What we learned from first week of LEC summer split

The League of Legends European Championship began on June 11 with three consecutive game days. The LEC super week featured routine wins and big upsets. After the conclusion of the fist week of the LEC summer split, Misfits Gaming surprisingly sit at the top of the table, while SK Gaming occupies the bottom position. Asides from SK, all LEC teams won at least one game in the opening week.

The #LEC Summer Season Standings after Week 1!

1) #MSFWIN (3-0)
2) #ASTWIN (2-1)
-) #G2WIN (2-1)
-) #MADWIN (2-1)
-) #RGEWIN (2-1)
6) #FNCWIN (1-2)
-) #S04WIN (1-2)
-) #VITWIN (1-2)
-) #XLWIN (1-2)
10) #SKWIN (0-3)

— LEC (@LEC) June 13, 2021

With Week 1 of the LEC completed, here are the most important takeaways from all the action.

Misfits – a force no one saw coming

After one week of LEC action, Misfits Gaming remain the only team yet to lose a game. They upset Fnatic with an outstanding performance from Vincent “Vetheo” Berrie on Akali. He finished the game with an impressive Kill/Death/Assist stat line of 11/2/8. They then went on to demolish SK in their second game of the week. Misfits concluded Week 1 with another win against Vitality. Vetheo’s Akali once again showed up for the occasion with 13 kill involvements.

Some rosters are better left unchanged

In the opening week of the LEC, teams with no roster changes during the offseason performed relatively better than teams with changes. However, this is expected given that players will need time to properly settle down in their new teams. But for SK Gaming, their changes do not seem to be ones that will improve over time. They finished Week 1 of the LEC summer split with an 0-3 record. While Erik “Treatz” Wessen has done well in his new role, the team’s support Jesse “Jesiz” Le is still adjusting. Jesiz died five times in their game against G2 on the Leona.

Besides Jesiz, the entire team continuously struggles in team fights and maintaining map control. Even though it is just the first week of the LEC, things do not look good for SK.

G2 still bleeds

While G2 have finished Week 1 with a 2-1 record, their gameplay still does not look convincing. After losing the LEC Spring playoffs, many expected to see a more dominant G2 heading into the Summer Split. However, the team still looks like they are finding their feet. Their loss against Schalke on the second day stemmed not only from drafts, but poor positioning and overall team cohesion. G2’s top laner, Martin “Wunder” Hansen, proved less impactful on the Sett, dying seven times without a single kill.

More to come from Fnatic?

Cleaning up on top 🔥 #LEC pic.twitter.com/D9BbVK69DN

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) June 13, 2021

Just like in the Spring Split, Fnatic kicked off their LEC summer campaign with a slow start. They lost their first two games to Misfits and MAD Lions. In the game against Misfits, they started well in the early stages. However, things fell apart for the team as the game progressed. While in the game against MAD, they were simply outclassed.

Heading into the third day of the first week, not many expected anything exciting from Fnatic’s match against Rogue. But the old kings silenced critics with an impressive win. Gabriel “Bwipo” Rau’s Karthus together with Yasin “Nisqy” Dincer on Lucian proved impossible for Rogue to handle. Fnatic controlled the game from early on and did not give Rogue many opportunities to find a way back. While Fnatic may have had a slow start, they seem to be finding their rhythm heading into the second week of the LEC.