exceL vs Splyce

For our second match of the day we have a somewhat interesting clash between Splyce and Excel Esports. While this match won't really decide anything standings-wise, it is still incredibly important for both teams. Splyce are coming off a pretty shocking loss to Fnatic, whereas Excel desperately need a win on the board in order to keep their playoff dreams alive.

But let's focus on Splyce a bit first. It's fair to say that their game against Fnatic was almost painfully one-sided. It's not a problem that they've lost, in fact, losing to a team like Fnatic is no shame, even though they've been underperforming from the very beginning of the LEC. But the way in which they lost, the fashion in which it all went down was staggering. They were slow, passive, reactive, always playing on the back foot, and they simply couldn't find a solution to Fnatic's... barely proactive play. It's not like they were overwhelmed, Fnatic was just a tad bit faster and more willing to fight on the Rift.

Furthermore, individual mistakes from Splyce members were on full display yesterday, and that might even be an understatement. Vizicsacsi and Humanoid made so many mistakes that they essentially lost their team the game. Any time they could have skirmished over a neutral objective or went for a play, at least one Splyce member got caught out of position. Rinse and repeat a couple of times, and the game was over.

That's the thing with Splyce. They're the perennial gatekeepers of the LEC. Strong enough to compete with the teams above them but never actually win when it matters, and always better than the teams below them. They're shackled to their mid-tier position, and while they do have flashes of brilliance from time to time, it was never enough to get them to the upper echelon of the region. But there's some undeniable talent within this five-man roster, that's just a fact.

Seeing them so passive was weird, and even though they're not exactly know for their fast-paced early games (far from it), this was still an extremely disappointing performance in every way, shape, and form.

Then again, Excel Esports looked even worse against Origen. Their loss was at least pretty much expected, but regardless. They haven't registered a win in what feels like an eternity, and they desperately need to take someone down in order to get back into the win column.

Regardless of how both these teams looked yesterday, we're going with Splyce and with full confidence. They're the better team on all fronts, and while they might not be as strong or capable as we once thought, they're still a highly dangerous opponent that has the potential to be a solid playoff dark horse. That said, it probably won't be particularly clean and dominant.