After eight weeks of competitive League of Legends action, the summer playoffs have finally arrived in Europe. The top six teams of the summer split will battle it out in a double-elimination playoff bracket from August 21 to September 6, with the top four earning a spot at the 2020 World Championship event.
Who’s In the LEC Summer Split Playoffs?
This season of the LEC was an absolutely crazy one filled with upsets, underdog stories and even a mind-blowing miracle run. As such, our participants, and their seeds, are very unexpected, which will make for some amazing playoff matches.
Rogue very unexpectedly enters as the first seed, having clinched the summer split title in the final week. The team came in at +2000 odds to win it at the start of June on Sportsbook, with second-placed MAD Lions having the same odds – showing just how well the underdogs performed thus far.
You can find each team’s odds to win the LEC summer playoffs below:
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| G2 Esports | -125 |
| MAD Lions | +250 |
| Fnatic | +800 |
| Rogue | +800 |
| Schalke | +6600 |
| SK Gaming | +15000 |
Odds as of August 18 at [Sportsbook not available for your region]
Can G2 Esports regain their championship form?
It’s safe to say that G2 didn’t have the best summer season. The spring champions entered this season as huge favorites, with odds of -200 to win it on Sportsbook at the start of June. However, the team definitely hasn’t lived up to those odds.
They finished third in the season, winning just 61 percent of their games and looking like they could lose to anyone. In fact, they even faced the possibility of missing out on the playoffs altogether until they finally picked themselves up at the end of July.
If they hope to win the playoffs, then they’ll have to really step it up. The team has shown they are one of the best in the entire world and they’ll have to find their form again for these playoffs.
Are Rogue and MAD Lions being underestimated?
Surprisingly enough, the teams that placed first and second during the regular season come in as considerable underdogs for the playoffs.
Rogue’s odds are especially shocking, as they find themselves at +800 to win it on Sportsbook, while the second-placed MAD Lions are at +250. Of course, both these teams completed huge upsets to place where they did, but it still feels that their chances are better than what these odds suggest.
Both of these teams showed how dominant they can be, with Rogue beating both MAD Lions and Fnatic, while MAD Lions managed to take down G2 during the season. It is obvious that playoff experience is being valued by the books.
The playoff stage means that matches are played in a best-of-five format, rather than the best-of-one in the regular season, meaning teams will have to win three maps to win a series. Of course, there’s also the extra pressure, with a spot in the World Championship and the glory of a title just a few matches away.
However, considering their performances so far, it wouldn’t be surprising to see these teams challenge the favorites and maybe even secure an unexpected title.
Can FC Schalke 04 continue their miracle run?
If you’ve been following League of Legends at all this season, then you’ve no doubt heard about Schalke’s miracle run. The team did the unthinkable, securing a playoff spot after being stuck dead last for the first seven weeks of the eight-week season, and winning just one match in the first six weeks.
Somehow it all clicked for Schalke at the end of July, as the team went on an insane streak, winning seven matches in a row. They took down a huge name in Fnatic, and even ended the hopes of the impressive MAD Lions, denying them a chance at first place during the season with a shocking victory.
Their journey to the playoffs was possibly one of the biggest upsets in League of Legends history, and all being said and done, just one question remains: Can their miracle run continue?
