LEC and LCS 2022 Spring Split Outright Winner Predictions and Picks

• Vitality will open the LEC as favorites to win after several personnel changes
• Fnatic also backed to make a major splash in the tournament that starts on Friday
• Over in the LCS, G2 and Cloud9 could make for valuable betting picks

LEC Overview

The LEC 2022 Spring Season is the first split of the fourth year of Europe’s rebranded professional League of Legends. Here, 10 teams compete in a double round robin group stage. While the top four play in the winner’s bracket in the Playoffs, the fifth and sixth play in the losers’ bracket.

Schalke 04 are the only ones missing from the field of ten that competed in the Summer. They’ve been replaced by Team BDS. Let’s break down the strengths and weaknesses of the sides that are top contenders.

Rogue

Rogue begin as challengers as they come into the Spring on the back of an impressive top-of-the-table finish in the summer. They finished with a win-loss record of 13-5. But for a side considered to be pace-setters, Rogue would have been slightly disappointed with their third-place finish in the Summer Playoffs pool, where they lost 0-3 to Fnatic in the semifinals.

Rogue have resisted temptation to make wholesome changes. They have retained a line-up that got them to the top of the pool in the summer. That includes Larssen, who has an impressive 4.11 kills on an average along with 1.94 deaths and a creep score of 295.78.

For the sake of convenience, it is safe to assume a creep score that borders 300 is quite impressive. With 13 wins in 18 maps, it’s also quite an impressive overall record to boot. In Trymbi, they have a key player who will be expected to play in the support cast. His mighty fine assist rate of 8.89 has been a key contributing factor to their success.

G2 Esports

On paper, G2 are as competitive as they come, but an underwhelming result in the summer playoffs, where a first-round exit after a 1-3 loss to MAD Lions brought the curtains down on their season. However, things ended differently in the summer, where they finished with a 12-6 record amounting to a win percentage of 67. Their streak of five successive wins is the best among those who finished in the top four. They will want to prove the playoffs were an aberration.

Rekkles, who left Fnatic after an eventful six-year stint with them, teamed up with Caps to form a partnership for the ages during the 2021 spring. Rekkles was one of their key performers, finishing the summer with a staggering kill rate of 5.28 and deaths of 1.11 on an average per map.

These coupled with a superb creep score of 330.83 and a high-efficiency rate measured by KDA in League of Legends (8.65) made him an immovable force. He’ll however be missing this time around. They will be looking up to Jankos and Caps to be their field leaders as they seek to begin the season on a high.

Vitality

Team Vitality would be the first to put their hands up and agree they underachieved in the summer, finishing sixth with more losses than wins – 8-10 – amounting to a win percentage of just 44. It’s clear something didn’t quite go right. But they carried over that form into the summer playoffs, where they notched another sixth-place finish. By virtue of finishing in the second half, they played the Loser’s Bracket contest that they lost 2-3 to Fnastic to bowl out of contention. So in many ways, 2022 spring will be about hitting the reset button in their quest to make another push to be among the top sides.

As you would expect, the patchy summer has led to some wholesome changes within the group. Alphari, Perkz, Carzzy Simon and Noodlez join the team, while Szygenda, LIDER and Tasz have been offloaded. On the coaching front, Realistik leaves to coach the LFL team. Late last month, they announced the signing of Ismind to the playing contingent. Having nearly wiped the slate clean, it’s an opportunity for them to find their feet again with new plans and strategies. It’ll be interesting to see the kind of style they adopt.

MAD Lions

A third-place finish in the summer, where they won 12 and lost 6, vaulted the Spanish outfit into being counted among the favorites going forward, and they backed that up with top of the class finish in the summer playoffs, which not only enhanced their reputation but also made them richer by 80,000 Euros.

It also allowed them a well-deserved entry into the Worlds 2021 Main Event, where they finished eighth overall. Having finished second in their pool, they lost out in the quarterfinals to 0-3 to DANWON Gaming.

Reeker, who is expected to play a key role in the mid-lane, and Unforgiven are their two recent signings, even as Carzzy makes a move to Vitality. Carzzy’s void will be quote hard to fill but it’s something they will have to do very quickly in order to carry forward the momentum. He had an impressive kill rate of 4.94 and deaths of 2.33 to go along with a creep score of 306.06.

Fnatic

Fnatic are always a threat; their fifth-place in the 2021 summer notwithstanding. They quickly bounced back from that setback to claim a second-place finish in the summer playoffs that earned them an entry into the 2021 World Championship.  Wunder and Humanoid, who joins the mid-lane to complete an impressive line-up of players who will be looking to go one better this time around. Playing for MAD Lions, Humanoid was one of the Group Stage MVPs.

He finished with a mighty impressive 11 champion points for MAD Lions in the summer, when he also had a kill rate of 3.44 and a creep score of 270.94. In terms of deaths, he averaged 3.5, which is slightly on the higher side, but for a player of his caliber, it’s a record he may want to correct for his new side. Wunder, meanwhile, had a kill rate of 2.5 to go with 2.72 deaths and a creep score of 267.44. These are formidable numbers. It’s a terrific mid-lane pairing that will once again be expected to do the job.

