Vitality Makes Surprising Picks and Wins First EU LCS Game of the Split
It may sound strange, but it happened. Vitality won the first EU LCS game of the split against Splyce using a Fiddlesticks and Heimerdinger bot lane combo. And no, it’s not a joke or a troll pick; it’s just the current meta we’re in. And it’s definitely entertaining.
Splyce’s mid laner, Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer, also played Irelia mid, and Vitality’s top laner, Lucas “Cabochard” Simon-Meslet, picked Aatrox, following the trend set by the LPL earlier this week.
Welcome to the 2018 Summer Split.
The reason unusual picks like Heimerdinger, Fiddlesticks, Vladimir, and Yasuo are becoming more common at the start of the split is quite simple—they are now in the meta. The bot lane meta was previously dominated by ADCs reliant on crit items, but after significant nerfs to marksman base stats and crit items in Patch 8.11, other champions have been able to shine. The remaining marksmen in the meta, like Kai’Sa, Lucian, and Ezreal, are non-crit marksmen who lack the same aggression and snowball potential as bruisers, tanks, and mages.
As long as a champion fulfills three key roles—tower-taking power, sustained DPS, and a decent front line—they can be a viable pick in the current meta. Heimerdinger excels at taking towers and dealing sustained damage, while Aatrox serves as sustained DPS and a good front line with Skarner. Fiddlesticks provides crowd control and AoE damage in teamfights.
Vitality earned a reputation last split for their unpredictability and confidence in unconventional picks. Their diverse champion pool and ability to adapt to the meta make them a strong team in the current state of the game. However, they will need to prove themselves against slower meta-adapters like Fnatic if the meta stabilizes.
Vitality, EU LCS, Splyce, Fiddlesticks, Heimerdinger, bot lane combo, meta, Summer Split, unusual picks, ADCs, crit items, marksman, champions, tower-taking, sustained DPS, front line, unpredictable, Fnatic.