The 2021 LEC Summer playoffs are coming to an end with one weekend remaining to determine the winner of the European Split. Summer playoffs began with six teams that qualified for a chance to lift the trophy and qualify for the League of Legends World Championship. Now, MAD Lions, Rogue and Fnatic have secured the three slots available to Europe. All that’s left is to determine the winner of the LEC Summer playoffs. With Worlds 2021 held in Europe, all three League of Legends esports teams left in the LEC finals will end Summer in high spirits.
LEC Summer Playoffs Finals
Image Credits to LEC.
Fnatic vs Rogue: A Battle Between the Old and New
After defeating G2 Esports to secure Europe’s last Worlds 2021 spot, Fnatic faces Rogue in the semifinals on August 28. The winner of the best of five series between will advance to the LEC Summer finals to face MAD Lions in the Playoffs Weekend. Compared to Rogue, Fnatic has endured a tough run through the lower brackets to qualify for the semifinals.
Not many expected Fnatic to make it to the League of Legends World Championship given their poor form in Spring and the roster changes that followed. They received criticism for their decision to start Gabriel “Bwipo” Ru as jungler ahead of Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek. Anf although Adam “Adam” Maanane’s introduction to the team brought a lot of hype in the summer, many were not convinced. Despite the French top laner’s individual talent, he was only a rookie stepping into the LEC with a team full of history and expectations.
Image Credits to LEC.
After a fifth-place finish in the LEC Summer regular standings, Fnatic has fought their way in close series’ for a Worlds spot and semifinal place. While they looked much better against G2, they still face a daunting task after Rogue was knocked into the semifinals with a disappointing 0-3 loss to MAD Lions. Even though they did not look their best in Playoffs, Rogue’s gameplay puts them as favorites heading into the near finals match against Fnatic.
The bot lane duo of Elias “Upset” Lipp and Zdravets “Hylissang” Galabov proved to be Fnatic’s greatest strength in League of Legends esports and the LEC Playoffs. While Rogue’s jungler, Kacper “Inspired” Sloma leads the line for his team with other members playing key roles.
Compared to Fnatic, Rogue holds a better laning phase and is better at maintaining early game leads. Moreover, Inspired’s pathing in-game makes it hard to easily gank Rogue’s side laners. Despite this, Fnatic will fancy chances against their opponents given their 1-1 record in the summer split. Additionally, Fnatic is more likely to win if the series goes down to the last game given their results in previous positions.
)
MAD Lions, the Team to Beat
With a 3-0 win against Rogue in the semifinals, MAD Lions remain the favorites to win the LEC Summer playoffs title and the finals. Their great team fighting capabilities enable them to come back from huge gold deficits to close out games in their favor. They also hold a 2-0 record against Fnatic in the LEC Summer Split and looked better in both games played. While Fnatic seems to have found their form, MAD remains favorites regardless of who team joins them in the LEC Grand Finals.
Written by Rashidat Jimoh
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If you’re interested in seeing more of Esportz Network, follow our social media at Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We have daily podcasts at the Esports Minute, weekly interviews at the Esportz Network Podcast, and collegiate esports updates at the College Esports QuickTake. Anyone can also join our community on Discord and chat about your favorite games, esports, and more!
