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The League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) 2023 Spring Group Stage is nearing an end, with only four more matches left to be played before we get the four finalists who will battle it out for the LEC crown.
With Team Vitality and Team BDS both locked in for the playoffs, the battle now comes down to Astralis, MAD Lions, Fnatic, SK Gaming, G2 Esports, and KOI to fight it out for the remaining two tickets. And the race begins on Saturday, April 15, with group elimination matches between MAD Lions and Fnatic, and SK Gaming and G2 Esports.
Group A Elimination Match – Fnatic vs MAD Lions
Fnatic (+100) vs MAD Lions (-139) – Saturday, April 15
MAD Lions and Fnatic struggled to deliver in the LEC 2023 Spring Group Stage opening round when the two European LoL squads lost against Team Vitality and Astralis, respectively. Although losing one game wasn’t the end of the road, Fnatic and MAD Lions now need to fight for survival and one final chance to reach the playoffs.
MAD Lions suffered a rough loss in the opening round of the playoffs against the reborn Team Vitality, who demolished them in one of the most one-sided fixtures of the split. But despite losing against the self-proclaimed LEC superteam, MAD Lions can feel confident heading into their next match.
Fnatic had a rough start to the LEC 2023 Spring regular season, but the Black & Orange found momentum just in time to end the season in sixth place and booked a spot in the Group Stage. Unfortunately, their miracle run came to a halt in the first round, where Fnatic lost against the regular season runner-up Astralis.
Yet, regardless of their slip-up against Astralis, Fnatic continues to show improvement and shouldn’t be overlooked despite the team’s evident struggles this season. MAD Lions, on the other side, are still well-respected due to their run to the finals of LEC 2023 Winter, but they’ve been stagnating over the last few months, so it’s not entirely unlikely for Fnatic to defeat MAD Lions, as they did in the final week of the regular season.
Group B Elimination Match – SK Gaming vs G2 Esports
SK Gaming (+333) vs G2 Esports (-500) – Saturday, April 15
In LEC 2023 Spring Group B, we already got to see a mix of expected and some not-so-expected results. That includes G2 Esports’ 1-2 defeat against KOI, who pushed the reigning LEC champions down into the elimination match, where they’ll meet with SK Gaming.
On the other side, SK Gaming suffered an expected loss against the LEC 2023 Spring regular season champions, Team BDS, who crushed them 2-0 in the opening round of Group B.
With both teams losing their opening series, they now have to fight for survival. But according to the latest LoL betting odds, this might not be that much of a fight rather than another elementary series for G2 Esports.
G2 Esports are known as the best European LoL team, and their run through LEC 2023 Winter would confirm it. Admittedly, they’ve failed to show as much consistency during the regular season, which they’ve finished 6-3 (3rd), and it’s hard to feel overly impressed with their performance against KOI.
Their next opponents, SK Gaming, have had a couple of flashes of greatness and were one of only two teams to defeat Team BDS in the regular season. And despite their strong start to the season, SK Gaming eventually landed in fifth place.
SK Gaming didn’t show much against Team BDS in the opening round of Group B. But in their defence, it’s tough to look good against the hottest team in the league.
As the latest betting odds suggest, this is G2 Esports’ game to lose; however, G2 Esports haven’t been nearly as consistent as you would expect from the defending champions, so there’s room for another upset.