2023 LEC Spring Groups and Playoffs preview

Playoffs are underway across all major regions. Except for the LEC, which is enjoying a week off under the new format. They somehow managed to cram 2 competitive splits into the time span before MSI. But that has come at a major price. The LEC now has 70 000 viewers less per broadcast. Peak viewership is down by 200 000 views and hours watched has declined from 27 million to just 11. And with G2 Esports claiming the title during the Winter Split, we now have only one open spot for MSI. Hopefully, the tension and stakes of this 2023 LEC Spring playoff run will bring viewers back in their seats.

Excel Esports 2023 roster changes timeline

Coming into the year, we had high hopes for Excel. The lineup looked promising. But things quickly spiraled out of control, resulting in two last-place finishes. Being tenth in the LEC during both the Winter and Spring Split, meant that changes were coming. And as is always the case in traditional sports, coaches are more replaceable than players. Head coach YoungBuck and assistant coach Nelson were replaced heading into the Spring Split. Hidon, a former pro player in the jungle role and coach of Team Dusty in the NLC, is the one who replaced them. For the former, this was YounBuck’s third year with the team, where he failed to generate results.

Living off his glory days with the formidable Fnatic rosters of years past seems to have caught up to him. Nelson has also developed a bad reputation in the League of Legends community, after a spectacular debacle with 3 highly touted teams in a row. The LNG roster with Tarzan and DoinB was followed up by the G2 lineup featuring Rekkles and now this Excel roster. Next up was support player Targamas. After a solid year of over performing on G2 Esports, Targamas got a chance to shine on Excel. Sadly, he and Patrik ended up being the worst bot lane in the LEC. Replacing him with veteran support player Limit heading into the 2023 LEC Spring Split, failed to change the team’s fortunes. Some fans are calling out for nepotism since Excel’s new manager Mert was the CEO of the 2021 Schalke 04 squad and 2022 Team BDS squad, for which Limit played previously. 

Excel 2023 LEC Spring Split performance

Excel opened up the 2023 LEC Spring Split with a win against Fnatic, the only team they managed to beat during the Winter Split. But then they dropped the next two games against Vitality and G2. Teams who are better than them in every aspect of the game. They got another win in week two against the MAD Lions, but dropped a pair of winnable games against Team Heretics and SK Gaming. Management thought they had seen enough, inserting mid laner Abbedage into the lineup. The German spent a few months as a substitute and content creator on the roster after being released from 100 Thieves in the previous offseason. 

He replaced mid laner Vetheo, who had publicly stated that his performance was hindered by the mental toll the Winter Split took on him. Chaos ensued as Vetheo took to social media to express his disapproval of the decision. With all eyes on Excel heading into week three, half of the team fell victim to a Covid infection. Excel dropped the last 3 games against KOI, Astralis and BDS playing remotely, before ending the split with a 2-7 record. With nothing to lose anymore and stuck on the sidelines for the duration of the playoffs, Excel are making another change. Jungler Xerxe will no longer be a part of the team heading into the Summer Split.

Jungler Jankos is the only bright spot for Team Heretics

Another team struggling to live up to expectations is Team Heretics. The sun was shining bright last year when this team won the 2022 Summer EU Masters tournament. Purchasing their LEC slot from Misfits seemed like the logical next step and they went for it. By promoting their star bot laner Jackspektra to the main roster and adding a few veterans, management was hoping they were fielding a competitive team. But out of the bunch, only jungler Jankos seems to fit the criteria.

Despite ending the 2023 LEC Spring Split with a 3-6 record, Heretics failed to qualify for the playoffs after losing the tiebreaker match against the Mad Lions. This put an end to a confusing and disappointing split that saw the team lose way too many winnable games. And the only reason they were even competitive in most of these games was jungler Jankos. The greatest jungler in the West had taken quite a bit of criticism during his last years on G2 Esports. While everyone knows his knowledge of the game is bar none, many questioned his ability to carry a team.

Jankos 2023 LEC Spring Split performance

Well if this split is any indication, he is the best jungler in the league playing on the worst team. Among junglers in the 2023 LEC Spring Split, Jankos ranks first in major categories like:

• Kills per game
• First blood participation
• Gold Difference at 15 minutes
• Tied for first place with 3 solo kills and
• First in kills per game
• And he is second in damage percentage 

Jankos has proved his worth, but the team around him doesn’t seem to be up to par. Their bot lane has been a black hole essentially, and in the current meta, that plays a major role in how your team performs. Jankos is creating leads for himself and his team, as evidenced by him being the only one on Team Heretics with a gold lead average at 15 minutes. Each of his teammates is at a deficit on average. And even when he manages to get them ahead, they often manage to lose the game on bad decisions. This has prompted analysts to call for roster changes, even if it means Jankos leaving for a better situation. 

2023 LEC Spring Group A

With the Group Stage of the 2023 LEC Spring Split kicking off this weekend, it’s time to preview the matchups. We already covered Fnatic’s downfall after their disaster of a Winter Split. The Spring Split didn’t start out too hot as well, with the team dropping its first 4 games. The 19 year old top laner Oscarinin looked outmatched in every sense of the word. Fans were trashing the organization for ruining his career trajectory by inserting him into this mess. But the kid bounced back, and with a new head coach and GM in charge, Fnatic took off.

