After a rocky start to the spring split, many people rode off H2K to be just another team.in the LCS. A few weeks in, H2K took a bold decision to bring in Kasing into the roster. Lo and behond, H2K found the recipe they needed to succeed in the EULCS. Taking charge of the majority of the shot calling, KaSing brought new life into H2k, turning them into the best tactical team in EU. H2K was never known to just overpower opponents through superior individual talent, but was definitely one of the best when it came to teamwork. Superior teleport timings, ward control and correct objective prioritization made this once mid level LCS team into one of the best teams in EU Top - Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu

Arguably the best top laner in EU,  Odoamne stands tall as the top laner to beat in EU. Not just mechanically sound but also great at timing his actions, Odoamne is quite possibly the most reliable player EU has seen and his actions are carried out with finesse. He's capable of playing around his minion wave so well, that each time he recalls or teleports his losses are practically minimum. This makes him a very dangerous opponent in teamfights since he will always remain relevant in terms of items and gold. Whether it is playing safe in a lane swap or trying to out-do his opponents in standard lanes, Odoamne is capable of duking it out with the best of the best and not lose. Jungle - Jean-Victor "Loulex" Burgevin

Continuing the trend of mediocrity in the jungle we find  Loulex from H2K. Quite possibly the biggest enigma on the team, Loulex has demonstrated several times that he is a very good jungler in the early stages of the game when he works a long side. KaSing to gain vision and subtle advantages.  However, once early to mid game ends, Loulex doesn't feel comfortable with his actions and often finds himself walking into places he shouldn't. It's almost as if Loulex gets nervous, with mechanical mishaps and strange decisions. That being said, Loulex still has a decent sense for vision, and when roaming a long side KaSing they're capable of littering the map with enough wards to nullify the enemy jungler altogether. Mid - Ryu "Ryu" - Sangook

After a terrible year with KT Rolster Bullets in 2014, Ryu had flown in to EU to join Millenium and eventually Roccat to play in the EU LCS. Ever since the KT Bullets were unable to qualify for worlds 2013, Ryu’s career had gone in a downward spiral which seemingly had no end (even though KT Rolster Bullets were capable of winning IEM Katowice World championships)

There were a lot of concerns with Ryu once he joined the roster and with good reason. His games on Roccat were definitely not inspiring and it looked like Ryu was a shell of his former KT Bullets self. It’s true that he’s not necessarily at that level anymore, but he’s by no means a push over. Ryu is capable of playing assassins and control mages alike. Still renouned as one of the great Orianna players, Ryu has been a solid rock in the mid lane and a reliable carry for H2K. He’s had great games on Ahri demonstrating that he’s still capable of playing assassins. Overall, he’s not the Ryu we came to enjoy during summer 2013, but you’d be wrong to take him lightly. Ad carry - Petter "Hjarnan" Freyschuss

Not flashy - but reliable, is the phrase that comes to mind when talking about Hjarnan. Unlike many players he does not seek the 1v1 outplay. Hjarnan doesn’t seek the overly dominant lane presence. Rather he spends his time perfecting his teamfight potential and makes the most out of the resources his team donates to him. Out of all the players in H2K Hjarnan gets the highest gold share and makes great use of it. His positioning in teamfights is stellar, allowing him to deal insane amounts of damage without being in much danger.

Support - Raymond "KaSing" Tsang

At this point you’re probably tired of hearing the same thing about KaSing over and over, but this is the narrative KaSing has placed upon H2K for 2015. From just another challenger tier team making it to LCS, to one of the powerhouses of europe this is mostly thanks to KaSing and their coach Neil “Pr0lly” Hammad. While pr0lly was working out the kinks of strategy and drafting, KaSing was working on the ingame aspect of leading this team. Not only did KaSing surpass any expectation with flying colours, the team just felt different soon after he joined. Ryu felt comfortable playing anything, Odoamne’s teleports started to make sense and Hjarnan was finally capable of being the teamfighting AD he wanted to be. The strength of this support player lies in his Vision control and roaming. Pairing himself up with Loulex to drop wards and gank lanes, KaSing makes advantages happen for his team. His strengths are best shown in lane swaps, where his movements are not wasted and his timing is almost picture perfect. You truly can’t catch this team offguard in laneswaps.

Player to look out for: Odoamne.

For those who believe I am over praising Odoamne, you should definitely go watch the second game of the regular split against Fnatic. His recall timing is impeccable, his 1v1 potential is good, he plays around the laneswaps to lose the minimum possible gold/exp and he teamfights extremely well. In a meta that is centered around the top laner and their use of teleport, Odoamne has thrived and placed himself in the upper echelons of top laners in the west, seeking to repeat his success on the world stage.

Conclusion:

H2K is the best strategic team coming from the EULCS. Their planning and lane swapping has been crisp and solid, allowing them to net early leads against Fnatic showing that they have nothing to fear when it comes to facing teams that are in theory superior to them. Barring minor issues with Loulex in the mid to late game in terms of positioning, H2K is a force to be reckoned with. Sure they have one of the hardest groups to play in, but if there ever is a way to make a statement, it’s by forcing out one of the odds on favorites to win the entire tournament.

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Images courtesy h2k-gaming.eu,