With three teams ending Week 5 sharing first place, we obviously arrive to Week 6 of the EU LCS
Spring Split full of expectations. Especially considering that two of them, Fnatic and G2 Esports, were actually set to face each other in an epic showdown between the Former and Current Kings of
Europe.

But that is not all what happened in Berlin. The battle in the middle of the standings – which automatically means the battle for final playoff spots - is fiercer than ever, with any game potentially meaning the difference between advancing to the knockout stage… or not. And at the bottom of the standings, H2K and the Unicorns of Love were playing perhaps their final cards in order to keep dreaming with Copenhagen and the EU LCS Spring Split Finals.


Unicorns of Love v Splyce

Week 6 in Europe opened up with two teams for distinct goals at the moment, with 6th placed Splyce willing to establish themselves into the top 6 who will be advancing to the playoffs whereas the Unicorns were desperately looking to move from the last place in the standings.

And both teams delivering a very entertaining match, packed with kills – 34 at the end divided in 17 per team, which shows actually how close it was for most of the team, which the Unicorns coming out ahead after a decisive teamfight at the Elder Dragon to claim their second win in a row this year in the EU LCS.

Notable Performance: Samux (6/1/7) on Tristana. The young Spaniard was given the responsibility to be the big source of damage output during late game fights. And he didn’t disappoint: showing good positioning, he was able to melt down Splyce’s frontline to end up the game with almost 43k damage – most in game.


ROCCAT v G2 Esports

Aiming for sole possession of first place, G2 Esports played, in contrast to the explosive game earlier, a methodical and safe game against ROCCAT, which saw just two big teamfights with casualties, the first around the 15th minute mark which opened up the map for G2, and the final decisive one in ROCCAT’s base, after they took every single objective available. A safe albeit somewhat boring game gave their reigning European Champions their 8th win in the split and kept ROCCAT parked in 7th with a 5-6 record.

Notable Performance: Jankos (0/0/8) as Zac. In a game with few highlights, G2’s jungler went for
proactive plays, and of course, was always on point with his smite to secure G2 3 dragons and 2
barons throughout the game.


Fnatic v H2K

Coming from five wins a row, Fnatic started out the week against H2K still sitting at the bottom of the standings, but who were showing signs of improvement, having won 3 of the last 4 matches.

Unfortunately for them, however, it didn’t take long until Fnatic took first blood, with promise conceding the kill to Caps’ Veigar after casually meeting the entire enemy team before one minute played.

Fnatic used the early lead efficiently and were able to open a considerable gold advantage early on, but following the laning phase, were met by a resilient H2K side, who were able to stand their ground during minor brawls. However, it wasn’t enough, and the 5-time European Champions found themselves two decisive fights, with the first costing H2K the Baron, and the second, their Nexus. Moving to 8-2 alongside G2 Esports, Fnatic added even more fuel for the much-anticipated duel against the Reigning Champions.

Notable Performance: Caps (8/0/5) on Veigar. A popular counter to Azir, Fnatic picked Veigar for their midlaner with the goal to shutdown Selfie. And that proved to be a very successful tactic, with the Tiny Master of Evil proving himself extremely useful at zoning out H2K and delivering huge bursts at the end of the game. A textbook example on how to play Veigar against a dive-heavy composition.


Team Vitality v Giants

After a surprising 0-2 week, Team Vitality were looking to return to the winners’ path, but were mercilessly halted by an effective and proactive Giants who displayed a superior macro play in order to come out with the win. Far from the side who impressed Europe during the first half of the split, Vitality couldn’t capitalize on an early lead for Minitroupax’s Tristana, and failed to acknowledge Giants’ “sneaky” baron at the 23 rd minute mark which opened up the game and led to a quick snowball resulting in an under 30 minutes win for Giants Gaming.

Notable Performance: Ruin (6/1/6) on Gangplank. With most damage in the game and most gold as well by a significant margin, Ruin was on fire today, with a dominant performance on Gangplank, leading the charge during the teamfights which decided the game in favor of his team.


