After taking last week off, the first round of the 2019 LEC Spring Split Playoffs will kick off on Friday, March 29. In the first series of the weekend, defending champions Fnatic will look to avoid the upset when they face on a game Team Vitality side. Fnatic finished the year on an eight-game winning streak after a rocky start, but they have roared back like a champion. The second series will see Splyce take on newcomers SK Gaming after SK beat Schalke 04 in a tiebreaker to get here.
League of Legends LEC Europe Spring Split 2019 Round 1 Betting Odds
Fnatic -320
Team Vitality +260
These teams split their regular season meetings, with Fnatic winning the most recent iteration. However, it wasn’t easy, as it was relatively level for most of the match, and it turned into a fiesta late. Jactroll stole Elder Dragon on a Tahm Kench lick, but Vitality followed that up with some questionable decision making to give Fnatic the win.
I expect this to be a pretty level series. Nemesis has improved greatly in the mid lane for Fnatic as the season has worn on, but Jiizuke has more skill. Jiizuke can win the lane against him if he gets a favorable match-up.
The top lane match-up is more even than people think too. Cabochard has been pretty reliable for Vitality this season, and he has shown that he can take carries into the top lane. Bwipo has not been as apt to carry, and that’s a concern in this meta.
I do think Fnatic has a little bit of an edge in the jungle and the bottom lane. Broxah has been more reliable than Mowgli, and Rekkles is still heralded as the best AD Carry in Europe. Vitality’s Attila is an underrated bottom laner, but his Vayne has left something to be desired in two games. That’s a problem given Vitality’s style and how the priority of the champion has risen.
Still, I think there is value in Vitality. I think Fnatic are the rightful favorites, but I would have only made them -250 favorites or so. Vitality have the talent to get past Fnatic and into the semifinals.
Splyce -210
SK Gaming +176
Splyce won both meetings between these teams this season. Both games played to the tempo that Splyce is most comfortable with as they play much longer games than anyone else in Europe. Their average game time is more than three minutes longer than any other team.
As it has been all year, the key for SK Gaming is Selfmade. Their star jungler has been the MVP in seven of their nine wins, and for SK to win, he needs to get the ball rolling early. He usually selects an early tempo jungler that can challenge and skirmish from the beginning, and that has typically worked out well for SK.
The problem for SK is everywhere else. I think Splyce has the advantage in every other spot but the jungle. SK’s bottom lane of Crownshot and Dreams hasn’t been too impressive, though Crownshot has been pretty solid on Jinx. I trust Kobbe and Norskeren to consistently win against those two.
After a tough start, I think Vizicsasci has vastly improved in the top lane over the past month or so, and I think Humanoid has really shown something in the mid lane.
Xerxe is a good enough jungler to mitigate Selfmade, so I really like Splyce at this price. Splyce are more reliable and have the veteran experience advantage so they won’t let the moment fluster them.
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