Astralis versus Fnatic

They followed up the opening 4 game losing streak with a 4 game winning streak, before losing the last game of the split to none other than Astralis. Granted , G2 Esports were the only team with a winning record they beat over that span but kudos to them for turning the situation around. The change was felt in the top lane especially with these being Oscarinin’s stats throughout the split:

• Week One: 0/18/4
• Week Two: 10/13/23
• Week Three : 16/3/12 before the last game in which he finished with 4-6-4

Astralis finished the 2023 LEC Spring Split on a 4-game winning streak. Which is more than the 3 wins they managed to muster up during the 2023 LEC Winter Split. This makes it clear that the decision to insert mid laner Lider into the lineup in place of former starter Dajor, was a good one. It was evident from the first game, and it only got better afterward. For the first time in their third year of competing in the LEC, Astralis have a winning record. They finished 6-3 for the split, which was good enough for a three-way tie in the second seed. But thanks to Lider’s performance against Vitality and especially G2 Esports, Astralis had the lead in head-to-head matches and secured the second seed. 

Objectively, Astralis is the better team when it comes to recent performance and synergy. Their bot lane has looked much better recently than Fnatic’s despite the later fielding Rekkles. If Fnatic’s solo lanes can handle the pressure, Astralis will throw one game in the drafting phase. In the end, I expect an Astralis victory, with a 2-1 score.

Vitality against the Mad Lions 

Vitality started the split on the right note. Inserting bot laner Upset in place of Neon proved to be the right decision. The team jumped out to a 4-0 record before losing their next three games. They finished the split on a high note, but those losses all came against teams that were above them in the standings. But given the track record and the strength of this squad on paper, Vitality shouldn’t be worried. Every player in their lineup is a threat to single-handedly win a game, and that’s what you need in deciding matches. 

They are facing a slumping MAD Lions team in the first round that barely snuck into the group stage. Winning a tie-breaker against the aforementioned Team Heretics is nothing to gloat about, given they finished the split with a 3-6 record. Overall their early games have looked a lot weaker. With top laner Chasy and jungler Elyoya struggling to find their rhythm, the squad has relied upon their bot lane to get them some wins.

And it has worked somewhat but it feels like Vitality is outmatching them in every role. This MAD Lions squad has the potential, but i don’t think that the meta and matchups favor them in this one. Vitality wins 2-0. 

2023 LEC Spring Group B

Team BDS versus SK Gaming

Team BDS have been the most pleasant surprise of this split. You know you are living in a different timeline when Astralis and BDS are at the top of the LEC leaderboard. The team has looked much better in 2023 compared to previous years. And it has all been thanks to bot laner Crownie. Top laner Adam has had up-and-down games. Mid laner Nuc has been better each split. But Crownie is doing a league-leading 30% of his team’s damage alongside an improbable 76% kill participation as an ADC. His jungler Sheo has done a great job enabling him, but the game plan is clear. Team BDS go as far as Crownie takes them.

SK Gaming is another feel-good story in the LEC this year. They started off the split hot but backpedaled as the weeks went by. Finishing with a 4-5 is certainly not bad, but we were expecting more. And they enter the group stage on a 3 game-losing streak, coming from some questionable drafts. They are a young team that is not an underdog anymore, so maybe pressure plays a role here. But they definitely have their hands full heading into this weekend, but I believe that they will manage to pull through.

They seem much more cohesive and with the way mid laner Sertuss is playing, all SK has to do is keep Crownie in check. The series will probably be a nail biter decided by a few mistakes.  And with SK’s young bot lane in Exakick and Doss being their strongest point, I believe they can do it. Top laner Irrelevant has been making winning plays all year, and I expect his team fighting to be the difference in this one. SK Gaming wins 2-1 against Team BDS in my opinion.

G2 Esports against KOI

Water is wet and G2 is one of the best League of Legends teams in Europe. Those things don’t seem to change that often. Don’t let the third place finish and 6-3 record fool you. This G2 squad is dangerous. Just ask the teams they swept during the Winter Split playoffs. This team doesn’t have a soft spot. They just like experimenting with different team compositions on stage. If their scrim record is anything to go by, these guys are getting ready for MSI. Caps is back to being Claps. Hans Sama looks rejuvenated and Yike is looking like one of the best rookies and junglers in the game. Only time will tell, but G2 looks head and shoulders above any LEC team at the moment.

It’s a sad song for the KOI brand. The team might have drawn a ton of Spanish fans but the results are nowhere to be found. And this 4-5 record is just a reflection of Excel and Heretics problems. Two of their wins came from their opponent’s incompetence to close out a game leading to a catastrophic collapse. Bot laner Comp doesn’t look like the best bot laner in Europe anymore. Maybe that’s because his jungler Malrang and support Trymbi have had their worst showings to date. Maybe it’s because bot lane competition is a lot stiffer this year with Hans Sama returning, Upset changing scenery and Crownie and Kobbe leveling up. This will be a clean 2-0 sweep in favor of G2 Esports, regardless of how KOI performs.