Divided On Who To Pick? We’ve Got EU LCS Summer Split Week 1 Predictions To Help You Out
Published: Jun 2, 2016 - Last Updated: Jan 31, 2023
After an offseason of bold roster changes, tantalizing drama among the top teams and a disappointing showing at MSI (looking at you, G2), teams are ready to start their climb to Worlds.
This season, the European LCS will be switching to a best of two format (Bo2), with games spread out during a two-day period. Below you will find our weekly predictions, in-depth analysis of each match and a quick rundown of each team.
Week 1 – Day 1 predictions (June 2)
* Games will be played concurrently and can be watched on the Battle Arena channel (EULCS1) and the Battle Theater channel (EULCS2).
Origen vs. G2 eSports (11 a.m. EST start time)
Hey G2, #vacationisover. It’s time to put all the drama behind them from MSI and focus on the upcoming Summer Split. What better way to appease your fans than to defend your Spring Split Championship?
Coincidentally, this will be a matchup of two teams that have swapped players. After G2 unexpectedly poached both Mithy and Zven from Origen just a few weeks ago, and discarded G2 support Hybrid was then picked up by Origen, the two teams will now get to awkwardly face off.
Is it just me or are we all hoping from some bad blood, gritty, I-despise-the-other-team League of Legends theater? And not just one, but two games to boot (got to get my European puns in).
Despite all the drama, both these teams are highly skilled. Origen will also roll out FORG1VEN as their starting ADC, one of the most recognized and respected ADCs in Europe.
These should be two very close, and very fun, games to watch.
I don’t know how it all went down with Zven and Mithy jumping ship, but I expect a pissed-off Origen team to come out swinging. sOAZ and Amazing will have plenty of respect for their former teammates, but the gloves are going to come off when they both enter the rift.
Let’s not forget that G2 also essentially dumped Hybrid after he had a very respectable split last season. This has revenge factor written all over, but I can see G2 taking the second game as well.
Prediction: 1-1 series split
H2K vs. ROCCAT (11 a.m. EST start time)
H2K was a strong team during the Spring Split, and they look just as strong heading into this split. The only roster change has been replacing FORG1VEN with Freeze.
Freeze was by far the best player for a struggling Renegades roster in NA last split, and this will be considered a lateral move by the team. His stats are comparable to FORG1VEN’s, so don’t expect a drop off in talent there for H2K.
For ROCCAT, they’re looking to forget about last split and focus on their third team rebuild in the past year. They did pick up Steeelback, a formidable ADC who essentially carried Unicorns of Love to a playoff spot last split. He’ll be looking to do the same here with ROCCAT.
ROCCAT has made some nice roster improvements, but this is still a subpar team that lacks talent at other positions (besides mid lane, where Betsy is solid). They’ll have two Korean imports who will have to adjust quickly as well.
H2K are strong favorites here with esports betting odds makers, and for good reason. Take H2K with confidence until we see more from ROCCAT.
Prediction: H2K 2-0
FC SCHALKE 04 vs. Unicorns of Love (1 p.m. EST projected start time)
Unicorns of Love had a roster implosion over the break, and not for the better. All the players you wanted to see left the team (Steeelback and Fox), leaving a roster void of any real superstar. Picking up Korean player Move in the mid lane was a solid addition, but he’s not going to carry this team by himself.
Speaking of Fox, he will now to get face off against his former team as the starting mid laner for FCS. He was a solid contributor last split, and I expect him to continue improving. MrRallez, sprattel and Steve offer enough skill to perhaps make this a playoff team, but that’s a very tentative prediction until we see more.
Regardless, I like FCS here. UoL have a severely diminished roster, and one of their best players from last split now plays for their opponent. Take FCS here.
Prediction: FC SCHALKE 2-0
Splyce vs. Team Vitality (1 p.m. EST projected start time)
Team Vitality found mild success in the EU LCS last split, and they’ll be looking to build off that and challenge for the top spot this split. They’ll be experimenting somewhat this split, signing two Korean imports to start in the jungle (Mightybear) and at ADC (Police).
Former starting members Shook and Hjarnan will still be on the team, serving as substitutes.
For Splyce, they finished last split at 5-13 and made only one roster move during the offseason. Nisbeth has been replaced by Mikyx, a rookie support player from Slovenia who previously served as a backup on Fnatic.
