G2 Esports ended the opening week of the European League of Legends Championship Series with a 2-0 record as the 10 teams kicked off the double round robin group stage.
Bottom Lane a focus for all
G2 entered the competition as one of the top teams from the Spring Playoffs where they were beaten by Fnatic in the grand finals.
There were major concerns for G2, as with every other team coming into this patch, about whether or not their Bottom lane could adapt to the changes in the game.
The emphasis on adapting to Bottom lane is due to the fact that AD Carries have essentially played the same grouping of champions for many years and this was the first time that many players had played new champions.
G2 played Heimerdinger in both of their matches; a champion rarely seen on the competitive scene even during this time of chaos.
This showed the willingness to try new things, with the team also utilising the “super Kai’sa” strategy where the Jungler, in this instance Jankos, playing Braum who is generally a Support champion and uses all of his time and resources into funnelling gold onto Perkz’s Kai’sa.
G2 showed a brilliant grasp of the meta game this week, with hopes of snowballing that into Week 2 when they play both FC Schalke 04 and H2K.
Misfits play conservatively
On the opposite side of the coin are Misfits, who used a different approach on their way to their own 2-0 week.
Misfits played essentially the most standard compositions possible back-to-back, with a traditional AD Carry in the Bottom lane and generally common picks in other roles.
Misfits exploited the desire of Fnatic to have their own super Kai’sa, in this case running Taric over Braum, and focused heavily on acquiring an advantage Bottom lane that could quickly snowball the game.
This bodes well for Misfits moving forward, as they not only defeated one of the top teams in the league in defending champions Fnatic, but also did so in a way that will more than likely see a buff in the coming patches as Riot look to calm the meta down.
Vitality mix it up
The final team to emerge from Week 1 with a perfect 2-0 start were Team Vitality, who are looking to replicate the early success they had during the Spring Split.
The Vitality game plan was similar to G2’s, as they pulled out a Heimerdinger of their own while also bringing out rarely seen Talon and Lux in their matchup against Giants.
Vitality were also one of the teams willing to let through champions that are consistently banned, allowing the likes of Irelia over to Splyce for example.
Vitality have long been one of the most unique teams in the LCS, with their creative pick and ban strategies designed to catch their opponents off-guard.
This typically works early in the season with teams still figuring out what the proper response is, with Vitality looking to prey on the confusion. Team Vitality have a large test next week, with both ROCCAT and Fnatic on their schedule.
UOL sit bottom
Concern is already mounting for the Unicorns of Love after they lost to both FC Schalke 04 and Misfits Gaming.
Unicorns appeared to be searching for the strategy that suits them best in Week 1; using an old-school standard composition in their first match before looking to alter to the newer picks such as Lulu in the Bottom lane for their second encounter.
Week 2 is UOL’s best chance to build some momentum with Giants and Splyce having just one win between them so far.
Conclusion
With teams still finding their feet with the latest patch, the early weeks of the Summer Season are a real opportunity for a couple of unfancied sides to take a leap forward.
The cream will no doubt rise to the top as the Season continues, but for now the unexpected seems to be the name of the game.
