Coming into the season, most people considered G2 and Fnatic to be the two favorites to win the EU Spring Split. It wasn’t easy, but both teams are favored to meet in the finals. For G2, the current Kings of Europe are looking to win their fifth straight EU title. Meanwhile, Fnatic is looking to reclaim its title as the best team on the continent. Will these two end up meeting or will one of the two underdogs pull off the upset this weekend?
G2 -182
Splyce +136
G2 and Splyce met three times during the regular season with G2 winning the season series 2-1. That last win was the most important as it gave G2 the No. 2 seed in playoffs and a bye in the Quarterfinals.
With that being said, it’s not like Splyce had a hard time getting to this point. Splyce easily swept ROCCAT last week and showed why many consider them to have a great chance to usurp G2 in this one.
The most important thing we saw out of Splyce last week was Nisqy outplaying Blanc in the mid lane. Nisqy is the biggest question mark on Splyce, and that performance bodes really well for the team heading into this one. He will be facing arguably the best mid laner in Europe in Perkz.
Perkz has largely carried G2 to this point. He is the only player left over from G2’s championship streak and has been the star for the team this year. Even though his numbers aren’t the best, it’s been his play more than anyone else that has G2 in this position.
I don’t think Perkz is going to be able to dominate his lane enough for G2 to get the win though. Splyce has the experience advantage in the bottom lane, a slight advantage in the jungle, and a top laner who has really come on strong in Odoamne. As long as Nisqy doesn’t get rolled in the mid lane, Splyce will pull off the upset.
Fnatic -385
Team Vitality +252
No team has been better in the EU than Fnatic this season. This is familiar territory for the organization, but now they have to avoid the postseason collapses that have plagued them recently.
It’s already been an ominous start for Fnatic. Top laner SoaZ will be unable to play during the playoffs because of a hand injury, so Bwipo will have to take his place. Bwipo is a promising rookie, but he has played just two games for Fnatic this split and is an unknown quantity.
That will put the pressure on Fnatic’s other lanes. The bottom lane shouldn’t have much to worry about. Although Minitroupax has had a great season for Vitality, Rekkles and Hylissang are easily the best bottom lane in Europe and should win this battle. Rekkles finished the regular season with an incredible 13.5 KDA and he will look to add onto that total in the playoffs.
The mid lane is going to be very interesting and will likely decide the series. Jiizuke has been fantastic for Vitality. He should handily win Rookie of the Split and you can make the case that he was the top mid laner in Europe during Spring too.
Jiizuke will be squaring off against Caps. Caps has stumbled at some inopportune times and can be exploited in the mid lane. However, he is also extremely talented and has dominated at various stretches over the last year. If Caps is on, Fnatic should have no problem with Vitality. If he is not at his best, Vitality has a real shot to send Fnatic crashing out in the playoffs yet again.
