FC Schalke 04 vs Team Vitality

For our third match of the day we have an incredibly exciting clash between FC Schalke 04 and Team Vitality. This is arguably the game of the day, and with good reason.

Now, both of these teams, even though they're mammoths and highly skilled and capable contenders, aren't exactly entering this match with a whole ton of momentum -- for various reasons. Both of them were on incredibly dominant streaks but have gotten derailed (hype-wise) through somewhat different means. Schalke lost a key game against Origen last week, in what was (as thought by many) arguably a one-sided, favorable match-up. It seems as though that Origen are far stronger and more capable than anyone had imagined. It doesn't mean they're better than Schalke per se, but they did get the win and they made it look easy as well.

So right about now it's hard to really judge Schalke. Are they still a Top 3 contender? Do they have what it takes to compete with the very top of the LEC? Or will they eventually get nudged out of the LEC pantheon? It's impossible to know right now, and we desperately need more games in order to increase our sample size and come up to a solid conclusion.

They were able to take down Rogue yesterday in pretty clear fashion, although taking Rogue down doesn't exactly build a lot of hype, if any. It was a slot game, and they played it by the book. The score at the top was even throughout the game, but Schalke's individual prowess and stellar play allowed them to accrue a huge lead and eventually snowball it out of control. They were faster on the map, better on an individual level, their team fighting was fantastic, and they were able to outclass Rogue on all fronts -- as was expected.

But Team Vitality are a different kind of beast entirely. That said, they didn't look that beastly nor dominant against the likes of SK Gaming. In fact, far from it. They started off well, but things quickly fell apart. They were passive, reactive, always on the back foot and retrieving, they made incredibly confusing positional mistakes across the board, and even though they stepped up in the mid game, it was SK's spectacular execution and better team fighting comp that allowed them to shut Vitality down at will. It was a fantastic display of skill from SK, and Vitality simply didn't have an answer. It was a strange sight as well, seeing one of the most aggressive teams in the region flabbergasted to such a degree.

SK were dictating the tempo and Vitality could barely follow. They had a good team comp but couldn't execute it properly. On the other hand, SK had an unkillable tank in the top lane, a spectacular old school team fighting mage in Orianna, two engage champions in Lee Sin and Alistar, and a fantastic hyper carry in Jinx. Furthermore, each and every SK member did their fair share of carrying, and they all did their jobs and then some.

Because of this, predicting this match is downright impossible. Anything can happen, and both outcomes seem highly plausible. Both Schalke and Vitality have been upset in one way or another. They are no longer in sole possession of the top spots below G2 Esports, and they've been challenged by a couple of mid-tier teams. Do they still belong at the top? Do they have what it takes in order to remain where they are or will they slowly (but surely) fall down in the standings as some other contenders rise up?

Schalke already beat Vitality once at the very beginning of the split. If they did it once, they can surely do it again, although it's never so black and white when it comes to League of Legends and predictions. Both teams want redemption, they want to make a statement, and yet only one can attain it. It all comes down to the early game, and how well these teams manage to draft. Patch 9.3 brought a lot of changes to the meta and the AD carry pool especially. If Schalke draft well, and get Upset on a priority pick, they should, by all means, be able to take down Vitality.

That said, it surely won't be an easy game, as Vitality rarely go down without a fight.