LEC Spring Season: Week 4 Roundup

It's week four of the LEC's Spring Split, and the group stage has returned to determine who will earn the right to playoffs, and potentially a spot at MSI. Team Vitality and Team BDS made playoffs in emphatic fashion, as the other teams tried to fight their way through the bracket.

Day 1:

VIT v MAD (VIT win)

VIT: Malphite; Maokai; Yone; Zeri; Lulu
MAD: Jayce; Trundle; Ahri; Lucian; Nami

Nisqy was coordinating well with Ellyoya around the map but MAD's macro reads were off compared to VIT, and any team fight that Upset was involved in seemed doomed for MAD Lions.

VIT v MAD (VIT win)

MAD: K'Sante; Vi; Veigar; Lucian; Nami
VIT: Olaf; Wukong; Ahri; Xayah; Nautilus

VIT had a lot of chain CC, and Photon and Bo worked really well together roaming around the map. MAD showed some signs of life and Nisqy was a standout, but it wasn't enough to pull off the win.

AST v FNC (AST win)

AST: Gangplank; Sejuani; Yone; Xayah; Leona
FNC: Jax; Moakai; Lissandra; Varus; Tahm Kench

A great early invade from 113 gifted Kobbe first blood. Lider was playing well on Yone, and FNC moved members around the map to try and equalise some early losses. FNC outplayed Astralis in the first big team fight, but once AST slowed down in the late game they won cleanly.

AST v FNC (FNC win)

AST: Illaoi; Moakai; Zed; Sivir; Rakan
FNC: Olaf; Vi; Lissandra; Varus; Nautilus

113 tried to level one invade and got punished for first blood. FNC played proactively around objectives and Rekkles bullied Kobbe 1v1 in lane. FNC had a lead of over 10k gold into the late game, but looked shaky closing out the game.

AST v FNC (AST win)

AST: Malphite; Irelia; Sejuani; Lucian; Nami
FNC: Mordekaiser; Maokai; Orianna; Varus; Nautilus

The early game was skirmish heavy but even, and AST went too deep for a fight around bot tower, ending with Rekkles getting a triple kill despite Lider's early spike. Lider's Irelia continued to spike in the mid game. FNC found some good fights, but a Baron steal by 113 slowed FNC down enough that Lider could scale to a point of being unstoppable.

Day 2:

BDS v SK (BDS win)

BDS: Olaf; Vi; Syndra; Jinx; Renata Glasc
SK: Rumble; Wukong; Ahri; Xayah; Nautilus

Sheo ganked top and Markoon counter ganked early, resulting in two kills for one to SK. Adam was able to bring himself back in the game during the laning phase, and BDS looked better in team fights and at objective macro. Renata countered SK's dive heavy draft entirely, allowing BDS to stomp the mid game and close efficiently.

BDS v SK (BDS win)

SK: Gnar; Wukong; Ahri; Aphelios; Lulu
BDS: Darius; Sejuani; Cassiopeia; Xayah; Renata Glasc

SK seemingly had the same game plan, getting Irrelevant ahead but leaving Crownie with a small lead bot. BDS came back strongly in the mid game, stacking Dragons as a win con, and once again letting Renata Glasc through the draft spelt disaster for SK.

G2 v KOI (G2 win)

G2: Pantheon; Gragas; Yasuo; Varus; Heimerdinger
KOI: Jayce; Sejuani; Sylas; Zeri; Leona

Yike and BrokenBlade engaged Szygenda and Malrang in an early 2v2 skirmish top and walked away with two kills for none. G2 stacked drakes and their macro play looked far superior. G2 snowballed in the mid game, with Yike and Hans Sama looking in great form.

G2 v KOI (KOI win)

KOI: Jayce; Lee Sin; Lissandra; Zeri; Lulu
G2: Pantheon; Gragas; K'Sante; Varus; Nautilus

Larssen was moving cleanly around the map with Malrang and finding advantages, but Caps was winning out in lane trades. Into the mid and late game Larssen found crucial positions in team fights and dealt immense damage with his passive to set up Szygenda, who looked monstrous on clean up duty.

G2 v KOI (KOI win)

G2: Gragas; Vi; Ahri; Varus; Jarvan IV
KOI: Kennen; Wukong; Akali; Sivir; Thresh

KOI looked stronger than G2 heading into the mid game, with Malrang and Comp having large leads. G2's Dragon stacking was not enough to beat KOI's death ball in the late game, where Larssen and Comp burst them down while Szygenda and Malrang provided CC.

Day 3:

AST v VIT (VIT win)

AST: Olaf; Maokai; Sylas; Lucian; Nami
VIT: Kled; Wukong; Annie; Draven; Nautilus

An extremely bloody game, but VIT simply played macro better and stacked Dragons efficiently. Finn and Kobbe were standouts for AST but Bo was absolutely monstrous, being everywhere he needed to be for VIT to run rings around AST.

AST v VIT (VIT win)

AST: Olaf; Xin Zhao; Sylas; Xayah; Nautilus
VIT: Jax; Lee Sin; Annie; Zeri; Rakan

Bo was once again everywhere. Bo's early lead made him scary in mid game fights, as Upset's lead also grew. VIT showed good macro leveraging to push pressure points on the map using their advantages, splitting for a dominant close out.

BDS v KOI (BDS win)

BDS: Jarvan IV; Vi; Syndra; Zeri; Lulu
KOI: Kennen; Trundle; Akali; Aphelios; Thresh

Sheo led the way for BDS in a skirmish heavy laning phase. Nuc and Crownie provided immense burst damage in team fights, with Sheo and Adam being able to isolate targets easily. The mid-to-late game looked a lot more scrappy, but in a fight around Baron, Crownie secured a pentakill, shutting down KOI's momentum.

BDS v KOI (BDS win)

KOI: Kennen; Wukong; Orianna; Caitlyn; Annie
BDS: Sion; Vi; Cassiopeia; Xayah; Thresh

Another game with a skirmish heavy early and mid game, but a lot more even this time. Szygenda pulled off a clutch escape between two towers on Kennen after a bad fight for KOI, but Nuc and Crownie eventually scaled to a point where KOI were unable to win team fights.