Misfits vs Origen

For our third match of the day, we have an incredibly exciting clash between the second-best team from Spring -- Origen, and the perennial LEC challengers Misfits Gaming. Judging solely off of these two teams' recent level of play, we simply have to get excited. This is, without a doubt, the most exciting game of the day, and it'll also give us a much better read on both competitors, their overall strengths, and just how high they could eventually climb.

We're seeing great things from both Origen and Misfits, but they're also inconsistent. It's still too early in the split to expect consistent play, but then again, these are veterans rosters, and yet they are still making egregious mistakes that shouldn't really be present at this point in time.

They've been playing for seven months now, and yet synergy and cohesion are still lacking in certain areas of play. Still, the shorts bursts of excellence are all we need in order to board the hype train. We've seen just how strong Origen is when they're at the top of their game, and the few times Misfits stepped up to the plate gave us a perfect read on their momentous talent. The fact that both teams had dips in performance last week (and last split as well) makes this match-up considerably harder to predict. It is also a clash between two teams who are looking to solidify themselves as bona fide contenders. The playoffs are now only a stepping stone towards the World Championship, and teams know very well that every single win matters, especially against top tier opposition.

Misfits Gaming are currently on an upswing, and it was about time. They have the talent, the coaching staff, they have so many experienced veterans and exceptional mechanical deity within their line-up, but for one reason or another, they were unable to sync in the right way back in Spring. This time around we're finally seeing improvement in their play, we'll remain slightly reserved before we have a bigger sample size to judge them by.

They're currently sitting with a solid 2W-1L record, but their two wins came against Rogue and Excel Esports. Now, that's not exactly an achievement, or anything worth bragging about. They won against the ninth and tenth team from Spring, and even though Rogue improved leaps and bounds over the off-season, they're still a young, inexperienced team that's gelling with their three new members.

Their one loss came against Fnatic, but it's worth mentioning that they played out of their minds and gave the former kings of Europe a run for their money before eventually succumbing to their superior draft and team play.

This time around, they're up against a much different team, albeit still a top tier one.

Origen's current run has been hot and cold, but one thing that they didn't lack was aggressiveness and cohesion. Their drafts did leave a lot to be desired, and they did make multiple key blunders at the worst possible times, but they're still a top tier competitor that's one third of LEC's pantheon.

Their game against Fnatic yesterday was a confusing one, to say the least. They drafted a strange team comp and didn't execute it in the right way. They were outrotated and outmacroed by a far more aggressive Fnatic. The former kings were constantly pressuring Origen across the map, they always knew what to do and how to do it. Broxah and Hylissang were in perfect sync over the entire game, and the latter often made quick excursions to the mid lane in order to turn the tides and shut Nuckduck down. They utilized their sidelanes to perfection, and echoed much of what made them so strong back in 2018.

Origen, on the other hand, weren't able to respond in time, and even when they did they weren't nearly as confident or cohesive. That said, they did a lot of things right, and the fact that they lost to a surging Fnatic line-up is no shame. They're looking to make a statement now that they already played two of the strongest teams in the region back to back (G2 Esports and Fnatic), and they know this is a key match they absolutely have to win if they want to regain some of their confidence and momentum.

This is a hard match to predict, that's for sure. Both teams have the exact same chance of emerging victorious, and it all comes to down to execution, and perhaps most importantly -- the pick and ban phase. The team that drafts comfort and meta dominant picks will have more tools to work with. That said, we're have to side with Origen on this one, but not with full confidence. Either way, if you're looking for a safe match to bet on, then it might be best to skip this one entirely.