to see some unusual picks for the LEC.
Ruby, the new mid-laner for Heretics, picked Cassiopeia to great success, although Perkz's Ryze and Sertus's Kassadin were more underwhelming. As the week continues, we hope that the innovation will continue.
Surprises of the day: Mad Lions and Vitality
With a team that many expected to be a complete coinflip, the Mad Lions were the first pleasant surprise of the LEC today. Carzzy and Hyli ended the game with only one death between them and participated in a resounding win, contributed to by every member of the team.
Perhaps even more surprising was Vitality. With a new team built around perkz, and two rookies in Photon and Bo, the team were a huge question mark. After last night's performance against an in-form Fnatic though, all questions seem to have been answered.
Bo delivered a fantastic early game, with an inspired level-two gank on Graves to put Vitality ahead. In later team fights though, as they fell behind, it was Photon who stepped up on the Jax, and eventually carried Vitality to a very narrow victory.