LEC Week 2 – Are Rogue the new superteam and can Fnatic fix their issues?

Has anyone told Fnatic it is LEC day and not scrim day, is Rogue the future of Europe and is G2 Esports still not taking the first weeks seriously? Let’s dive right into this past week of LEC action.

The LEC started off this Friday with the MAD Lions proving their worth against EXCEL. This day would favor one team more over the other for every match, making it a more one-sided day. Nonetheless, every win is crucial to stay afloat in the fierce competition this year. We see a bigger gap between the top and middle teams while the bottom teams are struggling to keep up. This week, we saw more of the same on Friday and a lot of new things on Saturday.

The #LEC standings after Week 2:

1) #RGEWIN (5-0)
2) #G2WIN (4-1)
3) #MADWIN (3-2)
-) #S04WIN (3-2)
5) #FNCWIN (2-3)
-) #MSFWIN (2-3)
-) #SKWIN (2-3)
-) #XLWIN (2-3)
9) #ASTWIN (1-4)
-) #VITWIN (1-4)

— LEC (@LEC) January 30, 2021

It is obvious that some of the teams with a lot of rookies are still trying to find their identity in the LEC. Teams like Vitality, Astralis and SK Gaming are not looking so hot right now. On the other hand, we have EXCEL showing us glimpses of what they can become but they still lack some basic macro play. They all have their future in their own hands, as we’re still only in week 2. But as we have learned from Astralis (previously Origen), it is of course better not to fall too far behind early.

MAD Lions and Fnatic scrimming?

The MAD Lions picked up their first win on Friday against EXCEL. They still look like a top tier contender even though they had some struggles in the previous week. This win against EXCEL was a welcoming one as they bounced back after a 1-2 start, but that was not all we saw from them. On Saturday we witnessed what could only be a good representation of a “chaotic & bloody scrim”. It all started in the draft.

My boys are warriors – they are showing qualities that in long term is going to serve us well. We had a gun pointing to our enemies head but we failed to pull the trigger, that part is solvable and I am not worried.

— YamatoCannon (@YamatoMebdi) January 30, 2021

We know that Selfmade is a good carry jungler but it was not expected that he would pick up Evelynn to face Elyoya’s Taliyah. Combine that with a trademark Bwipo move , a new unique champion in the toplane, locking in Pantheon. He would be facing off against Wukong, something Armut already showed at Worlds. Fnatic needed to match MAD Lions’ early aggression and start fighting back in the early game, but no one expected them to do it from the very get-go. This was one of the bloodiest games we have ever seen and there was action all around the map. The game only lasted 35 minutes, but it ramped up 50 kills. No one was safe on the map but it was Humanoid who helped carry the MAD Lions to victory. If you have not seen this game, you should check it out as soon as possible.

Is Rogue the future of the LEC?

The only undefeated team is Rogue, who are currently 5-0 and first in the standings. They only made a minor roster swap at the beginning of the split, replacing their veteran support with a veteran toplaner in Odoamne and investing in their academy team by promoting Trymbi. This move is paying off dividends as their gameplay looks very clean, but it took Trymbi a week or so to settle down in this new LEC environment.

Who is the number one in #LEC?

— ROGUE (@Rogue) January 30, 2021

Although Odoamne is still hunting for his first MVP performance, he is a big voice within the team. We can not help but remember him shotcalling a whole laneswap last LEC split, micro-managing his whole team around the map. With some new tactics hitting the rift, he still feels like a great shotcaller for his team. Especially when you know he has big shoes to fill now that Vander left the team.

Why does G2 lose against FC Schalke 04

Well, we can not say we are surprised about this one. G2 Esports is known for their more relaxed approach to the early season. Something we thought could change by bringing in Rekkles, but by the looks of it he has fallen into the classic G2 Esports mentality. Of course, nothing is lost for this team as this is how they usually start out their season. They always ramp up once playoffs are around the corner and it was fateful thinking to believe that Rekkles would change that. On the other hand, FC Schalke 04 did a rather good job and had a solid draft to play out that game. There was no real window for G2 Esports to punish and Schalke showed us they can win a game following a strong draft. A good sign for the future if you are a Schalke fan.

Time to raid pic.twitter.com/EjCKEvmY66

— G2 Esports (@G2esports) January 30, 2021

All things considered, it is still business as usual for the LEC. With Fnatic playing so chaotic, their playstyle might be a worrying trend for the future. We saw last split they had no real identity and could only play through Selfmade. With the coming of Upset and Nisqy we hoped that would change but that is still not clear. With the current standings, it looks like Rogue could be on top for some time as they face off against FC Schalke 04 and Astralis next week.

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Image credit: Riot Games