This article is part of our LoL Recap series.
G2 vs. Giants Gaming
In a matchup of the first- and last-place teams from Group A of the European League of Legends Championship Series, G2 Esports predictably swept Giants Gaming 2-0 Thursday in Berlin.
Things started going downhill for Giants (2-9, 7-20 match record) right off the bat in this series, as a Level 1 invade by G2 (11-0, 22-5) yielded first blood onto Giants jungler Jonas "Memento" Elmarghichi's Elise before minions even spawned. G2 kept up the pressure and pushed hard in multiple lanes, even finding kills 2-vs-2 in the bot lane. By the 24-minute mark, G2 had extended its gold lead to over 10,000. Giants put forth a valiant effort to make plays and even managed to come up with a Baron steal and a couple of picks in the late game, but ultimately this only managed to delay the inevitable, as G2 took Game 1 in 36 minutes.
Game 2's early stage looked somewhat more hopeful for Giants, as Memento's Rengar found first blood in the mid lane on Luka "Perkz" Perkoviæ's Zilean. Just two minutes later, Giants mid laner Na "NighT" Gun-woo's Ekko got Perkz again in a 1-vs-2. Unfortunately, G2 top laner Ki "Expect" Dae-han quickly started to wipe out hope for Giants with a 1-on-2 kill of his own on Rumble. As Expect snowballed off of his advantage to a 6/1/4 KDA (kills/deaths/assists), G2 once again had superior objective control, losing only two towers while demolishing the structures of Giants. Despite the slightly weaker early game, G2 managed to close out the second game in 34 minutes.
Both teams will look to find their next win against Fnatic, as Giants play the third-place squad at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday and G2 follows suit at 2 p.m. on March 30.
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Splyce vs. Vitality
Splyce kicked off Week 9, Day 1 of the European League of Legends Championship Series in style, smashing Team Vitality 2-0 on Thursday in Berlin.
In a dominant display, Splyce (6-4, 15-9 match record) took control of Game 1 early on, picking up the first Elemental Drake, first tower gold and first blood by the 10-minute mark. Splyce thrashed Vitality in the mid game as well, with top laner Martin "Wunder" Hansen's on-hit Kennen split-pushing ferociously while the rest of Splyce displayed brilliant teamfighting skills. A cross-map 4-for-0 teamfight win and Mountain Drake for Splyce all but sealed Team Vitality's fate, as Splyce had all the tools it needed for a devastating 1-4 split push. Taking out Vitality's middle inhibitor at 19 minutes, Splyce only surrendered one kill at the very end in a 5-for-1 ace that solidified a 13-to-1 kill advantage, cruising to the fastest win of the Spring Split so far in just over 23:30.
Team Vitality (3-8, 8-17 match record) took control early in Game 2, bouncing back after a brutal beatdown by picking up first blood in the bottom lane. Vitality's Elemental Drake control was impeccable throughout Game 2, securing two Clouds, an Ocean and an Infernal Drake while finding picks throughout the mid game, but Splyce managed to stabilize. After taking a surprisingly lopsided 5-for-1 teamfight at 31 minutes that led to the top inhibitor and a Baron kill, Splyce regained control of the game, quickly destroying all of Team Vitality's structures and taking another 5-for-1 ace on the back of mid laner Chres "Sencux" Laursen's Kassadin and his 4/2/4 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) to secure the series sweep with a 35-minute Game 2 win.
Team Vitality has limited time to regroup as it faces H2K Gaming at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, while Splyce gears up for a tough matchup against the Unicorns of Love on March 30 at 11 a.m ET.
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ROCCAT vs. Misfits
ROCCAT continued its late season push for a playoff spot by upsetting Misfits in two games during Week 9, Day 2 of the European League of Legends Championship Series in Berlin.
ROCCAT (5-7, 12-16 match record) took Game 1 by outplaying Misfits (7-4, 16-10 match record) in the mid game. ROCCAT were able to win a 3-for-0 teamfight at the 27-minute mark, allowing the underdogs to secure the Baron and a 4,000-gold lead by the end of the buff duration. Biding their time through the mid game, ROCCAT was again able to secure the Baron at the 37-minute mark, winning the ensuing teamfight 3-for-2 and securing the Elder Dragon. Pushing into Misfits' base in all three lanes, ROCCAT forced down the middle and bottom lane inhibitors and burned through the Nexus with the help of three mountain drakes and the Elder Dragon buff, ending the game without even needing to win a final teamfight.
ROCCAT was surgical in Game 2, taking down Misfits in clean fashion. Despite no kills coming from either side, ROCCAT were able to rotate well around the map early to take out all three tier one turrets in the first 18 minutes. ROCCAT marksman Petter "Hjarnan" Freyschuss' Ziggs finally secured first blood at the 26-minute mark and ROCCAT won a 4-1 teamfight three minutes later to take full control of the game. By securing Baron in the 30th minute, ROCCAT opened Misfits' base, taking down all three inhibitors and earning a 12,000-gold lead. Returning to Misfits' base to close out the series in the 35th minute, ROCCAT secured three more kills before pushing down the Nexus and ending the game.
ROCCAT will challenge G2 Esports next Saturday at 1 p.m ET, while Misfits look to rebound against Giants Gaming next Friday at 2 p.m ET.
