THE European scene in League of Legends has shifted the perception of many in the past couple of years, namely due to the international success of G2 Esports. The fun, lovable roster has impressed domestically ever since the LEC was born – winning the regular season and playoffs of each split since 2019 in dominant fashion.
The rest of the teams in the league, however, have yet to reach a similar level of play and this makes it an incredibly enjoyable, yet somewhat unpredictable, competition to bet on. With G2 Esports showing no signs of slowing down – even when swapping the roles of its players multiple times a year – they’re undoubtedly a safe bet at 1/2 for the tournament, but the other potential results are somewhat up in the air.
Add in the factors of many teams making adjustments between this year’s Spring and Summer splits and that it’ll be online play for the foreseeable, and it’s even harder to predict the outcomes – but that’s what makes it so fun to place a wager, right? The LEC Summer Split commences on June 12th and the initial match lineups have been made known.
Kicking off the entire split are G2 Esports (8/25) and MAD Lions (11/5), the latter of which placed fourth in spring and are looking to prove they’re title contenders. As you’d perhaps expect, however, the safe bet is firmly with their opponents. If you’re looking to ease yourself into wagering on the LEC, you’re in luck. G2 Esports will face off against OG and Team Vitality later in the opening weekend, though you’re likely to be safe to assume the same fate for the opposing teams.
Team Vitality placed on the opposite end of the table in the Spring split with a lousy 2-16 record, so unless they’ve made strides in the offseason, you’ll want to bet against them during their matches with Schalke 04 and Fnatic.
When it comes to middle-of-the-pack squads like Rogue (20/1 outright), Excel Esports (40/1), and Schalke 04 (30/1), we’re anticipating close matches. Rogue and Schalke 04 haven’t made any notable changes leading into the split, but Excel Esports is banking on its performance-heavy model and two new roster additions to thrust itself into playoffs contention. It can take a while for new rosters to click, of course, so we’d expect a slower start to the season for the British boys. They’ll face off against Rogue, MAD Lions, and Fnatic in the opening weekend, so they’ve definitely got a mountain to climb.
Fnatic is known as the closest contender to G2 Esports, but with Origen’s resources through Astralis Group and Misfits Gaming’s addition of Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup from TSM, it’ll be a close race to second place in the upcoming split. We’re likely to see a positive weekend for Fnatic, but it’s hard to call for both Origen and Misfits – you’ll have to use your gut for most of their matches.
The inaugural weekend of the LEC Summer Split will tell us a lot about the state of play in Europe, indicating who has worked the hardest in the offseason and which roster changes have worked – or perhaps not. One thing’s for certain though, G2 Esports are the team to beat.
