MAD Lions secured their second LEC champion title after a 3-1 win over Fnatic in the Summer playoffs final for European League of Legends esports. The win cements their place at the League of Legends World Championship, commonly known as Worlds 2021, as Europe’s first seed heading into the tournament. It also makes them the third team after Fnatic and G2 Esports to win more than one LEC playoffs final.
A New Era for European League of Legends
)
For several years, G2 Esports and Fnatic reigned supreme in the LEC. However, that era slowly fades away with the emergence of more competitive teams in the league. After defeating G2 and Rogue to become LEC Champions back in the Spring Split, many people still doubted MAD Lions. Their back-to-back win shows the team’s superiority and constant improvement.
While MAD had an inconsistent regular Summer Split, they certainly looked reborn during the playoffs. Throughout the LEC Summer playoffs, MAD convincingly took down G2, Rogue and Fnatic to lift the trophy. Moreover, their back-to-back wins also saw them lift the trophy without dropping a single best of five series all year in the LEC. MAD still has a long way to go before matching G2 and Fnatic in titles, but the champion can no longer be disregarded in the conversation for Europe’s best team after this LEC Playoffs Finals win.
MAD Lions Dominate LEC
MAD Lions opened Game 1 with an impressive victory, setting the tone for how the rest of the League of Legends esports series would go. MAD’s priority on the mid and jungle picks paid dividends as both Marek “Humanoid” Brazda and Javier “Elyoya” Prades helped the team helped secure early advantages. Humanoid ended Game 1 with a 12/5/7 Kill/Death/Assist ratio on Ryze.
)
Furthermore, Fnatic’s bot lane, their usual source of strength, struggled to make meaningful impacts as the game progressed. The Braum shield from Norman “Kaiser” Kaiser easily blocked most of Fnatic’s damage in team fights. Fnatic managed to bounce back in Game 2 after an insane early game lead which they almost threw later on. However, their decision to match MAD’s scaling and team fighting in the next game turned out to be a poor one.
Image Credit to MAD Lions
Adam “Adam” Maanane’s Chogath was no match for Irfan “Armut” Tukek’s Gangplank throughout the game. Elyoya also made it difficult for Fnatic to turn the game in their favor. MAD continued with the same dominance in the fourth game and finished the series with a 19,000 gold lead. The two-time champions will now have their eyes set their focus on winning Worlds 2021 in Europe.
Additionally, Fnatic and Rogue will join LEC Champion MAD Lions at Worlds 2021 as Europe’s second and third seed respectively. Even though MAD outclassed both teams, they showed glimpses of brilliance during the LEC Summer Split and Playoffs finals and can become dark horses. For Rogue, they must qualify through the Play-In stage to fully enter the main event. All in all, LEC teams will be eager to prove themselves against the more favored LPL and LCK teams.
Written by Rashidat Jimoh
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
If you’re interested in seeing more of Esportz Network, follow our social media at Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We have daily podcasts at the Esports Minute, weekly interviews at the Esportz Network Podcast, and collegiate esports updates at the College Esports QuickTake. Anyone can also join our community on Discord and chat about your favorite games, esports, and more!