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UoL vs. Origen
Unicorns of Love made quick work of Origen in the second match Friday at the European League of Legends Championship Series in Berlin.
Unicorns of Love (9-2, 19-7 match record) dominated Game 1 from start to finish. UoL mid laner Fabian "Exileh" Schubert's Talon snowballed from an early stage, picking up first blood by four minutes and securing seven kills in the first 15 minutes of the game. Origen (0-12, 2-24 match record) couldn't handle the Talon and really struggled to do anything as UoL secured the Baron in the 21 minute, opening the Origen base and in the process earning a 13,000-gold lead. UoL the ensuing teamfight just a few minutes later, and then marched into Origen's base to end the game.
A sloppy start to Game 2 was no problem for UoL as they used strong teamfighting tactics to take down Origen. A fairly even early game was turned into UoL's favor near the 15 minute when the team took three kills and the gold lead from Origen. From there, the Unicorns dominated the game, winning multiple teamfights before securing the Baron in the 25 minute. A 3-for-1 teamfight win moments later allowed UoL to open the Origen base, and a 4-for-0 teamfight at the 30 minute mark saw UoL topple over the Nexus to end the game.
UoL returns to the Rift next Thursday at 11 a.m. ET against Splyce, while Origen's possible final week in the EU LCS starts next Friday at 11 a.m. ET against H2K.
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Vitality vs. H2k
H2K Gaming's first-place hopes remain intact after a 2-1 win against Team Vitality on Saturday during Week 9, Day 3 of the European League of Legends Championship Series in Berlin.
The two teams traded kills back and forth for the first 25 minutes of Game 1, with H2K jungler Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski in particular finding kill after kill to enter the late game with a 5/1/0 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) on Kha'Zix. The superior farm and tower offense of Vitality (3-9, 9-19 match record) lent the team a small lead, but that all changed at 27:30, when H2K (8-3, 18-8) won a 3-for-0 fight to open up Baron. H2K amassed a sizable advantage with the buff, which the team used to close out Game 1 in 36 minutes following an ace.
Vitality struck back in Game 2, finding first blood in the first minute of the game with a five-man brush camp. Vitality kept up this aggression all game long, including a series of picks around the mid lane to go up 4,000 gold just 11 minutes in. Meanwhile, Lucas "Cabochard" Simon-Meslet's counter pick of Swain into Camille was working wonders in the top lane. All together, this allowed Vitality to take a sub-30-minute Game 2 in a virtual shutout, giving up no objectives and only three kills.
Game 3 looked grim for Vitality early on, with H2K grouping up early and often to pull off dives and take a hefty lead. It took an incredibly creative flank engage from Vitality at 21 minutes to pull back into the game, but the underdogs had to sacrifice an inhibitor to pull the maneuver off. Two Barons later, however, Vitality finally had a lead and a chance to pull off the upset. Unfortunately, while on the verge of winning the game, Vitality lost a fight at H2K's base, and a misguided attempt at a base race gave H2K the win.
Things won't get easier for Vitality as it faces off against Unicorns of Love at 10 a.m. ET on April 1. H2K, meanwhile, can probably expect a fairly easy victory over a winless Origen at 11 a.m. on Friday.
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Fnatic vs. Giants Gaming
Week 9, Day 3 of the European League of Legends Championship Series in Berlin closed out with Fnatic vs. Giants Gaming. With its 2-1 victory on Saturday and one week of play left, Fnatic has come one step closer to cementing its playoff spot.
The first game kicked off with a bizarre hero selection as Fnatic (5-6, 14-16 match record) mid laner Rasmus "Caps" Winther opted to use Kayle in lane. This pick paid off early, as Fnatic played significantly better in the early game than it had in recent weeks.
The game came to an abrupt end after Caps nearly single-handedly pushed through Giants base by the 23-minute mark, giving Fnatic a 1-0 lead in the series. Fnatic jungler Mads "Broxah" Brock-Pedersen also played well, putting up a 3/0/4 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) as Lee Sin.
Game 2 didn't feature any unusual picks, but it did showcase Fnatic's newfound early-game success. The mid-game saw Giants (2-10, 8-22) show some tenacity, but Fnatic AD carry Martin "Rekkles" Larsson found his form and began to dominate any Giants member who challenged him. Giants managed to take down Baron and Elder Dragon after finally killing Rekkles, allowing the team to surge into Fnatic's base.
Back-to-back teamfights went in Fnatic's favor, but Giants managed to steal a Baron and stay alive. A base race then ensued, which narrowly went in Giants' favor, tying the series at 1-1. Giants was led by top laner Jonas "Memento" Elmarghichi, who went 5/4/7 on Kha'Zix.
The deciding game started with Fnatic getting a quick first blood, but Giants was slightly more proactive in finding kills throughout the early game. Fnatic began to play around the map extremely well during the mid-game, picking off Giants members and taking the first Baron of the game around 24 minutes in. Following its Baron grab, Fnatic sieged the Giants base and closed out the series for a 2-1 win. Caps put up a 3/0/5 KDA as LeBlanc to lead his team to victory.
Fnatic will begin its final week of the EU LCS against G2 Esports at noon ET on Thursday, March 30. Giants will play its final game of the split against Misfits at noon ET on Friday.
