League of Legends: LEC Predictions week 7 day 1

League of Legends. Courtesy of Riot Games.
League of Legends. Courtesy of Riot Games. /
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Week 7 of the LEC provides an opportunity for teams to climb up the standings and lock themselves into playoffs. With just two wins separating the bottom six teams, it’s all still to play for in the top tier of European League of Legends.

Splyce (9-3) v Excel Esports (3-9)

Comparing Splyce to Excel Esports is like comparing apples to oranges. The former is an in-form team who have climbed to the top of the standings through an immaculate late game and play around major objectives. The latter prefer to do most of their work in the early game and are by no means near the top of the standings.

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A fortnight ago, this prediction would have been simple. Splyce Win. Move on. However with Excel’s latest surge up the table with two wins in Week 6, it’s not so straightforward. The weight of British fans rests solely on the shoulders of home-grown jungler Marc “Caedrel” Lamont as his control of the early game in recent weeks has been exemplary. If Excel can build a large gold lead in the first fifteen minutes, then this game could go either way.

Nevertheless, with the form Splyce jungler Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir has been showcasing throughout the Summer Split, this will be a tall order for Caedrel and his team. Not only are Splyce an unbreakable late game machine, their early game is near-flawless, resulting in their climb to 3rd place with an impressive 9-3 record. Team Vitality proved last week that Splyce can be defeated in the early game, but all logic points towards this being an off game for Splyce rather than a worrying trend.

Prediction – Splyce Win

Finn, Rogue, LEC, League of Legends.
League of Legends. Courtesy of Riot Games. /

Rogue (4-8) v SK Gaming (3-9)

On current form, there are no two worse teams in the LEC than Rogue and SK Gaming. In terms of losing streaks, theirs are the longest, sitting at three and seven respectively. So, how do you predict the outcome of a match-up between two dreadful sides? Flip a coin?

Rogue will opt to play Finn “Finn” Wiestål in the top lane for Friday’s game, while SK Gaming have swapped out regular LEC starter Jun-sik “Pirean” Choi for SK Gaming Prime’s Janik “Jenax” Bartels. If the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of this game wasn’t already big enough…

Ultimately it boils down to which jungler will show signs of their form from earlier in the season. Will Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek perform to the level of “LEC Rookie of the Spring Split” and snowball his solo laners to complete mid game control? Or will Kacper “Inspired” Słoma set down his authority in the jungle, linking up with Emil “Larssen” Larsson to roam around the map? It’s hard to tell.

In situations like this, it’s usually wise to lean towards the better teamfighters, as that’s where the result of the game will most likely be decided. SK Gaming take the advantage in this regard, as they’ve utilised AD Carry Crownshot in skirmishes and teamfights to great effect at times this season, and they should once again to lift themselves off the foot of the table in Week 7.

Prediction – SK Gaming Win