League of Legends European Championship Week 9 Preview

SUMMONER’S RIFT - It’s almost here folks! The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) Spring Split is cresting over the horizon, and we’re all vibrating with excitement regarding the upcoming playoffs. But before we get there, one final week (Week 9) has to take place, and as we look ahead at the impending spring tourney, we’re left crunching numbers and pondering fates, because the LEC has never seemed more uncertain. 

While the North American LCS is contentious at the top and not much else, the LEC has seen plenty of drama of late. Just a few weeks ago, the world of European League of Legends seemed to be pretty straight forward. G2 Esports was unsurprisingly maintaining an infallible spot on the throne of the LEC, and once-honorable squads like Fnatic seemed a distant memory of the past. However, fans of League of Legends and Esports aficionados have been treated to a hearty disserray of twists and turns, making all of those reliable headlines feel like a fever dream. 

Since the end of Week 6, G2 Esports have dropped two of their three matches, only just beating Vitality this past weekend in what was a very unimpressive display. Then there’s Fnatic, who began Week 4 in the second-to-last spot on the standings, and have won 6 straight matches to climb all the way up to 5th in the LEC. In dramatic fashion, Fnatic is looking ahead to the final week of LEC action with an almost guaranteed playoff spot, just as everyone started to count out the former EU kings. 

The War For Sixth Place in the LEC

In a recent article, the LEC broke down why #EveryGameCounts in the complicated win/loss scenarios that we will see as the complete playoff picture shapes up in this, the final week of the LEC Spring Split.

The biggest fight will be for the final spot in the playoff tournament, and is currently a pretty heated battle between three different squads. The Misfits need a bit of a miracle to happen in order to snag the last (6th) spot on the standings and receive an invitation to the Spring Playoffs, while teams like FC Schalke 04, and SK Gaming will just need some good ol’ fashion wins to secure their potential.

What makes the final week even more exciting is that none of the three teams fighting for 6th have matches against one another (as seen in the above image). This means that there are a few situations in which all three teams are tied at 8-10, or 9-9. In the rare case that Fnatic also lose both of their games this weekend, there could be a four-way tie in the 5th and 6th seed. Tiebreakers, according to the Official LEC 2019 Spring Rulebook, are decided by comparing the team’s head-to-head match results, which is where the potential for a pile of tie-breaker games comes into play.

League rules state that in the rare case that a tie is reached, and the head-to-head matches between the tied teams is even in wins and losses, a tie-breaker match will be held. Being that the LEC could have a three-way tie for the final playoff spot, and even a potential fight/tie for the second seed, there’s a chance (albeit a small one) we could see up to six extra games this weekend. Thanks to this great graphic (below) from the fine folks at the LEC themselves, we can clearly see that we’re probably going to get 1, maybe 2, and possibly zero extra matches prior to the end of the Spring Split Regular Season.

It’s going to be an exciting weekend for League of Legends fans, regardless of who makes the cut. Who do you think is going to squeak into the LEC Spring Split Playoffs? Is G2 losing their grips on the throne of European LoL? Let us know what you’re excited for as we head into the Spring Split Playoffs.

[images courtesy of Riot Games]