EU LCS Summer preview week 3
The events following up to week 3 left the leaderboard in an interesting state. Surprisingly, ROCCAT, third-place finishers from last split, are occupying the last spot with a 1-5 record. The pleasant surprise from super week 1 - Millenium faced complete defeat in week 2 and are now in the middle of the pack with a 3-3, much to the surprise of fans and viewers as the play showcased in the beginning promised more from the talented line-up.
Finally, we have the two-man struggle at top - the Alliance that has come to power along with a very impressive SK Gaming roster. After a rather unfortunate misplay on bot lane, SK are now one point behind the leaders and are eagerly seeking a swift revenge.
Teams to watch:
Alliance:
First place comes with pros and cons, the biggest of the latter being the huge target painted on your back. Exactly one split ago, the team was ridiculed for its poor performance, but now that all is in its place, we are yet to see the perseverance of the quintet. Their ability to withstand the tough competition and defend their throne will be a good indicator of the hard work of both players and support staff. With games against an ambitious Supa Hot Crew and an unfortunate ROCCAT, Alliance should have their work cut out for them in week 3.
Supa Hot Crew:
The outsiders in the Spring Split are back and have been incredibly impressive in the last two weeks. The addition of wewillfailer has positively affected the line-up as the Belgian was even included in our Top plays of week 2 compilation. With enormous effort from both LS and the team, results did not trail for long. As of now, the Crew is to never be underestimated as players like Mimer and RalleZ are only waiting for an opening in order to demolish your line-up. Week 3 is forming to be one of the biggest challenges in front of the team given they are up against Fnatic and Alliance.
Gambit Gaming:
Yesterday Gambit officially added niQ to the squad and stability has once again returned to the Russian organisation. With a talented Pole in the mid lane, they should be setting their sights on breaking into the upper half of the table. What is interesting is the visible step-up from every single member since Alex Ich's departure. Going back into the "try-hard" mode is all that the squad needs in order to return to their star status.
Players to watch:
Sebastian 'niQ' Robakto
Speaking of Gambit, their latest addition is by far the best they could have afforded at this point. The Polish mid laner had a good trial period at the highest level of competition in Europe. Demonstrating that he can handle the pressure in addition to bringing advantages to the team, Sebastian quickly broke the established opinion that only Russians can join Gambit. From this point on, the Pole should seek to score as much wins for the team as he can. Alex Ich's shoes are big to fill, but who says that you can't create your own path?
Mimer 'Mimer' Ahlström
Supa Hot Crew's top laner was in the shadows during the Spring Split. The Summer split saw a return to a new Mimer in the top lane. More aggressive, more willing and more deadly than ever, the Swede has now become a force on the "island", finally living up to the hype that preceded him for such a long time. Instrumental in the recent success of the Crew, Mimer will be looking to devastate both Fnatic and Alliance in order to place his name among the very best this split.
Jessie 'Jesiz' Le
Jesiz is a completely new player to what we first witnessed during the Spring split. Now a stable performer in mid, the Dane has a tough task ahead of him - dethrone the mighty Alliance from the top of Europe. Given that the star-packed line-up has reached their critical point (or are well on their way), it will be a Herculean effort for Jesiz to maintain the strong position of SK and lay siege to the top spot. As we have seen, however, the youngster meets challenges with ambition and grit like non-other, making him a definite player to watch during week 3 when he will face Kerp from Millenium and niQ from Gambit Gaming.
Top game to watch:
Fnatic vs Supa Hot Crew
At this point in the leaderboard, Fnatic are the gatekeepers to the top 3 spots. Fortunately for them, they meet their direct competition for a breakthrough in the top 3 - Supa Hot Crew. Rekkles and co are desperately looking to return to the "elite 3" group along with SK and Alliance so a win today is a must for them. On the other hand we have a very motivating and success-hungry Crew who have shown promising signs of things to come and by the looks of it, do not plan on stopping at all.
Fnatic have been struggling across the board despite not falling into a hard place. There is a rough road to success (and Worlds) ahead of them and the first step is fiercely guarded by the Crew. Hopefully, the fanatics have spent productive sessions near the drawing board in order to remove as many potential mistakes or mishaps as possible as the Crew will be all but unforgiving.
All-in-all we are in for a very exciting week 3. Will ROCCAT bounce back and represent the Polish power in eSports in the best of ways again? Will Supa Hot Crew continue their amazing performance even against star-packed line-ups? Is niQ the answer to the Gambit enigma? Who will prevail in the struggle between SK Gaming and Alliance? The answers to these questions begin emerging with week 3. Follow all the results, updates, interviews and more here on onGamers.com and our Coverage Center.
Images courtesy of lolesports.com and fnatic.com