Schalke 04 v Misfits

To end the day, a clash of two teams separated by only one win. And as expected, it turned to be a very equilibrated game, with both teams alternating good and bad moments. At the end, another bitter loss for Misfits, who were on the driver’s seat for most of the time, until a decisive fight at Baron which saw Upset claiming three kills for Tristana. The nail in the coffin followed just a minute later, when an ill-called Elder Dragon call left Misfits’ base completely exposed to Schalke’s advance, who took down the Nexus virtually unopposed.

Notable Performance: Upset (5/0/3) on Tristana. Another ADC with a stellar performance this week, Upset shined when his team needed the most, and help his team winning a vital teamfight. With exactly 30k damage at the end of the game, he had 11k more than his closest teammate, Nukeduck.


Unicorns of Love v ROCCAT

The Unicorns of Love confirmed they are back into business with a convincing win over ROCCAT to finish the week 2-0 which put them just two wins away from the final playoffs spot. After a fairly uneventful early game, the Unicorns came out ahead after early skirmishes, and despite failing to opening a big gold lead, were able to claim two drakes in their name – including a Mountain Drake which would proof extremely useful later on.

Despite difficulties during the mid-stages of the game, such as paying a very hard price for the first Baron, and losing the Elder Dragon, the Unicorns found themselves the fight they were looking for during the most unlikely moment: with ROCCAT pushing towards the base powered by both Baron’s and Elder’s buffs, WhiteKnight found the perfect engage to win his team a decisive brawl.

And a few minutes later, they didn’t commit ROCCAT’s mistake: Using advantage of both buffs, the Unicorns of Love found aced their opponents, with Exileh’s Azir claiming an “official pentakill”, and marched towards the enemy base to close out the game in 49 minutes. All aboard the UoL hype train?

Notable Performance: Exileh (10-2- 3) on Azir. A player that alternate weak showings with world-class performances, Exileh was definitely the latter against ROCCAT. Using Azir’s powerful kit in the late game with perfection, he provided his team the necessary damage to take down ROCCAT in order to finish the game with almost 50k damage to champions done. If the German can keep this form for the final three weeks of the regular split, the Unicorns fans have big reasons to start dreaming about the playoffs following such a rocky start to the season.

Week 7 Matches: Unicorns of Love vs H2K and Schalke 04; ROCCAT vs Giants and Splyce


H2K v Giants

It was an extremely messy game, a true “clown fiesta” if you are willing to call it so. But it will be remembered by an epic final fight, and by a passionate casting by Drakos, who with a certain “expression” eloquently summarized the chaotic situation that saw Giants Gaming throwing away a certain win against a shaky H2K side that now climbs to a 4-8 record and still dreams of reaching the Top 6. But the path won’t be easy, and mistakes made today won’t be forgiven as easily by sides like G2 Esports and Misfits.

Notable Performance: Sheriff (7/3/4) as Xayah. With an amazing Featherstorm at the precise moment, he enabled H2K to turn the tables during the fight that saved their Nexus…which consequently also won them the game. Not only he survived, but he also claimed a quadra kill for himself, before seeing from his base teammate Selfie teleporting in to destroy Giants’ Nexus.

Week 7 Matches: H2K vs Unicorns of Love and Misfits; Giants Gaming vs ROCCAT and G2 Esports


Schalke 04 v Splyce

A failed Baron rush transformed this game into one that Schalke 04 will regret for a long time. After a very equal standstill for the first 33 minutes, Schalke saw a window of opportunity to rush down Baron, and they actually almost got away with it. But Xerxe managed to arrive at the very last moment to steal the big purple worm for Splyce, who in the subsequent fight, killed 4 Schalke players, ran into the base, and simply closed out the game, just 90 seconds after the ill-fated call started to be executed. Thus, both teams ended the week with a 1-1 record, and are still parked in the middle of the standings – but still with high chances to qualify for the playoffs.

Notable Performance: Xerxe (2/0/2) on Jax. In a game with few highlights, Xerxe was responsible for the big moment that virtually decided it all in Splyce’s favor. With Baron dropping low fast, he somehow found space and launched himself into the pit to steal the objective. Big players are made for big moments, and once again, Xerxe shows that his team can rely on him for this vital moments.

