EU LCS Super week 1 recap
The Summer split of the European LCS has begun! Eight competitors went through stage one and an incredible four game roller-coaster to determine the standings after week one. We witnessed a lot of surprises, namely Team ROCCAT and Fnatic's slow starts, putting them at the mid to low point in the table with score lines of 1-3 and 2-2, respectively. On the other hand, Supa Hot Crew and Millenium shined as convincing victories and narrow losses set the bar high for consecutive weeks. Sitting atop with two other solid teams, the latter have shown great promise and consistency will be key once the season fully develops. In this recap we will present you with the top 5 plays which we witnessed during Super week 1.
Number 5: Copenhagen Wolves turnaround against Alliance - 23:00
In the first match for both line-ups, the Wolves came in as heavy underdogs given the debut of their two additions - AD Carry Woolite and Jungler Airwaks. After a great First blood picked up on mid, Alliance dedicated their efforts across the map in order to pick up as many objectives as they could. A fight near the inner bot turret at the 23rd minute turned sour pretty quickly for the overzealous bunch...
A confident Wickd on Shyvana immediately dove three opposing players, but quickly found out that this may not have been the best of choices. Realizing their mistake, the Alliance players called a retreat, but YoungBuck and CowTard were having none of it. In the ensuing chase Woolite snatched 2 kills on his Kog'Maw, while CowTard's Yasuo finished off the other two.
Number 4: The ROCCAT pain train against Gambit Gaming - 12:00
This clash started perfectly for the Polish squad as they racked up two quick kills to swing the early game in their favour. As pressure began to spread across the lanes, Jankos approached bot, signaling his intentions to Celaver and Vander who were patiently waiting for a positioning mistake from their Russian counter-parts. They did not wait long...
A beautiful Zenith blade onto Genja caught the AD Carry of guard and despite the EdWard and Diamond's best efforts to kick the radiating nuisance away, Vander's job was done. The CC chain was continued by Jankos who immediately cast his Evelynn ultimate paired with a Culling from Celaver and both started to rack up kills. In the blink of an eye Darien and Xaxus were on bot in addition to Overpow who used his TwiThsted Fate ultimate to continue the damage output from his team. The result? A clean four kill job by the Poles who solidified their grip on the game.
Number 3: Kerp's Quadra kill against Supa Hot Crew - 43:00
The MVP mid laner for this week had a fantastic showing in the game against Supa Hot Crew. On the Hexplosive Expert, Kerp dominated his lane and applied pressure perfectly across the map. The German shined especially in team fights where exceptional usage of the mine field secured not one or two, but four kills! Check out the highlight below.
Number 2: Kottenx's dragon steal against Gambit Gaming - 12:40
After a good counter-gank by Gambit, Millenium's offensive efforts on bot lane were thwarted. With the fall of Jree to Genja, the Russians shifted their attention towards taking more objectives. Diamond and Darien began tiring the mighty beast when Kerp decided to, in perfect LeBlanc fashion, divert the duo's attention. Snatching the perfect opportunity, Kottenx marched in with a flash-smite to steal the dragon away from Gambit.
Number 1: Kerp's blind baron steal against Supa Hot Crew - 52:15
The sheer amount of Millenium players in our recap can give you a hint how good their performance this week was. In a long game against the Supa Hot Crew, the tides swung in either team's favour, but only one thing remained constant - Kerp's godlike play on Ziggs.
After a fight near the bottom inhibitor of Supa Hot Crew turned sour for Millenium, a call for Baron Nashor was made by the three remaining members of the Crew - Selfie, Wewillfailer and Mimer. Once Kerp respawned, he instinctively threw a Mega Inferno Bomb inside Baron pit. The result? Well, check the video highlight below!
Also, our crew asked found the time to sit down with the pros inbetween games. Check out our interviews below!
Champion of the week: Twitch
The Plague Rat has comfortably found himself on the throne of AD Carries. His current kit and skirmish potency have deemed him either a solid ban or a strategic marksman (massive) must-pick. After the shifts in the meta, Twitch once again rose to prominence due to his ability to dish out an unbelievable amount of damage in addition to becoming a deadly assassin once the mid-game hits. Due to the powerful nature of his stealth, teams are quick to ban the crossbow-yielding rodent just to equalize the fronts on bot lane.
Top of the week: Mike 'Wickd' Petersen (KDA Ratio: 5)
With the beginning of the Summer split a nostalgic picture was a sight for sore eyes - a dominating Wickd. Almost reminiscent of his dominant form during the latter part of Season 2, the Dane seemed reinvigorated and that was clearly showing in his inspired play during all four games. He was aggressive, held his own in both 1v1 and 2v1 match ups and was of great assistance to his teammates once mid game rolled in. I certainly hope the Mike can continue his good run as an aggressive top laner who can sustain himself when faced even with the toughest of tasks.
Jungler of the week: Illyes 'Shook' Harstema (KDA Ratio: 4.5)
Beware, Shook is back! The tales of the confident youngster who is able to create plays out of thin air were true after all. In fact, Shook was a member of the first wave of mechanically gifted young junglers in Europe(the second wave being the likes of Am1n and k0u), who were predicted to go on and achieve great success in the LCS. After a rough start in the Spring split, week 1 showcased what happens when Shook regains confidence. A key player in the Alliance line-up during the successful first super week, Illyes will be looking to continue his dominating run.
Mid of the week: Adrian 'Kerp' Wetekam
The trackball maestro spearheaded Millenium into an incredibly successful beginning of the Summer split. Picking up LeBlanc and Ziggs as his main champions, Kerp did unthinkable things to his opponents on the Summoner's Rift and his main role in our Top 5 Plays video is no coincidence. Dubbed "the best Ziggs player in Europe", Adrian has once again assumed the mantle of "dynamo" behind the Millenium crew. With the additional step-up of marksman Creaton, we will keep our eyes on the team in future weeks.
Bot lane of the week: Martin 'Rekkles' Larsson and Bora 'YellowStar' Kim (KDA Ratios: 13.3 and 3.7, respectively)
Despite the disappointing 2-2 start of the Summer Split, Fnatic's bot lane still showed class. Rekkles never let go of his monstrous form, continuing to impress with his statistics and solid individual play. The Swede is currently leading the KDA table despite losing 50% of his Week 1 games. However, what is a marksman without his trusty Support? Yellowstar struggled during the two losses despite his best efforts to create opportunities for his team. Once they started off on the right foot, however, the Frenchman quickly reminded everyone why Fnatic's bot lane should be feared.
Summary of the week
The turbulent nature of the European League of Legends professional scene never ceases to surprise us. This time it was the strong showings of underdogs Millenium and Supa Hot Crew which caught everyone off-guard. Coach LS and the hard work and determination of his boys were definitely evident during their excellent display during week 1. The Crew have improved tremendously despite people being unsure in their success post Wewillfailer's addition. Regardless, credit where credit is due and if it wasn't for a couple of really silly mistakes, the Crew could be even higher in the rankings now. In addition to that, Millenium completely exploded onto the scene with fantastic performances from every single member. The only thing we can hope for is that they continue their form and do not suddenly drop off.
Everything else is in place. The expectations of disappointing Gambit performance were justified and a lone win versus SK does not magically make things better. Fnatic also took a beating, but nearly as scary as it could have been. SK and Alliance are the favourites after week 1 and are looking to continue their victorious ways. The question now is who can stand up to them. The answer will come in merely four days as the European LCS action continues on the 29th May.
Images courtesy of lolesports.com
