LEC July 22: Misfits Gaming Are Among the Best on Form Right Now

• Rogue and Fnatic will play each other in one of the biggest fixtures of the weekend
• SK Gaming have the chance to build on the big leaps they made last weekend
• G2 Esports, the spring champions, are in danger of hitting a five-match losing streak if they don’t win against Astralis

SK Gaming

Teams BDS vs SK Gaming Predictions

Team BDS Producing One of the Worst LEC Performances

When the LEC Summer season resumed last season, no one quite expected so many teams in the bottom half of the table to do quite as well as they did. It was clear that the break did a lot of good for a lot of teams, with the exception of Team BDS, whose fortunes haven’t changed.

They weren’t exactly considered favorites in either of the two games last week, seeing that they were playing against MAD Lions and Rogue. But the two losses that extended their streak to five in a row are now looking like they may be the foundations for some record lows. It is hard to fathom this changing at all, and their form is the best indicator of that.

It looks like a finish at the bottom of the table is inevitable for BDS. A win rate of 11.1%, a kill-death ratio of 0.63, a towers killed average of 2.9, and a gold per minute rating of 1603 are just some of the metrics in which BDS are languishing far down at the bottom.

SK Gaming Have Come Roaring Back

It’s hard to believe that SK Gaming were in much the same place that BDS find themselves in right now at the start of game week 4, which is to say they were practically tied in last place. But two famous wins – back-to-back upsets, at that – have put them in position to mount a potentially fiery comeback if they manage to keep this momentum going through game week 5.

Of course, these results didn’t come out of nowhere and were the end result of a team that scrimmed throughout the long break that they got to up their level; we expect them to stay at that level with relative ease against BDS.

Misfits Gaming vs Excel Esports Picks

Excel

Misfits Gaming vs Excel Esports Predictions

Misfits Gaming Are Among the Best on Form Right Now

Misfits Gaming are now among the four teams that are tied on points for third place, and will be taking on one of them in the form of Excel Esports to start off this weekend. Outside of Rogue, no other team is currently on a streak of longer than two wins; that’s the lower end of the count. Misfits, at the moment, are on a five-match winning streak and have displaced some pretty big teams in that part of the table after last weekend’s performances.

While they weren’t touted as favorites in either of those games, their three-game winning streak at that point was providing a signal of their competence that might have been missed by most people, including their opponents. That being said, there are still areas of their game that need improvement. For one, they’re still averaging 14.8 deaths per game, which is the worst average for any team so far, lower than even BDS.

On the flipside, however, they are the second most lethal team in the standings so far with an average of 13 kills per game. Safe to say, Misfits Gaming are going all-or-nothing with their gameplay, and that might not be a bad way to see out the round robin stage. It’s certainly working at the moment.

Important Week for Excel’s Prospects

Excel Esports’ two losses last weekend were among the topmost shocks of the tournament so far, and ended up costing them second place on the table, which is now in the hands of MAD Lions. Losses to both Astralis and SK Gaming, in a pretty comprehensive manner, have rocked the team’s psyche at the moment.

On Monday, their coaches said that a lot of that performance had come down to poor training in the week that has passed. More than anything, they said, the team meeting at the start of this week would focus on training better than they did last week. We think this wake-up call will do wonders for them and are willing to take a risky bet on them ending Misfits’ streak.

G2 Esports vs Astralis Picks

G2 Esports

G2 Esports vs Astralis Predictions

G2’s Rollercoaster

It’s not often that you win three matches in a row at the start of a season and still end up being close to the bottom of the table. G2 Esports certainly wouldn’t have imagined it, particularly the bottom approaching them in such swift fashion. It is now four losses in a row for G2, a streak that is only the second worst for anyone in the league thanks to Team BDS who have lost five in a row.

With four more game weeks to come, it is not quite doomsday for G2 yet. They are, after all, spring season champions, and still possess the best kills per game average in the league of 15.1. But even a single loss this weekend could mean curtains as they now languish in 8th place and could be usurped by SK Gaming, who are hot on their heels in 9th place.

Astralis Have Opportunity to Go Well Ahead

One of the wins G2 picked up in that early-season streak, the first one in fact, came against Astralis. Since then, things have normalized across the board and Astralis are now tied with G2 in terms of win percentage. They’ll be keen on using this opportunity to go ahead of them with a bit of a cushion, as their second game of the weekend will be against BDS – all of which means that there could be two wins this weekend on the plate against the two teams with the worst losing streaks.

Achieving that will be a massive first step towards pushing for the playoff spots with some objectively difficult games coming up after they play SK Gaming to start off their next weekend. Three wins here and they will have wiggle room towards the end of the round robin stage against the bigger names.

Team Vitality vs MAD Lions Picks

MAD Lions

Team Vitality vs MAD Lions Predictions

Big Fixture for Team Vitality

As the team that has a towers killed metric of 7, and an average game duration of 31:58, Team Vitality is up there with some of the best teams of the season so far – the likes of Rogue and Excel have similar metrics. But their leaky defensive game has been costing them games; a deaths per game average of 12.9 typifies that insight.

Only a few teams are doing better than them on the gold per minute front as well, but Vitality still find themselves in the logjam for third place with a win rate of 55.6%. A win against MAD Lions will put them on par with them ahead of Saturday’s fixtures, and will be a solid result ahead of a second half that is filled with difficult challenges.

MAD Lions Sitting Pretty

Only two teams won both their matches last weekend, and MAD Lions were one of them alongside Rogue. Having come into that weekend hanging around the top three spots, those results have worked out fantastically for them and they are now just a win behind table-toppers Rogue. Support player Kaiser has played a huge part in that, with a KDA of 5.87 at the moment which makes him the second best player in the league on that front.

Both Laner UNFORGIVEN and top laner Armut are also among the top 10 in the league on that front – no other team has that much representation in the top 10. That embodies the kind of form and dominance MAD Lions have shown and we expect them to edge out Vitality.

Rogue vs Fnatic Picks

Rogue

Rogue vs Fnatic Predictions

Rogue Not Far From Playoff Qualification

Having been battered in the finals during the spring season, Rogue have returned in the summer with a stunning fervor and aggression. At the moment, nobody is killing as many towers as them (8.2), getting as much as gold per minute as them (1898) or winning as much as their 78% rate.

Of course, we must mention that this winning rate was at 0 after their first two games, with losses that came against Fnatic, incidentally, and G2, the team that had beaten them in the spring finals last year. Since then, they have run riot in the league with not a single loss to their name. Game week 5, will be a repeat of that first game week for them with Fnatic coming up first and then G2 – they will be favorites to turn the results this time around.

Fnatic Have Lost Steam

Fnatic were extremely impressive in their games before the long break and had racked up a 5-2 win-loss record, which now sits at 5-4 after losses to Misfits and Vitality last weekend. The losses have also meant that they now sit in the band of four teams that are tied for third place with the same win ratio.

It doesn’t help that they are in this position when their upcoming opponents this weekend are both teams that are above them in the table, and it is paramount that they pick up at least one win to stay ahead in the playoff race. We don’t think that win will be against Rogue, however.

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