The champion of Europe will be crowned this weekend. G2 Esports, Fnatic, and FC Schalke 04 are duking it out for the Summer Split title, and in the modified playoff structure two of those teams will face off on Saturday. Fnatic and FC Schalke 04 will fight for the right to face G2 in the finals on Sunday. Fnatic is a heavy favorite per the Esports betting odds in this match, and they are trying to avoid losing in this spot like they did in the Spring Split when they fell to Origen. Regardless, the winner will be a hefty underdog to G2 per League of Legends betting odds.
2019 LEC Summer Split Playoffs Semifinals Betting Odds
Fnatic -455
FC Schalke 04 +325
Schalke were unable to beat Fnatic in either of their regular season meetings. In the first meeting, Broxah found continued success camping Odoamne in the top lane, leading the way in the early game on Olaf. The second game saw Fnatic select an interesting composition in the draft, taking Ivern into the jungle and Karma as the AD Carry. That put emphasis on the top laners and mid laners, and Bwipo and Nemesis delivered, with each player tallying six kills.
Both matches were over relatively quickly. Fnatic dispatched of Schalke in around 27 minutes, not allowing Schalke the chance to win in the late game like they prefer. Look for Fnatic to try and follow that pattern to close Schalke out quickly.
The good news for Schalke is that Fnatic are very predictable. They have selected the fewest unique champions of any team in Europe, and there is not a lot of variation in their general strategy. However, they have not been able to best them yet this split, so they need to be able to prove they can do that.
For Schalke to pull off the upset, they need to keep the game close for at least 30 minutes and let Upset take over. Schalke’s AD Carry is one of the best in the region, and he is the most talented player on the team. He has a 6.4 KDA in summer, and he has done 31.3 percent of his team’s damage per Games of Legends.
Upset almost exclusively takes late game carries. Of the eight champions he has played this season, six are late game scaling carries with the exceptions being Ezreal and Lucian. He has a 23 KDA on Ezreal, so Schalke might pivot and take a composition that peaks in the mid game alongside that champion.
I don’t like Schalke’s matchups anywhere else. Abbedagge has selected just six champions in the regular season, and I think Nemesis will best him in the mid lane. Abbedagge did finally play Corki and looked good on the champion, so that’s encouraging, but he doesn’t have the same versatility as Nemesis. Nemesis has shined as Fnatic has put more resources into him, and Twisted Fate is a champion you have to keep out of his hands.
Bwipo can bully Odoamne in the top lane, and I expect Broxah to hang around and make Schalke’s top laner’s life miserable. Odoamne did have an MVP performance against Rogue last week, but he is not really a carry type unless he finds a great flank on Kennen and his best champions are not at their peak in this patch.
Schalke did not look great in their win over Rogue, needing a miracle throw in the third game to take a lead in the series, and I don’t think they have a real chance to knock off Fnatic here. Typically, I’d go conservative and say 3-1, but I think Fnatic will sweep them 3-0.
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