LEC Summer Split Week 3 Preview – who is staying for Groups?

With one last week left for the LEC Summer regular split, teams will have to put everything on the line in week 3 to make it to Groups.

LEC Summer Week 3 – Two teams are through, six spots left

After Week 2, two teams have already locked in their place in the LEC Summer Groups Stage: the two legendary EU organizations Fnatic and G2 Esports are back to contending for the top spot together, going on a 5-1 record so far. Both teams have looked dominant in their games, with Fnatic looking way different compared to the previous split. Even though their chances of qualifying for the LEC Season Finals are still relatively low, this is one of the best starts the organization would have hoped for.

Two squads chasing behind

Behind them, there are MAD Lions and Team Heretics who are extremely close to qualifying with a 4-2 record. Winning a game should be more than enough to go through. That said, Team Heretics will have the toughest schedule ahead of them since they will face MAD, FNC, and G2 in quick succession. MAD, aside from the direct battle with TH, will go against SK Gaming and Team BDS, who are in the bottom part of the standings.

XL bouncing back

Excel were the big and pleasant surprise from last week, getting a 3-game win streak and going into Week 3 with the strongest momentum. After two disastrous splits, this might be the time they are able to fight for a higher spot. That said, 3-3 doesn’t guarantee a Groups stage slot, and they ideally would need at least another win.

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4-way fight for the top 8

Even though there are only three games left to play, every team in the league is in contention for Groups Stage. In particular, 4 teams are currently on a 2-4 record, with their fate being decided this weekend. Astralis, KOI, SK Gaming, and Team BDS are all on the brink of ending their split here.

Astralis will have everything in their hands since their next three matches (SK, XL, and KOI) are all teams fighting in the same part of the standings. They will be able to decide their outcome depending on how they perform. For KOI, they have two doable matches (VIT and AST) but beating G2 will be tough.

For SK and BDS, on the other hand, it will be much tougher. Both teams have to face MAD and FNC, which are going to be incredibly hard games to win. Unless other teams fumble more, these two are the ones who might end their split this weekend.

VIT – The superteam curse strikes again

And at last, we have Team Vitality, who is currently dead last with one win on the board. What started as a promising team with great individuals and two young imports ended up being a disappointing failure. Not only is the team not winning but they all looked disjointed and incapable of bringing the players to maximum potential.

To the point where now Chinese jungler Bo is getting benched for the last week of LEC and replaced by the young rookie Daglas from Vitality’s academy team. While it’s a great opportunity for the Polish player, it also shows how the team is struggling to deliver results and is hoping for a miracle turnaround with a new player.

If they are able to go undefeated this week, it would be an insane redemption story. VIT are relatively lucky since they will face KOI, BDS, and XL, basically dodging the top teams like FNC and G2. It’s going to be a rough week but at this point, they have nothing to lose.

Will they manage to claim a Groups stage spot in the LEC Week 3? Find out on Saturday, July 1, starting from 18:00 CET over to lolesports.com.

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