EU LCS Summer Playoffs: Quarterfinals preview


(Image courtesy of Riot Games)

The playoffs are here! This week both quarterfinal series will take place. Each will be a Bo5, so there are plenty of opportunities for teams to give it all they have to pull out a win.

Quarterfinal 1: Schalke 04 vs Splyce

When: Friday, August 24th

In the first playoff series of the Summer Split, Schalke 04 will take on Splyce. 

Schalke 04 will undoubtedly be the favourites coming into this series, given their exceptionally strong track record during the Summer Split compared to a Splyce team that struggled early.

Splyce struggled to come to terms with the new meta at the start of the Summer Split, but the final few patches at the end of the Split gave the team the headroom they needed to get their games back on track.

While key team members from the Spring Split, such as KaSing and Xerxe, haven’t had quite the same impact during Summer, there is some sign they can challenge Schalke on Friday. Notably, Splyce stomped Giants on week nine, day two, showing dominance from the early game. If they can keep that momentum coming into their quarterfinal games, then Splyce stand a chance, but it’ll be tough.

Schalke, on the other hand, has it all to lose if they can’t perform against Splyce. Not only did Schalke recently beat Splyce during week nine, but as a team Schalke has performed very consistently as a unit. Everyone on the team from Amazing, to Upset and Vizicsacsi, has stepped up and shown they can go toe to toe with the other heavy hitters in the league.

Verdict: Although Splyce has seen a resurgence in form, Schalke 04 looked more consistent during the regular split. 

Quarterfinal 2: G2 Esports vs Misfits

When: Saturday, August 25th

The second quarterfinal will see two struggling teams face each other, which could prove for a very eventful Bo5 series.

Misfits looked untouchable at the start of the Split, going 10-1 before things took a turn for the worse, and they lost 6 games out of their last seven of the Split. Regardless of the changes Misfits have made, whether that’s putting Hans Sama on a non-ADC or subbing out Mikyx, nothing has really worked out for them, and as a result, they seem lost.

Given they’ve only had a week to prepare for their match against G2, it’s hard to see how Misfits can re-discover their spark and make it to the semis.

G2, however, has their own problems. Although the death of the ADC meta at the beginning of the Split worked well for G2, who perfected the funnel comp, they’ve looked shaky since coming back from Rift Rivals.

It’s hard to pinpoint where G2 is struggling – Perkz hasn’t always looked on form, and Jankos has also had some difficult games recently – G2’s loss to Vitality in week nine was almost solely down to how much Kikis outperformed Jankos in the jungle match-up. If Misfits can take advantage of lane match-ups when they arise, then they may have a fighting chance.

Verdict: Misfits hasn’t shaken off their run of bad luck, so this should be G2 Esports’ series for the taking.

The winners of the quarterfinals will face either Fnatic or Vitality in the semifinals.

Which teams do you think will make it through to the semifinals? Let us know in the comments below!

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