The LEC’s First Year: Unicorns of Love’s Journey to Worlds 2019
The LEC has had a fantastic first year, filled with amazing moments. From hilarious memes on the LEC Twitter page to epic rap battles between casters and an unforgettable summer final where G2 Esports emerged victorious, it’s been an incredible year for European esports.
However, not everything was smooth sailing for the region. In order for the LEC to come into existence, the old EU LCS had to be disbanded, and some beloved teams and personalities didn’t make the cut. One of these teams was the Unicorns of Love, known for their colorful persona and energetic presence in the studio on game day.
Rather than simply giving up, the Unicorns of Love persevered and secured a spot in the Russian CIS. Against all odds, they qualified for Worlds 2019, which is taking place in Europe. Their luck continued when they were matched up against their long-time EU LCS rivals, Splyce, in a knockout match for a chance to advance to the Worlds main stage.
It’s almost like a fairy tale, which is fitting considering the team is named after unicorns.
A Shared History
There is a rich history between these two teams that goes beyond their shared EU LCS background. Two of Splyce’s starters, Vizicsacsi and Xerxe, were former Unicorns of Love players. UOL’s bot laner, Innaxe, actually played for Splyce in early 2018.
When Splyce first emerged as a playoff team in 2016, Unicorns of Love stood in their way in the regional gauntlet final. Splyce came out on top and went on to compete at Worlds, setting the two teams on different paths.
However, their similarities mostly end there. Unicorns of Love had a chaotic playstyle that often caused problems for both themselves and their opponents. When they found consistency, they were a force to be reckoned with, as demonstrated by their victory at IEM Oakland in 2016, where they defeated TSM and Flash Wolves, two major regional powerhouses at the time.
Splyce, on the other hand, preferred a more controlled playstyle. The players and coaches may have changed throughout the years, but the emphasis on coordinated middle map play remained the same. If Splyce can reach the late game without falling behind, they have a good chance of winning against any team. The challenge lies in getting there without losing too much gold.
Despite their different playstyles, expect to see some similarities when these old EU LCS rivals clash.
A Meeting of Friends
During the play-in group stage, Unicorns of Love had the third-highest number of kills and the second-highest number of deaths among the participating teams. This comes as no surprise, considering they were grouped with Clutch Gaming and Mammoth Esports, two teams known for their aggressive playstyle.
What’s interesting is that Splyce, who was in a supposedly easier group, had even more deaths than Unicorns of Love. They only lost one game to DetonatioN FocusMe, but their gameplay looked sloppy, similar to the Unicorns.
Unicorns of Love will be hoping to continue this trend in their match against Splyce. A messy game with a high kill count creates the perfect opportunity for an upset. They were able to defeat Clutch, a team considered to be the favorites in their group, twice by matching them in early game skirmishes. One of Splyce’s weaknesses is being exposed in this department, which leads to a disjointed mid game.
Splyce’s solution to this is to draft for scaling and rely on their players’ overall skill to carry them to the late game. They prefer to farm and then rotate mid, which is made possible by their rookie mid laner, Humanoid.
In order to win, Unicorns of Love need to disrupt Splyce’s game plan. They are the underdogs, but not by much. So far, UOL’s mid laner Nomanz has been content to match Humanoid with scaling champions like Corki and Vladimir. He’ll need help from the jungle and support to dominate his lane and force Splyce to react. UOL showed success with early whole-team roams against Clutch, and they’ll need to replicate that against Splyce.
It’s been a year since Splyce and Unicorns of Love faced off in the Berlin studio. Judging by the continuous support from the crowd, it feels like UOL never left. After their match on October 8, we’ll find out if this time, they’ll be the ones who advance to the next stage.
LEC, European esports, Unicorns of Love, Worlds 2019, EU LCS, Splyce, playstyle, rivals, playoff, chaotic, controlled, late game, kills, deaths, farming, mid game, underdogs, scaling champions, Nomanz, match, Berlin studio.