SK and Fnatic met once again, only three weeks after their exciting base race at IEM Katowice. This time Fnatic pulled out a surprise for SK by playing a double AD composition with Caitlyn vs Anivia in the mid lane. SK's bot lane duo built up an early lead by constantly farming the double golems and stealing a kill on Taric during a 2 vs 2 lane fight after Fnatic initiated with two targeted stuns on Nunu. However, Caitlyn's long range and ability to poke allowed her to stay well in front of Anivia in farm. The teams went back and forth as they exchange the gold and momentum lead until SK took a decisive lead after taking down two members of Fnatic as well as Baron Nashor. Fnatic responded to SK's advantage by placing all their eggs into the Caitlyn basket and giving her as much gold as possible; by 35:00, Caitlyn was 100 CS above the next closest champion on the map. This was exactly what they needed as xPeke went to town with a triple kill while his teammates occupied SK with crowd control in a team fight near Fnatic's fallen mid Outer turret. Twitch was SK's lone survivor after the fight and he made a valiant effort defending the base, but it was not enough to stop Fnatic's five man wrecking crew charging straight for the nexus. Unfortunately for SK, one fight was all it took for Fnatic to steal the game from their grasp.


Gambit and EG's first meeting in the LCS was a highly anticipated matchup and many expected the outcome to set the tone for the dominant force in the European division. Udyr's early gambit to flash into the Dragon pit at 4:00 to take down Dragon gave his teammates an early advantage in lane. However, that was the extent of Gambit's lead since EG came out ahead in almost every team fight. It was just two kills at the beginning as EG caught some of Gambit's stragglers when the teams converged around the Dragon pit, but eventually EG built up a thirteen-kill lead in the mid game on the back of Froggen's immaculate Anivia play. Even though EG had an enormous gold and psychological advantage, they were still scared of Gambit's potential for some special desperation tactics. They took the game very slowly, finally ending it after taking down every single building in Gambit's base.

Perhaps it was Gambit's hubris that they did not ban out Froggen's Anivia, or they have simply forgotten, but it is something they should keep in mind for their next meeting. When Gambit’s Nexus fell, all 10 champions were still alive – the match was expected to generate fireworks of LCS rivalries ended but in a whimper.


After GIANTS shocked many with a victory over Fnatic in the LCS Qualifiers, it’s no real surprise to see them use a similar setup in their opening game. With Ashe swapped for Kennen, the hard engage was adjusted into team-fight based comp with Wukong, Zyra and Kennen. Fnatic tweaked their poke setup from the qualifiers, focusing more on disengages with Nidalee instead of Lux.

GIANTS started well with a lane swap, leading to first blood on sOAZ at 3:33 and the tower falling shortly after. At 7:40, GIANTS took an easy Dragon with a side of dead Cyanide for a 2.4K gold lead. Jimbownz was also able to show off his individual skills by creating skirmishes all over the map and defeated YellOwStaR in a 1 vs 1 situation by the eighteenth minute, after taking down all of Fnatic's Outer turrets. However, GIANTS were lapsing in minion farm and all three of Fnatic’s carries were ahead in CS. With smart poke and lane clearing, Fnatic crept into a gold lead for the first time 27 minutes into the game. From then on, they denied the team fights GIANTS desperately needed by relying heavily upon poke, split pushes, a tanky front line, and carries who could easily disengage from enemy initiation. xPeke was a menace all over the map pushing lanes and throwing some fantastic Javelin Tosses, shutting out GIANTS . Fnatic took the mid inhibitor at 30 minutes and from there were undeniably ahead. A late Baron attempt from the GIANTS was thwarted, but not before Jimbownz executed a fantastic 1vs2 followed by a clutch save from Babeta on Sona. GIANTS tried to hold on to their base but coulddn’t quite pull it off and Fnatic cruised in for a win after what had looked like a shaky start.


SK vs Wolves was a match no-one could confidently call beforehand. SK had shown strong play and even better shot-put form while Wolves scooted through the qualifiers with little problem. This one was down to whether SK would let it slip away from them. Although Wolves played well, hyrqBot was the X-factor that solidified SK’s victory. With a 3 minute first blood on Cowtard’s Lux, hyrq was a constant threat – ganking lanes to burn Flashes and invading enemy jungle by flying over the Baron wall. His map presence made the difference between the teams: Wolves were scared and Svenskeren could never gank, allowing SK lane without fear. Nyph and CandyPanda’s Twitch eked out a lead in bot lane with constant poke from Twitch’s Deadly Venom while the rest of the lanes were quite even. From there, SK just played the game of the advantaged team; safe lanes meant higher farm, while fantastic play from Nyph and CandyPanda picked off the Wolves any time they strayed too far out. SK continued to push safely and take objectives for the eventual victory. It was a slow and painful loss for Wolves who will be no doubt be accounting for the jungler in their rematch next week.



