The fourth week of the European League Championship Series is over, and there’s still a tight race for fifth place. Four teams are currently tied with a 4-4 record and are competing fiercely for a top spot.
In the beginning, it was difficult to predict how teams would perform because everyone made roster changes. Some teams struggled to find the right chemistry and work well together.
FC Schalke 04, Misfits, Splyce, and Team ROCCAT all have a 4-4 record in their tie for fifth place. Let’s take a closer look at each team, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they got to where they are.
FC Schalke 04
Schalke made significant changes to their roster, retaining only Elias “Upset” Lipp from the team that won promotion. They added Tamás “Vizicsacsi” Kiss, Milo “Pride” Wehnes, Erlend “Nukeduck” Våtevik Holm, and Oskar “Vander” Bogdan to their lineup. They also brought in Mitch “Boris” Voorspoels as the head coach.
Schalke has faced tough opponents with a combined record of 26-26. Despite this, they have managed to win against top teams while only losing to the strongest rosters in the league.
The team’s success primarily relies on their mid laner and jungler. Pride and Nukeduck have impressive KDA stats and are among the top performers in the league. Nukeduck has also showcased a wide champion pool by playing different champions in multiple games.
Schalke has a clear identity, utilizing Pride to give advantages to Nukeduck. However, they need to improve their map play and achieve more consistency in order to reach the top.
Misfits
Misfits had high expectations after their strong performance at the World Championships. They made some changes to their roster, bringing in Chres “Sencux” Laursen and Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle in the mid lane and support positions.
However, Misfits have not lived up to the hype so far with a .500 record. They often fall behind early but rely on macro plays to capitalize on enemy mistakes and make a comeback. This style has worked in some games, but it is not consistent and has resulted in losses.
Steven “Hans Sama” Liv has been the standout player for Misfits, particularly on Kog’maw. He carries the team in late-game team fights, leading them to victory. Sencux has struggled to adapt to the new lineup and has not performed well so far.
Misfits have the talent and coaching staff to succeed, but they need better cohesion among the players and improvement in their early game to consistently win matches.
Splyce
Splyce made several changes to their roster, keeping only Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup as their starting ADC. The team has had some issues with synergy, as only Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu and Raymond “kaSing” Tsang have played together before.
Splyce has yet to win two games in a row and has shown inconsistency compared to other teams. They have the longest average game time and tend to find their footing in the late game. However, they struggle in the early game and often fall behind in terms of gold and kills.
Their bot lane, led by Kobbe, is the driving force behind their comebacks. Kobbe has the highest kill share among ADCs and plays a crucial role in carrying the team to victory.
For Splyce to climb up the standings, their solo laners need to step up their game and support Kobbe. They have tough matchups against Giants and Fnatic next week.
Team ROCCAT
ROCCAT has a brand new lineup, incorporating members from Ninjas in Pyjamas and Schalke. They started strong, winning three of their first four games, but have since struggled with inconsistency.
ROCCAT often starts slowly with a weak early game. They focus on team fights, resulting in high kill participation from all players. However, they haven’t found a standout player to carry them to victory.
Although ROCCAT had a good result against Misfits, they have shown inconsistencies in their performance. They have a chance to secure solid wins against H2K and Schalke this week.
It’s uncertain where these teams will end up by the end of the split. Each team tied for fifth needs to address their problems and find consistency to move up in the standings. The competition in the EU LCS is close, and teams will have to step up their game to come out on top.