Nisbeth was one of the worst performing supports in the EU LCS last split, but I’m not sure Mikyx is much of an improvement. Fnatic had numerous issues at support last split, and it didn’t seem like Mikyx was even a thought to start for the organization.
I feel Splyce will find marginal improvements this split, but they’re nowhere close to competing against a strong team like Vitality. I really like Vitality here for those of you planning on visiting esports betting sites this week.
Prediction: Vitality 2-0
Fnatic vs. Giants Gaming (3 p.m. EST projected start time)
Welcome back to Europe, YellOwStaR. We’re hoping his cure for homesickness will also cure whatever plagued him on the rift last split for TSM.
The addition (readdition?) of YellOwStaR will free up the shot calling for Rekkles, allowing him to focus on carrying the game instead of positioning his teammates.
Giants finished last split with a 3-15 record, earning them sole possession of last place. Thanks to a weak Challenger Series field, Giants get a shot at redemption. They made two roster moves this offseason, bringing in Nigh T in the mid lane (replacing xPePii) and Maxlore (replacing Wisdom).
These are both good pickups and provide marginal gains for Giants, but it’s not enough to make them contenders by any means.
Everyone likes rooting for underdogs (OK, that’s a general assumption) and Giants is exactly that. When you’re already at the bottom, the only way is up. It won’t be in this series though. Fnatic are strong favorites in the EU LCS this split and in this series.
Take Fnatic with confidence.
Prediction: Fnatic 2-0
Week 1 – Day 2 predictions (June 3)
* Games will be played concurrently and can be watched on the Battle Arena channel (EULCS1) and the Battle Theater channel (EULCS2).
Splyce vs. ROCCAT (11 a.m. EST start time)
If you’re looking for stellar League of Legends play, this is probably not the series to watch. Both teams ranked statistically in the bottom four last split, with marginal improvements to the roster for both teams.
ROCCAT will be slight favorites here because of their star power. In a series that could come down to individual skill, you really have to like Steeelback here.
Splyce’s starting ADC, Kobe, posted a pedestrian 3.1 KDA last split, the worst among ADCs who played more than 10 games. As a comparison, Steeelback more than doubled that with a 6.8 KDA (second best among ADCs). That individual matchup alone tilts this series in ROCCAT’s favor.
Prediction: ROCCAT 2-0
Unicorns of Love vs. Origen (11 a.m. EST start time)
Day Two in the EU LCS features a lot of one-sided matches on paper. That means one of two things — either we’re going to see a lot of blowouts, or potentially some upsets. This is another one of those matches, but I don’t anticipate an upset here.
We’ve just discussed UoL’s degraded roster. Meanwhile, Origen will have one of the stronger rosters once again this split. You never want to overlook an opponent, but if Origen shows up, they’re strong favorites here.
Take Origen with confidence.
Prediction: Origen 2-0
Giants vs. G2 eSports (1 p.m. EST projected start time)
Another top five projected team versus a bottom five projected team. G2 only dropped three games all of Spring Split.
Meanwhile, Giants only won three games all split. That signifies a huge difference in skill, something that was not bridged during the offseason. I really like G2 here.
Prediction: G2 2-0
Team Vitality vs. Fnatic (1 p.m. EST projected start time)
Finally, a series that should be hotly contested. Something tells me that 99 percent of the viewers will be tuned into this game over the other concurrently-running matchup (see Giants vs. G2 above).
Vitality was able to beat Fnatic twice during the regular season, but it all came undone when the two met in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Spring Split Playoffs. Fnatic was able to win the Bo3 series 2-1 on their way to a third place finish. After being considered one of the top three teams all split, that was not the way Vitality wanted their season to end. This game provides a little bit of redemption.
I like Fnatic here with YellOwStaR back in the mix. I expect to see a team closer to what we saw last Summer Split and not the team that struggled finding an identity all Spring Split.
This will be a really close series though.
Prediction: 1-1 series split
H2K vs. FC SCHALKE 04 (3 p.m. EST projected start time)
This will be a great series to see where FCS really stands. Teams traditionally struggle in the early parts of their inaugural split, and I’m expecting some of the same hiccups here for FCS.
H2K still has as dominant a roster as they had last split, which will be a huge obstacle for FCS to overcome. Take H2K here until we know more about FCS.
Prediction: H2K 2-0
Image credit: sportpoint / Shutterstock.com