After a disappointing loss to EG, Gambit looked to bounce back in their game against another European elite, Fnatic. The game started with a frenzy as Gambit chose Volibear as a surprise Jungle pick and used him to great effect as they took first blood and Fnatic's top Outer turret down at 4:00. This left Fnatic's top side jungle vulnerable and allowed Renekton to bully Malphite throughout the game. Without a solid game plan, Fnatic decided to siege Gamit's mid turrets as five but they were thwarted easily by Gambit's ability to clear minion waves and crowd control any dive attempts. The event that decided the game was a Dragon fight soon after Fnatic's failed siege. Fnatic reached the Dragon first after both teams went back to their bases to heal and took this chance to steal it from under Gambit's nose. However, Gambit got to the Dragon in the nick of time and set Fnatic up beautifully into a line for Miss Fortune's Bullet Time. Fnatic's health was shredded so Gambit was able to walk away with four kills and the Dragon in tow. At this point, Renekton and Volibear became too much for Fnatic to handle as they could tank the damage in a 2vs5 long enough for the rest of Gambit to show and ace Fnatic. It was safe to say that the Russians were back in a big way as they took out Fnatic in just 30 minutes.


Despite the loss in their opening game, Wolves were not to be counted out against Evil Geniuses. EG drafted an aggressive team comp with Wickd on Akali and Snoopeh on Jungle Kayle, while Wolves secured strong defensive options with Shen, Lee Sin, and Zyra. The early game was the usual mix of red steals with a number of missed kill chances: Snoopeh and NeeGodBro went low early but managed to survive. Wickd held a small farm lead over NeeGodBro in Top lane, while the remaining lanes stayed even. At 12:20 Wolves took first blood on Wickd with Svenskeren chasing and catching the slippery assassin through the jungle with Lee Sin. In return, EG caught out TheTess with a simple pincer attack and started pushing in all the lanes. At 27 minutes, EG caught two Wolves out of position and claimed Baron Nashor. With continued split pushes and complete map control, the EG train kept on rolling. A successful Baron trap netted EG 4 kills as Wickd tore Wolves apart with continuous Shadow Dance resets and Mark detonations. EG finished baron and pushed for the win. Evil Geniuses did not showcase particularly impressive play, but it was enough to capitalize on Wolves’ falters in the midgame. Assuming EG continues to secure their heavily favored victories, they hold high chances at dominating the LCS.


GIANTS Gaming delivered the first big upset of Season 3 with a bold victory over the favored Gambit Gaming. Showing off their signature AD Kennen play from Jimbownz, GIANTS have delivered the first serious shot across the bow of the EU LCS establishment. GIANTS started out strong with a fast tower kill botlane and three kills, including first blood onto Morden's Dr. Mundo courtesy of Alex Ich. The momentum seemed to peter out after a couple narrow escapes by Gambit players in the bottom half of the map, and the gold advantage shrunk to only 400 at one point. However, GIANTS came up big in a teamfight at dragon and never looked back.

Samux's aggressive play bottom as Olaf opened a lot of space for his teammates to work with, leading to pressure on mid and top towers in the midgame as well as a crucial baron when his farming lured Gambit out of position. From here, GIANTS forced pressure on all lanes to roll their way to victory. While staying too long in Gambit's base resulted in 4 members of GIANTS dying for the second of Gambit's inhibitor turrets, the damage had been done. Gambit could only manage a dragon off of their 4 for 1 base defense, leaving GIANTS to pick right back up where they left off. The Spaniards took their second baron without a fight, and coolly marched into Gambit's base, killing four at the bottom inhibitor and pushing on to take the nexus.

Coming away from the game, GIANTS can look forward to a lot more respect within the LCS. While the victory must have done wonders for their confidence, expect teams to devote more preparation and serious planning toward facing GIANTS. Jimbownz’ signature champion, Kennen, will likely face respect bans going forward and teams will not take a match against the Spaniards lightly. Gambit came out from Week 1 with the second worst record, and will have to look much stronger going forward. They showed at IEM Katowice that they can overcome a rough start, so it is extremely premature to start writing off their championship ambitions. While GIANTS’ victory may have helped to prevent an avalanche of Volibear in solo queue, expect the crafty Russians to have another metagame shaping trick or two up their sleeve for week 2.


