The LEC Spring Split 2021 Playoffs start tomorrow and we tackle whether any team can contend with G2 and predictions for Round 1.
The LEC Spring Split has been an interesting league to watch despite G2 being so dominant. It is very clear that G2 is the best team in the LEC by a good margin. However, other teams in the playoffs more specifically, Rogue and Mad Lions, have shown the potential to be one of the teams that can cause some trouble to G2. Hence, we break down if there are any contenders for G2’s path to MSI, or is it a foregone conclusion that G2 is winning for sure. Also, we will do the predictions for the Round 1 of the playoffs.
G2’s Main Competition
As mentioned earlier, Rogue and Mad Lions are probably the only two teams that can realistically contend against G2. However, since the playoffs are onstage and Fnatic is in playoffs, you can never really count them out entirely.
Fnatic
Fnatic is one of those teams that could potentially contend with G2. With the playoffs being onstage and historical matchups, they are a dark horse to possibly beat G2. However Fnatic’s recent form has been terrible. Their entire team would need to play better as a whole to contend with G2. Selfmade will need to up his game and help his lanes get ahead.
On the other hand, Hylissang and Bwipo will need to be on their A-game. The only thing that is a problem for Fnatic is that Caps vs Nisqy is a mismatch and they will need to work around that. While Fnatic probably has the lowest chance out of the three teams to beat G2, they can still be a threat if they can find some semblance of form.
Mad Lions
Mad Lions on the other hand are a complete wildcard. The team has a lot of talent but their performances can vary a lot from game to game. Their biggest Achilles Heel is consistency and their greatest strength is being a very good early game team. However, there is a lot that still needs to be better for Mad Lions. Carzzy and Kaiser need to step up as laners and MAD as a whole needs to be as good as they have been in the early game in order to be a top team.
When it comes to the mid-game though, they are not very good to say the least. They have thrown away many games in the mid-game. That cannot happen if you want to win against G2. In that regard, the one thing that sort of works for them is that they beat G2 once this split. Their biggest hurdle will be whether they can beat Rogue this week, who has been a thorn on their side. MAD vs RGE will be one of the more deciding matches in the playoffs.
Rogue
Let’s talk about Rogue, probably the one team fans are looking at to actually contend with G2. However, in our perspective, they are on the same boat as MAD. While they do look more consistent as a team and have played better than MAD in most instances, their biggest weakness is they just cannot beat G2. G2 has dominantly beaten them in both instances of their games and that is one thing Rogue will want to change. They should still be the team that is expected to go to the Finals but it is still a tough road.
Wrap up
To wrap up, in our opinion, currently, Mad Lions would be the one team that can possibly contend with G2. Despite MAD’s flaws, they are a team that has shown that they can compete with G2 at any given game. MAD’s biggest test will be to be RGE rather than G2 because of how RGE has been able to beat them. RGE however, seems to be on the backfoot against G2 on many instances and they will need to shore that up immensely to be able to win. Fnatic has an outside shot if everything comes together for them. Lastly, realistically speaking, as of their current form no one is beating G2 unless they improve. Hence, it will be interesting to watch the playoff series and see how the teams progress in their route to contend with G2.
Playoff Preview and Predictions
Let’s move on to our playoff predictions with a bit of a preview for each of the matches this week.
FNC vs SK
Fnatic is coming into the series in a bad run of form. They face the weakest team in the playoffs in SK and it will be a series that they can use to get back into form. Furthermore, the playoffs are onstage so it’s an advantage for Fnatic with experienced players and a disadvantage for a team of rookies in SK. With that said, our prediction is that this series goes 3-1 in favor of FNC. Fnatic has too much experience for them to not win this series.
G2 vs S04
G2 are clearly the overwhelming favorites in this series. However, the real question of the series is whether S04 can take a game off them. S04 has been good playing around Abbedagge, Broken Blade, and Gilius. However, their bot lane will be at a disadvantage against G2. Furthermore, the series is onstage and S04’s surge came when the LEC was online. In our opinion, G2 will take this series at a 3-0, and S04 vs FNC is what we will look forward to next. G2 is much better than S04 and G2 will go to the next round in the upper bracket.
MAD vs RGE
This is probably the most even series out of the three matches. However, RGE’s record against MAD is just astounding. MAD will need to be better if they want to win against Rogue. Inspired vs Elyoya and Larssen vs Humanoid will be the key matchups this series which will decide the winner. Whether MAD can be more consistent or RGE just dominates MAD will be the narrative going into Sunday. In our prediction, RGE will win 3-2 and set up a future rematch in the playoff series for going to the Finals.
With all of that said, G2 are clear favorites to win it all and the other teams are just vying to get better and possibly compete with G2. All-in-all, the playoffs will be a good one to watch this split. LEC 2021 Spring Split Playoffs kick off tomorrow with FNC vs SK.
