Rogue have dragged Excel down from the top of the 2022 LEC Summer Split regular season standings today after maintaining a fragile but stable lead throughout the game. With this win, Rogue are now tied with Excel in second place at 4-2, leaving only G2 Esports in first place while they wait to play against MAD Lions later today.
The clash between Excel and Rogue kicked off a series of matches among the top-six teams in the LEC Summer Split regular season, adding to the excitement of a competition that’s already been full of surprises. In fact, few could have predicted the win streak showcased by Excel that placed them at the top of the rankings in these first weeks of the Summer Split.
Their success can be linked to an early-game aggression that was characteristic of the first split of the year but has not found success with other teams in the summer due to the new meta that favors longer games with crucial moments after the 30-minute mark. And this League of Legends game also followed that pattern, thus favoring Rogue’s draft and overall strategy.
Playing around their jungler’s ganks, Rogue obtained first blood and various neutral objectives, including two Rift Heralds. Excel found some fights in the early game that ended in their favor, but Rogue used their rotations and conquered the Heralds to open up the map and apply pressure on their opponents. Rogue were dominant in the early game, reaching a 4,000 gold advantage over Excel by the 13-minute mark.
The need to pressure both the top and bot lane pushed Rogue’s players to overextend or overcommit during some teamfights, an error that Excel didn’t let them get away with. This allowed them to find a clean ace to get back into the game. Over the course of the game, the constant overcommitment of Rogue gave Excel the chance to fight back over and over, extending the game past the 30-minute mark. Both teams capitalized on their opponent’s mistakes, bringing the match to a breaking point when respawn timers became too long.
And the breaking point was reached at 30 minutes in a fight for the Baron buff that saw Rogue take down most of Excel’s players. Although Finn’s Kayle had reached level 18, the greatest damage was inflicted by his counterpart, Odoamne, and his Cannon Barrage, which proved to be pivotal to his team’s victory and helped him earn the MVP of the game.
Excel will try to bounce back tomorrow against Team BDS, while Rogue will take on SK Gaming in the first two matches of the day. League fans can follow the competition live on the lolesport website starting tomorrow at 10am CT.