Week 7 Matches: Schalke 04 vs Team Vitality and Unicorns of Love; Splyce vs G2 Esports and ROCCAT


G2 Esports v Fnatic

It was definitely the most hyped match of the split so far in the EU LCS, with social networks buzzing with the imminent clash of the two European giants and with players exchanging friendly provocations. And it truly delivered it: a bloody early game, followed by an explosive ending to the match, which saw Fnatic taking a vital win in order to end the week atop the standings after a decisive fight at baron despite being behind in gold most of the time – they even ended the match 3k gold behind the defending Champions.

Both PerkZ and Rekkles entered the match tied for the most kills so far in the EU LCS Spring Split – 46. And the Swede started the “race towards 50” ahead, with two very early kills on Hjärnan and Wadid following a precise gank by Broxah’s Skarner. PerkZ struck back on his own, but the day was definitely brighter for Rekkles and the rest of Fnatic, who sent the Croatian and the rest of G2 to Valhalla, with the Swede claiming his 50th kill of the split during the final fight of the game.

Now sitting at 9-3, Fnatic claimed sole possession of first place for the first time of the split, and will be looking to carry out the momentum as we reach the decisive moments of this regular season. Notable Performance: Caps (5/0/1) on Viktor. Despite all the talk around Rekkles’ 50th kill in the split, Caps once again stole the show in the game, with a consistent performance on another new champion – the eight different that he has brought out so far, proving that he is virtually “unbannable”. Responsible at the same time for bursting and zoning out G2 Esports, his Gravity Field was vital for his team to take down the decisive Baron, deciding the game in favor of Fnatic. Definitely a very positive week for the young midlaner, who is willing to carve his name alongside all the other legendary midlaners Europe has created.

Week 7 Matches: G2 Esports vs Splyce and Giants; Fnatic vs Misfits and Team Vitality


Misfits v Team Vitality

Oh, Vitality…for the first half of the split the undisputed best team in Europe…and now in free fall. Closing out the week, Vitality suffered their 4th setback in row, this time in the hands of Misfits. After an equal laning phase, Vitality’s composition was simply not to cope with Mistifs’ high engage and burst composition, vastly superior during 5-on- 5 teamfights.

And Misfits made sure that those were frequent as possible, as they bled out Vitality. After taking the
Baron at the 29th-minute mark, they are able to send Alphari splitpush, which opened the path to the enemy’s base. And after finding themselves another nice good engage, they used Gilius’ over eagerness to reengage to take down him, his teammates and the rest of Vitality’s base in order to close out the game with 22 kills in a little over than 36 minutes. Notable Performance: Alphari (10-1- 8) as Camille. Misfits’ top laner surely didn’t disappoint on his first Camille game of the year. With a very proactive and aggressive performance, he was Vitality’s carries throats during every team fight, rendering them virtually powerless.

Week 7 Matches: Misfits vs Fnatic and H2K; Team Vitality vs Schalke 04 and Fnatic

To conclude this week, only one thing at the moment is sure: everything possible in the final weeks, and with the bottom teams showing signs of improvement - especially the Unicorns – the fight for the playoffs will be, in true European fashion, a really tight one. Coming to Week 7, the most interesting storyline will perhaps be around the match-up between Fnatic and Team Vitality: the first on the rise, leading the EU LCS, while the second have lost their last 4 games…and perhaps their confidence well.

However, we are in Europe, the region where everything is possible and where the unexplainable does so often appear. I will be not surprised at all if after this week, the tables are turned again and have a completely new setting coming to the final weeks. But rest assure that one think always is certain: it will be exciting and entertaining, so sit tight, and enjoy the show.


2018 EU LCS Spring Split Standings after Week 6:

1- Fnatic 9W 3L

2- G2 Esports 8W 4L

3- Team Vitality 7W 5L

4- Giants 6W 6L

4- Misfits 6W 6L

4- Splyce 6W 6L

7- Schalke 04 5W 7L

7- Team ROCCAT 5W 7L

9- H2K 4W 8L

9- Unicorns of Love 4W 8L


(Photo Credit: lolesports Flickr)

Disclaimer: The following article was written freely based on the author's opinion, and it may not necessarily represent Inven Global's editorial stance.