LCS: 2022 Spring Split Overview

The 2022 League Championship Series (LCS) is the fifth year of North America’s professional League of Legends league under partnership, and the tenth year of the league overall. Ten teams will compete in a triple round robin format.

Three teams from the LCS made it through to the World Championships in 2021. Summer champions 100 Thieves, Cloud9 (the spring champions) and Team Liquid (the runners-up in spring and summer).

This year too, it is the same field of 10 teams that competed across summer and spring. Let’s have a look at the strengths, weaknesses, how team compositions have changed and how the odds stack up one team as compared to another.

100 Thieves

With 29 wins out of 45 across the summer and spring in 2021, 100 Thieves were among two teams in the field who directly made it through to the World Championships. They beat Team Liquid 3-0 in the finals of the 2021 LCS Championship to once again enter the spring split as overwhelming favorites.

Abbedagge, with a kill rate of 3.08 and a creep score of 265.5 will be key to their fortunes along with FBI, who has similarly impressive numbers – 3 kills on an average along with 1.96 deaths. With 18 wins in 26 maps, and a creep score of 270.08, FBI is a trump card. In Closer they have an excellent competitor. The Turkish player was named “Player of the Game” nine times in the summer, the joint-most in the season.

In terms of appointments to the leadership group, they made a new signing in mithy as part of the coaching staff to fill in the void left by the high-profile exit of Lustboy last December.

TSM

Over the past couple of months, they’ve had to cope with a few exits. PowerOfEvil, who has moved to Immortals, Lost and Leena left a bit of a void, which has now been filled by Keaiduo and Shenyi. They’ve also had two experienced coaches in Chawy and Peter Zhang come on board.

With a win percentage of 67 – the best among the field in 2021 – TSM finished top of the table in the summer, but somewhat underwhelmed in the championships, where they finished fourth, and while a place in the World Championships eluded them, they pocketed US$ 20,000.

In terms of key personnel, Spica will be expected to sift through the lines and go for the kill. His healthy kill rate of 3.44 points to these attributes. Last year, PowerOfEvil delivered a creep score of 275.78, the highest among all TSM players. Now what does this number allude to? The minion kill count is a tracked score, commonly referred to as Creep Score.

This along with KDA (Kill to Death ratio) can help gauge a player’s performance compared to their respective lane opponent. They will need to find a new hero this time around, to match this level of intensity across lanes. Who will rise up for them this time around?

Evil Geniuses

With 28 wins and 17 losses, Evil Geniuses finished third at the 2021 summer tournament. However, like TSM, they underwhelmed at the championships, where they finished fifth, and therefore failed to qualify for the Worlds 2021 main event. A 3-0 loss to Cloud9 brought their campaign to an abrupt end. So in many ways, 2022 will be a fresh start for the American team, one of the oldest professional gaming organizations who will now be into their 23rd year.

Vulcan and Inspired join their band of players ahead of the new season from Cloud9 and Rogue respectively. Jiizuke and Contractz have left the team, while Jojopyun, who plays in the mid-lane, has earned a promotion from the Evil Geniuses Academy.

Jiizuke’s will particularly be a huge void to fill, considering he was among their best players. With a kill rate of 3.78 as compared to deaths of 2.56 on an average per map, he was a bit of a lone ranger on a rampage. His creep score of 305.89 also made him a formidable threat. Impact, with a kill rate of 3.15, will need to step up and take over the mantle from the senior pro to help Evil Geniuses somewhat make their transition a lot easier.

Cloud9

Like Evil Geniuses, Cloud9 too had a 28-17 record through the summer and will be looking to make a somewhat upward movement as they begin the new season. But unlike them, Cloud9 finished third in the LEC Championships to make it through to the World 2021 play-ins. This marks a terrific upward curve for the American team. They’re four-time LCS champions of North America, six-time runners-up and one-time World Championship semi-finalists.

Between the end of the previous season and now, they’ve made some tactical changes, including a few key signings. Into the roster are Summit and Berserker and Winsome, who comes in from Shadow Battlica. Isles has earned a promotion from the Cloud9 Academy. These make up for the departure of mithy and Reignover.

Fudge is a mighty fine competitor and one who will be earmarked by other teams. He has a kill rate of 3.67 and a creep score of 273.52. His relatively lower death rate of 1.7 is also a mark of his efficiency, especially when he has the upper hand. It’s this aggression and clinical precision that they’d look for others to emulate as they look to land one knockout blow after another.

Team Liquid

Team Liquid completes our round-up; they are a team that are also on the periphery of something special, even if the big title wins have eluded them. In the summer, they finished with a 27-18 record,  but bounced back emphatically to finish second in the summer playoffs to qualify for the World Championships as the second team from the LEC.  Having beaten 100 Thieves in round four, they came face-to-face with the same side, who they lost to in the final.

With this second place finish, they qualified directly to the World’s 2021 group stage, where they were placed 12-14th alongside LNG Esports following a heartbreaking loss in the tiebreaker to Gen.G.

In terms of personnel, Tactical’s exit is a body blow to the team. With a mighty fine kill rate of 4.04 and a creep score of 327.52, he is right up among the best. They will need to find a new hero to quickly fill the void if they’re to start the lock-in tournament on a high.

How to Watch LEC and LCS 2022 Spring Split