The last match had SK Gaming going up against Evil Geniuses - SK was hoping to reach a winning record while EG looked to finish the week undefeated. A surprising moment arose in the bans and picking stage when Wickd picked Akali for a second consecutive game. He performed well against the Wolves but it was clearly out of his comfort zone. This flaw was magnified and exploited by SK, who repeatedly ganked Wickd and built up an unstoppable Olaf with 5k maximum health at the end of the game. The rest of EG were also shaky compared to their prior performances, perhaps lost in their attempt to play a more aggressive style in the early stages of the game. They attempted to take control of SK's jungle by quickly pushing down SK's mid Outer turret and sending Lulu to roam with Xin Zhao. However, SK was able to stabilize after catching out 3 EG members in an overzealous Blue steal attempt. With an unsuccessful early-game strategy and a rampaging Olaf breathing down their necks, EG crumbled like a cookie in every even engagement. This game showed that SK's is still a team to be feared if they can hold back their impulsiveness and that their victory over EG in the Season 2 European Regionals was not just a fluke.

xPeke's play on the opening day for Fnatic earns him our Player of the Week honors. In the opening match against SK Gaming, Fnatic's unusual team composition appeared to be faltering, but xPeke's 400 CS at 39 minutes (to Ocelot's 240) allowed him to carry his team to victory despite their aggressive early-game control oriented composition seeming to run out of steam against a more late-game oriented team. In a last desperate fight, xPeke's triple kill opened the door for a quick ransack of SK's base, taking the nexus down before SK could respawn. In their second game of the day against GIANTS Gaming, things looked grim early on but xPeke's split pushing as Nidalee helped defeat GIANTS' AoE team fight-centric lineup. xPeke was always in the right place at the right time, pushing objectives, poking and sniping the opposition down with spears, and cleaning up fights when needed. A questionable facecheck near baron nonetheless opened the opportunity for Fnatic to take a mid inhibitor while Peke went down. While the whole team put in a lackluster showing against Gambit Gaming on day two, xPeke's stellar play on day one salvaged a solid 2-1 start for his team despite Fnatic looking very vulnerable in all their opening matches.

Two of the big questions in the EU LCS will start to be answered: In Week 2 Against All Authority and DragonBorns make their debut in the EU LCS!

aAa were the second team to secure their spot in the LCS and will experience trial by fire in their opening game against Gambit Gaming, while the team they knocked into the play-offs, DragonBorns, will be looking to prove themselves against Evil Geniuses & SK Gaming. These teams will have to come out firing on all cylinders to compete in Week 1, and with an extra seven days to fuel up, expect fireworks.

SK have a chance to continue their form with rematches against Copenhagen Wolves & EG. With the additional time to prepare, these games will be a fantastic display of mind-games, prepared strategies and, who knows, maybe even some cheese. With a team that rides momentum like no other, another win over Wolves could turn their game against EG into a monster after last week’s brilliant win.

Rounding off the weekend we see GIANTS get another crack at the top 4 in their match against EG, before facing off against Wolves (who themselves finish their tour of the Seeded teams as they face off against Gambit). It promises to be an exciting fixture between the two rising teams. GIANTS and Wolves will be thrust into the spotlight as the first match of the LCS not to feature one of the seeded teams or Fnatic. This match is the true preview of the EU LCS and a chance for European scene to show its strength: no Fnatic, SK, EG or Gambit, Just new talent ready to make their names known.

Expect a scrap as the teams utilise their chance to shine and expect upsets. Week 2 is going to be fierce.

Day 1 closes out with a high profile rematch between Evil Geniuses and SK Gaming. EG dropped the first fixture with an uncharacteristically aggressive team composition featuring some unusual picks such as Wickd playing Akali and Snoopeh on Xin Zhao. Look for EG to bring a more classic approach in the rematch, potentially humbled by the ease with which SK shut them down in the first week, and a score still to settle after their loss to SK in the Season 2 Championship qualifiers. For SK, their ability to handle EG the first time around should be a great confidence booster, and their use of mass Randuin's Omens showed that they can respond well to unusual threats. Even though they still may be considered the favorite, the onus will be on Evil Geniuses to prove their ability to beat SK after 3 consecutive losses.

---

+ Show Spoiler [Flicky’s picks] +
+ Show Spoiler [JALbert’s picks] +
+ Show Spoiler [JBright’s picks] +