Team Vitality vs. G2 Esports: LEC match of the week preview

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League of Legends. Photo Courtesy of Riot Games. /

As the 2019 LEC Spring Split approaches the half-way mark the standings are starting to take shape, with four teams sitting head and shoulders above the rest of the league. G2 Esports leads the pack, boasting a 100% record in their opening six games of the season, closely followed by Schalke 04, Team Vitality, and Misfits Gaming. Week 4 pitches these front-runners together as Schalke take on Misfits in Friday’s opener, then Vitality and G2 face off to close out Day 1, with the latter being dubbed the LEC Match of the Week.

While some fans have already crowned G2 as Spring Split champions, Friday will give us a closer look at how strong the super-team and their competitors really are. With the likes of Splyce, SK Gaming, and Origen all waiting to capitalize on any mistake from the teams above them, there’s no margin for error, especially when 1st place is up for grabs in the game between Team Vitality and G2 Esports this weekend.

Team Vitality

Vitality is currently on an impressive run of five wins in a row, but that streak almost came to a surprising end last week when they faced a struggling Rogue roster with a lot to prove. If not for a fortunate backdoor to end the game, Rogue would have handed Vitality their second loss of the season after taking full control of the early game thanks to Kikis’ superior jungle presence.

That being said, this was an uncharacteristic Vitality performance, as they’ve been dominant in their other four victories this season, particularly in last weekend’s LEC Match of the Week against Origen. Although they’re liable to slow starts, the team eventually pick up the pace around the 15-minute mark and utilize their mainly mid-game focused team compositions to create a large gold disparity and close out their games.

No doubt G2 Esports present a much tougher task than the adversaries Vitality has dealt with so far this season, but they’ll still fancy their chances. The strengths of Lee “Mowgli” Jae-ha, Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro, and Jakub “Jactroll” Skurzyński directly counter the areas where G2 have looked shakiest in recent weeks – the early game. Therefore, YamatoCannon and his squad have every chance to come out victorious if they get off to a good start in the game and look to snowball their advantage into the mid and late game.

One to Watch – Amadeu “Attila” Carvalho

Despite his team-mates Lucas “Cabochard ” Simon-Meslet and Jiizuke leading the line when it comes to Player of the Game awards with two each, Attila could be the star man for his team in Friday’s clash against G2. Vitality’s Portuguese marksman has been one of the LEC’s most consistent performers in the opening three weeks of the season, all while flaunting his mastery on a variety of bottom lane champions – most notably Draven and Vayne in victories against Misfits Gaming and Splyce respectively.

In normal circumstances, Vitality’s road to success would be led by the early game prowess of their mid-jungle duo Jiizuke and Mowgli, or the late-game win condition presented by Cabochard’s aptitude on split-pushing champions like his signature Jayce. Nevertheless, this week Yamato and his roster are met with a completely different challenge, a G2 Esports outfit with little to no weakness. If Vitality is to come out on top of the LEC Match of the Week, perhaps it would be wise to target G2’s relatively inexperienced AD Carry Perkz and if this were the plan, Attila would be crucial to his team’s cause.

Kobbe, Hans Sama, and Upset are constantly in the conversation for ‘Best ADC in the West’, but Attila rarely gets a mention. This Friday is an opportunity for both him and his team to make a statement on the European stage by taking down leaders G2 and establishing themselves as the current best team in the LEC.

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