In this article, we will be talking about our tier list for the LEC Spring Split 2022
LEC is set to start from Friday and a lot of European fans have waited for a while to get that started. Once again, this is a league which has had a lot of turnover and two superteams were formed. The question lies with whether the LEC Rookie wave succeeds or fails. That is the story of the LEC for the past few years as new teams rise and new players emerge. With that said, let’s talk about our tier list going into the split.
- Read More: LCK Spring Split 2022 Tier List
Tier List
Like our other tier lists for other regions, this is going to be similar. With the LEC it’s a bit different as there are two overwhelming favorites compared to the rest. Thus, here is our list.
Potential Winners
The two overwhelming favorites to win this split are Vitality or Fnatic. One created a super team and the other reinforced their team. However, they are both equally strong on paper.
Starting with Vitality, they formed a super team getting Alphari, Perkz, and Carzzy. Alphari and Perkz return from NA with mixed feelings. With their return, the LEC is undoubtedly stronger. However, Perkz has looked on and off last year, and he will have to show up for this team once more like he did in G2. Although, that’s not the biggest question with this team. The biggest point of contention is whether they can work together like all super teams. There are a lot of moving parts on this team with everyone needing resources, and it might be very hard to manage. In a situation like this, all we can do is to wait and see whether it works out. If it does, that puts the LEC on notice.
On the other hand, Fnatic went about it the other way. They got players that can help them move forward and upgraded at every position that was vacant. They got Wunder from G2 and Humanoid from MAD while Razork signed as a free agent. All the three players are an upgrade from what they had previously. Wunder in particular, will be very motivated to show he still has it in him to play at a high level. Humanoid has proven last split that he is at the very top of the LEC in terms of mid laners. Also, Razork is a jungler that can give them a spark going forward. It’s a well constructed roster by Fnatic as they pair these three pairs with Upset and Hylissang. It might take a bit of time for them to get rolling but watch out when they do.
Playoff Bound
For us, MAD Lion and G2 Esports are easily playoff bound this split. Both made changes including bringing in two rookies. G2 made more changes though as they bring in Targamas and Flakked as the rookies along with BrokenBlade as the top laner. Not to mention, they got a great coach in Dylan Falco as well.
This G2 team is pretty much a topside heavy team. They have BrokenBlade, Jankos, and Caps to carry games with Flakked and Targamas slowly get into their groove as a duo. There are a few things to watch out for with this team. G2 has not played with Rookies much, and it’s a point of contention for them. Also, Caps was pretty on and off last year. However, with Jankos and BrokenBlade, they should be doing well enough regardless. Thus, G2 has to be dominant in their solo lanes to have success at the top to possibly get a trophy. Knowing the roster though, this team is going to be good but how good will they be is what we have to see going forward.
As for MAD Lions, they simply lost their best player and their primary teamfighting shotcaller. Replacing them with two rookies, Reeker and UNFORGIVEN, is an interesting choice. However, when you look at MAD’s track record, it’s not surprising. They tend to take on rookies and hit gold with them for the most part. Elyoya and Kaiser are prime examples of this as both of them are cornerstones of this team. Along with Armut, they have a decent core to bring in rookies into.
However, with the two carry positions being replacement, it puts them into an unknown. Given the structure and players MAD has, they should be able to succeed even if it takes them a bit of time to get it going. If Reeker lives up to who he is hyped to be and UNFORGIVEN can show why MAD picked him up, this could be a dark horse team that wants to compete for another LEC title.
Playoff Contenders
There are a bunch of teams on this category for us. They are SK Gaming, Excel Esports, Astralis, and Misfits Gaming. These teams will be fighting for two playoff spots in our opinion.
SK Gaming is bringing in a solid roster to this split. Treatz moves back to jungle while they sign Sertuss and Gilius as their mid laner and jungler. It’s a better situation for SK going forward and this team is strong enough to make the playoffs. Jenax has improved as a play and Jezu and Treatz were a good bot lane last Spring. The question remains of whether Gilius and Sertuss can perform. The good sign is that Gilius and Sertuss have played together before, so it’s a good sign for SK going into this split.
Moving to Excel Esports, they are bringing back their Summer Split roster for the most part. Finn was added to the team instead of Kryze. That does not change how XL will be playing going forward. They are a bot dominant team with a good mid laner and a jungler that is getting better in the LEC. The team has a good amount of upside, but it’s whether they can stack up against other teams. They could be making playoffs but the middle of the pack for the LEC is stacked up, so it will be an interesting journey for XL this split.
Misfits are making a lot of changes with hyped jungler Shlatan coming in instead of Razork. They also made other signings such as Neon and Mersa in the bot lane. This team is going to be playing from the top side with HiRit and Vetheo as their main carries. These two, particularly HiRit, were exceptional last year during the Summer Split. This team has a lot of room to grow and a lot of potential. Thus, we could see this team making the playoffs.
Lastly, we have Astralis who are coming back with most of their roster from last year. They acquired Kobbe and Dajor as their ADC and mid laner. While not a lot is known about Dajor, Kobbe is an upgrade compared to what they had. PromiseQ still needs a lot of improvement but WhiteKnight is the strength of this team. He and Zanzarah are the stable forces of this team, and they could sneak into the playoffs in our opinion. We would not put them as favorites to make the playoffs but them sneaking in there will not be surprising.
Bottom Of The League
There are two teams in this category, and they are Rogue and Team BDS. Rogue has become a shell of themselves compared to last year while Team BDS has a newly constructed roster of rookies and decent players.
Rogue is a different team this time around with them selling off their best players. Now this team could very well miss the playoffs. Odoamne, Larssen, and Trymbi are still with the team, and they acquired Malrang from the LCK and Comp as their ADC. The problems this team will face are multifaceted. Larssen has not shown improvement and versatility over the course of his time in the LEC while the language barrier might be an issue. Furthermore, the coaching staff has a few question marks on them. It looks fairly bleak for this team as of right now whether they can find success after losing pivotal players.
Team BDS is a team full of Rookies settling in to make something happen. While Adam and NUCLEARINT has played a split, they are still fairly new players. This team has LIMIT as the veteran as they try to improve as a team. This team is not in a situation roster wise to make the playoffs. They will have to develop as a team and show signs of improvement to compete for one. However, as we sit right now, they do not have a change to make it in.
Games To Watch This Week
With LEC Spring Split 2022 Week 1 being a Super Week, there are a lot of fun games to watch. Here are our games to watch this week.
- Vitality vs MAD Lions (Friday): The opener of the Spring Split where Carzzy faces off his old team and LEC 2021 split winners in MAD Lions.
- Vitality vs Fnatic (Saturday): The two favorites to win the split faces each other for the first of two meetings this split.
- MAD Lions vs G2 Esports (Sunday): A clash of teams who have historically given some solid games to watch when they face each other.
Thus, these three games are the ones you guys should definitely watch. The LEC kicks off tomorrow with Vitality vs MAD.
