We’re getting close to the playoffs with the 2020 LEC Spring Split drawing to a close. In contrast to the chaos of the LCS, which totally imploded after our last power rankings, the LEC looks pretty stable so far.
In fact, most of the playoff field seems set with three weeks to go since Schalke, SK, and Vitality are all but eliminated. That leaves just one interesting race between Mad Lions, Rogue, and Excel for the last playoff spot.
The intrigue in the LEC is at the top of the table, where G2 still lead the power rankings by a comfortable margin. But this week, one intrepid voter went out on a limb and had Fnatic ahead on his ballot. Here’s how the final results shook out after each analyst assigned points, from one (worst) to 10 (best):
| Rank | Team | Points | Rank change |
| 1) | G2 Esports | 49 | — |
| 2) | Fnatic | 46 | — |
| 3) | Origen | 40 | +1 |
| 4) | Misfits | 35 | -1 |
| 5) | Rogue | 29 | +1 |
| 6) | Mad Lions | 26 | -1 |
| 7) | Excel Esports | 20 | — |
| 8) | FC Schalke 04 | 14 | — |
| 9) | SK Gaming | 11 | — |
| 10) | Team Vitality | 5 | — |
Here’s what we want to know before the end of the regular season.
It’s time: Schalke, SK, Vitality
With only five combined wins among them and only one of those coming against a team outside of this tier, it’s time to admit that it’s a lost split for these three squads. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to hang up the mice and put away the keyboards. There’s valuable work for each of these squads to do in the coming weeks.
We commend Vitality for sticking with Saken in the mid lane, but it’s time to see if there’s another position he can play for the LEC squad. Going back to his performances at EU Masters last year, there just isn’t evidence that Saken is a viable mid at this level. And with so much EU mid talent floating around, Vitality should prioritize finding someone else who can hold down that lane.
Jenax has been stronger in the mid lane for SK, but it’s time to decide whether they’re making the best use of their top-jungle duo. Trick has regressed after a decent 2019 season and looks disinterested on a losing squad. Sacre has had two years to prove he belongs in the top lane mix and just hasn’t done so yet.
Unlike SK and Vitality, Schalke have some decent lanes, especially after cutting FORG1VEN. But the team just doesn’t work because their jungle situation is untenable. After benching Gilius four games into the season, nothing has improved with Lurox. It’s time for more drastic measures.
Making the cut: Rogue, Mad Lions, Excel
One of these teams is likely to miss the playoffs. Our voters are betting that it’s Excel, who have struggled of late before clinching what amounted to a must-win match with Mad Lions last Saturday. Patrik is having a career split for them, but they waste time and draft picks on the solo laners instead of focusing around the ADC who should be carrying them.
Mad Lions have a hole at ADC, but Humanoid has been really good, keeping them afloat in the face of better talent. And speaking of mid laners, let’s pause and give Rogue’s Larssen some credit. He’s been as good as any mid laner in the league behind Perkz. It’ll be interesting to see which mid comes out ahead when Mad Lions play Rogue this week.
B tier: Origen, Misfits
Misfits stumbled a bit last week, getting obliterated by Fnatic at pretty much every position. That was probably to be expected, but it was still a bit jarring to see one of Misfits’ worst games right when we thought they were rounding into form. Some of it was a bit unlucky given how Fnatic snowballed, but it was still disheartening.
That loss was enough for our voters to swing Origen back up in the third spot behind G2 and Fnatic. After another slow start, Xerxe is coming into form again and was a big part of the team’s win over Rogue last week. There’s a world where he’s good enough to challenge Selfmade and Fnatic—the teams are 1-1 on the split after all. But can he prove he’s up to Jankos’ level?
Not locked: G2, Fnatic
For four straight weeks, G2 had earned every first-place vote given by our panel. But this week, for the first time since week one, there’s some doubt. Fnatic’s win over Misfits was that dominating—it was one of those games where it felt like Fnatic had six players and all of them had teleport.
Of course, that all started because of a somewhat opportunistic first blood play in the mid lane that could have gone either way. But we still like to see a team snowball its advantages.
G2 are still winning, but Caps doesn’t look 100 percent comfortable at ADC yet. We’re excited about this Saturday when they meet Fnatic. Be sure to tune into that match on March 7 at 2pm CT. It could be the best playoff preview we’ll get in the last three weeks.
All photos via Riot Games.
