Welcome to my weekly European LCS column. Each week I’ll be taking a look at the most interesting storylines for you, the fans, to be keeping an eye on. Week three begins tomorrow, so here are my most interesting storylines to watch for the 3rd week of the EU LCS.

ROCCAT slow on the acceleration

Throughout the off-season, ROCCAT were praised for their bold acquisitions. Woolite had been deemed another higher class player held back by Copenhagen Wolves, while Nukeduck is respected as one of the better mid laner to ever play in Europe. Along with these transfers, ROCCAT also kept hold of their 2 key members, Jankos and Vander, while Overpow looks promising in the top lane. 

Why then is the team hailed as ‘winners of the off-season’ in Europe struggling in the first weeks at a score of 1-3? A loss to SK Gaming in week 1 can be forgiven (hehe), along with Fnatic also, though one might suggest that ROCCAT had the tools to win that game before throwing it away. The final defeat came at the hands of Elements, a very back and forth, 1 hour long game finally saw Elements take the victory. The problem could be placed down to facing only the higher tier opposition, while it is also fair to say that both Woolite and Nukeduck may need a little more time to settle in, while Overpow has been inconsistent in the top lane.

In week 3 ROCCAT will pit themselves against GIANTS! and Meet Your Makers, 2 teams who are safely considered part of the bottom half of the LCS, rather than the top. This week should see the team take 2 fairly simple victories and start getting back on track, looking towards the top of the standings. In my eyes both Nukeduck and Overpow need to step up their game and try to remain consistent in their performances, 2 fairly simple games this week should allow them to do so.

Bonus! - Nukeduck vs xPepii

It’s probably safe to say Pepiinero has impressed more than the veteran Nukeduck so far this season, these 2 will face off on Thursday and the mid lane battle could prove to be vital in determining the winner of the game.

Gambit need to pick up a win

I mentioned Gambit last week to make essentially the same point. The IEM champions have failed to pick up a single victory in their 4 games so far, despite being billed as a team to look out for this season. Fans and experts (myself included) named Gambit as the dark horse of the season, and a team that could make a push into the top 3 if all things slot into place. Their performance so far points very much to the contrary,

Week 2 saw Gambit Gaming up against Fnatic and SK Gaming, quite obviously the 2 strongest teams in the European LCS at the moment, so while it’s understandable, it’s still a touchy situation. With the LCS format changing to only 18 games per season, Gambit have much less time to turn that record around and start striding towards the top half of the standings.

Week 3 sees Gambit up against Copenhagen Wolves and H2K Gaming, putting them in a prime position to at least take 1 victory away. A few days before the start of week 2 the team completed their move into the gaming house in Berlin and head coach Leviathan joined them full-time. These factors should have started working in favour of them, and for the first time in the split we might get to see a full strength Gambit.

Bonus! - Edward vs Voidle

Okay this is more of a fun fact than a story line, in case there are some newer fans out there. Edward once spent some time away from Gambit when he transferred to Curse, during that time Darker and Voidle filled the support role, with the latter even participating at Worlds.

Who will fall first? Fnatic or SK Gaming

From the unsuccessful to the unstoppable, only 2 teams in the entire LCS remain undefeated, and it might stay that way until they face each other. Fnatic shocked everyone with their dominant performance, and then shocked everyone again in week 2. The team seemed only capable of playing 1 style, but even when that was revealed they showed resilience in a hard fought victory over ROCCAT. Meanwhile SK Gaming are doing exactly what everyone expected. The team clearly improved in the off-season and could very well be one of the best in the west.

Both sides took a victory over Gambit Gaming during week 2, Fnatic also took down the slumping ROCCAT, while SK dispatched of Unicorns of Love. As it stands both lineups seem to be boasting individual strength in each position, with synergy that ties it all together in a neat little bow. Fredy and Huni, Svenskeren and Reignover, Fox and Febiven, Forg1ven and Steelback, and nRated and Yellowstar. You could quite comfortable say that in their current state, every one of those players is top 3 in their respective position in the region.

Week 3 should provide Fnatic with 2 more wins in theory, as they take on Unicorns of Love and GIANTS!, 2 teams that are struggling to define their place in the league. SK Gaming should claim victory in their first match of the week against H2K, but could face a tough test against Elements. Their opponents in the final game of the week haven’t been performing as well as they hoped, however Elements have still been claiming victories and with a strong lineup on paper, SK shouldn’t underestimate them.

Bonus! - Mid lane madness

The schedule for these 2 teams in week 3 ensures that we’ll be seeing some epic mid lane battles. SK Gaming and Fox will be taking on Ryu of H2k and Froggen of Elements. Fnatic and Febiven will be facing off against UOL’s PowerOfEvil and GIANTS! star xPepiinero. 

Image Credits to Riot and ESL

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