League of Legends LEC Playoff Preview: G2 Esports vs. Origen

League of Legends. Photo courtesy of Riot Games.
League of Legends. Photo courtesy of Riot Games.
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Nukeduck, Origen. League of Legends.
League of Legends. Photo courtesy of Riot Games.

Key Match-Up: Caps vs. Nukeduck

The last time these two sides faced off Origen came out on top, and a large part of their victory was as a result of Nukeduck’s Zed pick in the middle lane. Keeping G2 at bay early, while also crafting out advantages for themselves on the bottom half of the map, topped off by an excellent solo kill on Caps by Origen’s maestro in the middle lane, all added up to a comprehensive victory against the then best team in the LEC, shutting down their unbeaten run.

Both Caps and Nukeduck have been standout performers for their team in the Spring Split so far, racking up 12 Player of the Game awards between them following some incredible carry performances. Their excellent form was rewarded when the LEC All-Pro teams were announced, and both made it to the top two teams, with a huge majority of the mid lane votes.

It’s unsurprising that these two are performing so well for their teams, after a very impressive 2018 from both. Caps led his Fnatic team to a Worlds final, picking up EU LCS MVP in the process, while Nukeduck took Schalke 04 to their first ever European final, in which they took a game from Fnatic and almost qualified for Worlds through the regional qualifiers.

Neither player is scared of pulling out a carry champion, as evidenced by their previous meeting, so we’re definitely in for a treat this Saturday as they’ll both be looking to one-up each other and take full control of the middle lane. Expect a lot of jungle attention in what will be an explosive match-up that could well decide the outcome of the series and the winner of the middle lane may be the key reason for their team securing a place in the Spring Split final.

LEC Playoff Prediction: G2 Esports 1 – 3 Origen

On current form, Origen are by far the stronger of the two teams, especially when considering the momentum gained from their six game winning streak. The clean nature of their games, particularly their late game shotcalling and teamfighting around key objectives, is enough to make any team scared of the prospect of facing Origen. No less than a G2 side that are yet to find their identity and have struggled when forced into later game skirmishes.

Origen will want to replicate their excellent performance in week 5 of the regular season, in which they kept G2 at bay in the early game and prevented any opportunity for the likes of Perkz, Caps or Jankos to snowball the game out of control. In terms of late game success, the difference between these two sides is day and night. G2 have yet to show that they’re capable of outplaying opponents in the 30-40 minute marks and so Origen will undoubtedly target this area and look to punish their opponents around Barons and Elder Dragons later in the game.

Nonetheless, its extremely likely that G2 have bucked their ideas up after their terrible end to the regular season. The very talented roster have not forgotten how to play the game after 20 minutes and so will definitely still be a force in the late game against Origen. Arguments could be made for the G2 players being better than their counterparts in every role on the map, but whether they can play better as an individual unit that is more important over the course of a Bo5 series.

It’s very likely that G2 Esports will take down Origen in at least one early game and snowball the game into a win, however whether they can achieve this three times over a series is another matter. Origen look the more accomplished of the two sides when it comes to 5v5s and shotcalling, especially in the late game. As a result, it’s hard to rule Origen out and they have every chance to take the victory on Saturday and book their place in the first ever LEC playoff final.

Disagree with my LEC playoff prediction? Feel free to flash the #G2Win in the comments below!

The LEC broadcast continues with “Ready Check” on Friday 16:30 CET on the Riot Games Twitch channel. Catch the G2 v Origen LEC playoff game on Saturday at 16:00 CET!