It took five of the most exciting games we’ve seen this LEC season, but MAD Lions are standing tall above Rogue and the rest of the competition as the 2021 Spring Split champions.
Both these squads earned their way to the top of the European League of Legends scene, with series wins against the former kings of Europe, G2 Esports. These two teams exemplified the beginning of a new era in the region, with the old guard finally falling to give room to the new leaders of EU.
Games one and two were rough for the young MAD Lions roster as they went down 0-2 after a couple of hotly contested matches. Both teams battled back and forth with some of the best macro play and teamfighting we’ve seen this season, but Rogue controlled the pace of the first matches to jump out to an early lead.
Each player on Rogue played a huge role in the team’s early dominance, whether it was Trymbi finding great engages on Rell, Inspired finding picks across the map, Larssen controlling the battlefield with Orianna and Viktor, or Odoamne and Hans Sama crushing the teamfights.
Even still, MAD Lions never faltered in their aggressive style of play. Instead, they adapted with their team compositions by breaking out Wukong in the top lane, a great pick into Rogue’s controlled style of play. In two games, Armut had 11 kills and five assists, helping guide MAD into a series-deciding game five.
The last game was the closest of them all, but in the end, MAD Lions outplayed Rogue with some of the smallest margins in their multiple teamfights. Both these teams were incredibly well matched, and it showed with how close each skirmish ended.
It’s been six years since a team not named Fnatic or G2 has won the LEC trophy. But after one of the best seasons in recent memory, a new name and logo will be placed on the wall of champions in the LEC studios in Berlin.
Until MSI, MAD Lions. Make Europe proud.
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