MAD Lions reverse sweep Team BDS to win 2023 LEC Spring Split Title

The LEC is benefiting from the new format. The viewership numbers might not back it up, but we definitely got a more competitive spring split. MAD Lions jungler Elyoya has now won 3 of the 6 competitive splits he has played in. In a heartbreaking turn of events, Team BDS bot laner Crownie fell just short of the ultimate prize. The MAD Lions are Europe’s first seed heading into MSI after becoming the 2023 LEC Spring Split Champions.

2023 LEC Spring Groups Results

For the first time in the history of the LEC or formerly known as the EU LCS, neither Fnatic nor G2 Esports finished in the top 3. Over it’s 10 year history, with 21 competitive splits in the books, this is the first time it has happened. In order to secure their MSI bid, the MAD Lions played 59 games so dar in 2023. That’s more than the 57 they played throughout the entirety of 2022. This is largely because MAD made two incredible lower bracket runs into the finals this year thanks to the new LEC format. At the same time, they didn’t make Playoffs in Spring 2022 and underperformed massively in Summer 2022’s Playoffs.

Group A Results

Group A took an interesting turn but gave the expected results in the end. Vitality made quick work of the MAD Lions in the opening round. The bot lane differential was too much to overcome with Upset on Vitality’s side. A quick 2-0 sent the team from Madrid to the lower bracket.  At the same time, Astralis secured a 2-1 series win over Fnatic. The series ended up being a lot closer than many expected, especially given how Fnatic started off in 2023. A lot of fighting and mistakes highlighted this series, which boiled down to individual excellence. Astralis mid-laner Lider showed us his Yone and Irelia, as Fnatic managed to steal a game against his Zed.

Astralis advanced to the qualification match only to be stopped in their tracks by Vitality. The French Bees managed to punish Astralis’s over-aggression and get the 2-0 win. The first game was pure bloodshed, with 44 kills in 30 minutes. The game swung back and forth but Astralis bot laner Kobbe couldn’t do enough on Lucian with Wukong and Kled pressuring him. Game two kicked off in a similar fashion but ended up being a montage. Vitality jungler Bo offered more of the same dominant showing, this time on his signature Lee Sin pick. In both games, he had 2 items in 17 minutes, while his counterpart struggled to finish his first. Vitality’s mid-jungle synergy looked scary as they advanced to the Spring Playoffs.

Loser Bracket Matchups

The MAD Lions came into their lower bracket matchup against Fnatic with a different mindset. There was a better meta-read and a lot more comfort picks. MAD Lions mid laner Nisqy once again proved his Gragas was a serious threat. MAD Lions bot laner Carzzy had a great showing on Zeri en route to a game one win. Game two was another close call, with Fnatic taking over. The Blitzcrank pick worked out for Fnatic’s support player Advienne and Rekkles on Xayah was the major benefactor. 

Game three turned out to be one for the ages. The MAD Lions had a commanding 6k gold lead but a quadra kill for Rekkles evened things out at the 30-minute mark. As Fnatic was racing towards the base of the MAD Lions, Rekkles himself made a wrong move that cost Fnatic the victory. Fnatic were 3 auto attacks away from eliminating the MAD Lions, but the game stalled out. MAD secured the Infernal Soul and that helped Carzzy decide the outcome of the game. A full-build Jinx swept Fnatic’s dreams for redemption with a quadra kill of its own, setting up a matchup with Astralis. 

Astralis opened the lower bracket qualification match with their typical approach. Their aggressive playstyle gave them a small lead, which they eventually lost due to taking ill-advised fights. MAD profited from their mistakes, stalling the game out to Elder Drake, securing Infernal Soul and winning in 38 minutes. Game two was an absolute onslaught against Lider’s Talon pick. A pentakill from Kobbe on Zeri managed to buy them some time, but MAD Lions were too far ahead. Their 2-0 win against Astralis sent them to the 2023 Spring Playoffs, where they would join Vitality as the other representative from group A.

Group B Results

The competition in Group B kicked off with the highly anticipated matchup of the two young teams. Both Team BDS and SK Gaming showed major signs of improvement during the Winter Split. This time around, it was Team BDS executing their game plan to perfection. Their top laner Adam picks his favorite champions and the entire team plays around bot laner Crownie. Team BDS advanced to the next round with a 2-0 win.

The next game was against long-time rivals, G2 Esports and the rebranded Rogue, now known as KOI. Game one was the typical G2 shenanigans. Yasuo and Pantheon were the pillars of their win, and it all came down to execution. Game 2 was a lot more controlled, with KOI punishing the horrid draft experiment from G2. Game three was the closest game of them all, and KOI managed to choke out their opponents. KOI had the better mid jungle duo through this entire series. And when G2 Esports support Mikyx picked Jarvan, the game was feeling doomed. KOI beat G2 by a 2-1 score to advance to the qualification match.

As a reward, they got to face off against the first-seeded Team BDS. And it went as poorly as you could expect it. Team BDS showed up and proved why they have been the most cohesive team in the LEC this split. In game one it was Nuc and Crownie dominating the top side of KOI. Game two was more of the same, with Nuc showing out on his Cassiopeia pick.

Loser Bracket Matchups in 2023 LEC Spring Group Stage

G2 and SK matched up in the lower bracket of Group B for a chance at redemption. It ended up being a one sided affair, with G2 Esports claiming a 2-0 victory. From draft and meta reads, to execution and team play, G2 was the better team all around. They experimented with a Bel’veth jungle and Nilah Senna bot lane, and still managed to squash the opposition.

