After nine weeks of regular season action, the EU LCS Summer Split playoffs will start this Friday. Both Schalke 04 and G2 had an opportunity to earn a first-round bye by either going 2-0 in Week 9 or winning a tiebreaker, but neither team was able to do so giving Team Vitality the bye in their stead. Both teams are moderate favorites coming into this week’s matches, but a loss would be devastating considering what might have been.
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2018 League of Legends EU LCS Summer Split Quarterfinals Betting Lines
Schalke 04 -244 Splyce +176
Schalke have to be kicking themselves at least somewhat. All they needed to do to clinch a bye into the semifinals was to beat 1-16 H2K on the last day of the regular season, but they fell flat on their face. Nukeduck and Amazing did not perform well against Selfie and Caedreal, and those two surprisingly carried H2K to a victory.
The good news for Schalke is that they are playing Splyce, a team they beat in the penultimate game of the regular season. However, it wasn’t an easy victory for Schalke. They had to overcome a 4k gold deficit, and Nukeduck did not fare well in his battle against Nisqy in the mid lane.
Schalke have a big advantage in the bottom lane in this tilt. Upset and Vander have emerged as one of the best bottom lane duos in Europe with Upset posting a 6.7 KDA and Vander posting a 5.4 KDA. Upset has been responsible for almost a third of the team’s damage according to tracking website Games of Legends, and he has been fantastic on Ezreal. His 20.7 KDA on the champion over the course of seven games is remarkable, and that means Splyce will likely have to use a first-round ban on the pick.
In the top lane, Schalke should have the advantage too. Vizicsacsi has been solid as a top laner this year, while Odoamne has really struggled. Odoamne has performed better, but two of his best champions have been the permanently banned Aatrox and Rumble, a champion that is only played into certain match-ups and can be counter picked easily.
If Splyce pull off the upset, it is likely going to be through the play of Xerxe and Nisqy. Xerxe has been one of the best junglers in the region since last year, while Nisqy has had his ups and downs in the mid lane. He has been fantastic on Zoe and great on LeBlanc, but he has struggled on other champions.
G2 -185 Misfits +139
Misfits had a rough last half of the regular season. They beat every team in the region in the first round robin, but they have won just two of their last nine games. Those two wins came against Unicorns of Love and H2K, and they were soundly thumped by most other playoff teams.
It’s not a good sign that Misfits looked completely lost as the meta moved to something more traditional. They had gotten off to a 9-0 start by sticking with the old meta as everyone else tested out new strategies, but as other teams shifted back, they have proved unable to beat teams at their own game.
In particular, Misfits’ bottom lane of Hans Sama and Mikyx has not been as strong in recent weeks. Hans Sama looked like a potential MVP through the first half of the season, dominating on champions like Lucian and Draven, but those champions are tough to play after the shift back. He did not look impressive in his one game on Ezreal, and he has shifted his sights to Varys, Kai’Sa, and Xayah. Kai’Sa and Xayah need time to build the items they need to take over the late game, and other teams have been able to jump on Misfits early to not allow that to happen.
G2 have played the second-shortest games of any team this split, and they are perfectly capable of snowballing an advantage into an insurmountable lead. Perkz has not put up the gaudy mid lane stats he has in the past, but he is still outdueling many of his mid lane counterparts and notched a Flame Horizon the last time he faced Misfits’ Sencux.
At BookMaker Sportsbook, our team of writers breaks down every betting matchup on the wagering board. eSports are exploding in popularity and we at BookMaker have you covered for all of your betting needs. From League of Legends to CS:GO, BookMaker has all of the eSports betting lines you can hope for. Open an account and get in on the action today!