With KOI losing and G2 winning, it was time for a rematch. The lower bracket in Group B saw the old foes face off again. Game on was draft kingdom on the side of KOI, and G2 mid laner Caps felt their wrath. His Tristana couldn’t get off the ground against the Wukong and Viktor combo, and neither could G2. Game two was a completely different story, with G2 drafting carry champions for their top side and leaving Caps on Sejuani in the mid lane. And it worked out in their favor considering they were 7000 gold ahead at 16 minutes. 5 minutes later and the game was over, with G2 Esports tying the series at 1 a piece. 

Game three was a lot more controlled and closer. But Mikyx locked in Thresh and decided to give Hans Sama the win. Every hook that landed resulted in a kill for the Jinx, which eventually turned out to be the game-breaker. With Baron and Soul in G2’s hands, KOI were eliminated 35 minutes into the deciding game three. 

2023 LEC Spring Playoffs Results

Once the playoffs kicked off, it was pure madness. Nobody expected Team BDS to keep up their momentum. Sure they looked solid, but it was Team BDS. Vitality have another super team and G2 Esports are the reigning champions. But only one team can come out on top.

Competition kicked off with Team BDS blowing the doors of Team Vitality. A quick 3-0 sweep was not something anyone expected. Crownie got his hands on Aphelios for 2 of those games and it cost Vitality dearly. With top laner Adam on tank duty even though it was Darius, Team BDS performed like one cohesive unit. Rookie jungler Sheo did an amazing job playing around his bot lane, something that Bo failed to realize. Nuc also outplayed Perkz in the mid lane for most of the series. Team BDS deserved to win, and they catapulted themselves to the Grand Finals.

MAD Lions Lower Bracket Run in 2023 LEC Spring Playoffs

The MAD Lions came into the playoffs with a lot of doubt. They got bounced in the first round of the Group Stage. In the lower bracket against Fnatic, they were 3 auto attacks away from being eliminated.  But now they were scheduled to face G2 Esports. Game one was a methodical dismantling on the side of G2. MAD did their best to keep the game close, but rookie jungler Yike made enough impact on the bot lane for Hans Sama to carry on his Jinx. The MAD Lions bounced back in game two, only to throw their lead and have their mistakes erased with an egregious tech pause. G2’s mental state was visibly shaken up. Even though they did their best to claw back, MAD managed to tie the series at 1 apiece. 

Game three was another shot in the dark with the Bel’veth and Darius picks coming out for G2. but it was starting to become evident that Caps was underperforming in this series. MAD Lions won every game their mid laner Nisqy had his signature Gragas pick, so not banning it was a bit confusing. Hylissang hit the hooks on his Blitzcrank, and it gave Carzzy’s Jinx enough firepower to push MAD to a 2-1 series lead. 

G2 Esports force Game 5 2023 LEC Spring Playoffs

It looked like G2 figured it out in game 4. Pick an engage jungler and help your bot lane dominate. This was all G2 from start to finish with the Nocturne pick in the mid lane for Caps to spice things up. Hans Sama got ahead as Lucian and never looked back, tying the series at 2-2 and setting up for Silver Scrapes.

And all along it looked like the MAD Lions were ready for it. While the G2 were all over the place with their team composition, MAD Lions picked comfort. Ezreal for Carzzy, Pyke for Hylissang, Gragas for Nisqy. Their top side combo of Kenne and Wukong made it impossible for Hans Sama to carry the game on Jinx, despite getting the early kill lead. G2’s top laner Brokenblade had little impact on his Jayce and MAD managed to close it out and eliminate G2 Esports in 5 games.

2023 LEC Spring Grand Finals

With this, the MAD Lions were due to face off against Team BDS in the Grand Finals. And both teams got to work right out of the gate. 18 kills in 20 minutes meant that the game was pretty even, but Sheo didn’t stop making crucial engages. On the side of MAD Lions, Hylissang on his Blitzcrank had a tough time picking priority targets. With Crownie scoring a pentakill on his Zeri and Nuc creating a massive lead on his Cassio, Team BDS took game one convincingly. 

Game two was more of the same. Team BDS picked 2 hyper carries and 2 tanks, as opposed to MAD’s poke team consisting of Ezreal, Zoe and Jayce. The game was dead even in terms of gold and kills at 27 minutes, but Carzzy mispositioned and gave BDS the win. The MAD Lions had leads in both games, but fell down 2-0. 

MAD Lions reverse sweep Team BDS

Game three was another close game up until the 20 minute mark. Despite Team BDS having 2 drakes, they mispositioned around the Baron pit and it cost them the game. MAD Lions top laner Chasy had been creating massive individual leads this entire series, and he showed it in this fight. Yes, K’sante is a season 13 champion and does do too much damage for a tank. Both teams had similar team compositions but MAD Lions managed to snowball the game off that one fight. Despite the win, the MAD Lions were still down and fighting for a game 5.

But to get there, they needed to win game 4. And they did it in a dominant fashion. At the 15 minute mark in game 4, the MAD Lions had a 7000 gold lead. With non-stop aggression and flawless execution, their lead ballooned until the game was over in 24 minutes.  On the flip side, Team BDS looked like any young team facing its growing pains. They didn’t drop a single map during the group stage and playoffs, but their run finally ended. MAD Lions finally figured them out, and it was through sheer top lane dominance. Over the course of the series, Adam trailed Chasy somewhere between 3 and 6 thousand gold in each game. 

All of this led up to the deciding game 5. Which in reality, was decided before it even began. Team BDS kept throwing bans at Chasy, but it did little to help their cause. The lack of experience showed as the MAD Lions outdrafted them and outplayed them at every step of the way. Team BDS lost the deciding game 5 without securing a single kill. The MAD Lions cracked their nexus in just 27 minutes, completing the reverse sweep.