Misfits vs SK Gaming

Next up, the intrigue and uncertainty continues in the most unexpected of ways. This game echoes a lot of what made the previous one so darn exciting -- it is a clash that should, by all means, be insanely one-sided, and yet there's a huge asterisk looming over everyone's heads.

SK Gaming are the ninth ranked team from Spring and to say that they were abysmal in the first half of 2020 would truly be an understatement. There were a couple of solid moments, for sure, but they were too few and far between to actually warrant a spot any higher in the standings. They made a few changes coming into Summer but none of them sparked an interest. Perhaps that's even putting it mildly. This line-up, for all intents and purposes, is horrendously underpowered and there's no inherent potential to speak of. Sure, they might be able to improve over time a bit and pull off an upset here and there, but overall, they're just lacking across the board in every sense of the word.

Then, in a twist that took everyone by surprise, SK was able to get two wins on the board last week against fairly solid opposition. First came their huge upset win over Origen on the first day of the split, followed by yet another solid showing against Schalke 04. They did succumb to MAD Lions' overwhelming style of play on Sunday, but it made no difference in the grand scheme of things as SK already accomplished far more than anyone thought they could.

Make no mistake: this is a line-up that simply capitalized on the fact that everyone still warming up. That said, it seems as though they have no intention of rolling over and surrendering, regardless of the odds. This is essentially great news as they'll fight like their lives depend on it and will certainly make the coming weeks and months noticeably more exciting and entertaining.

Opposite them, however, we have a team that has shown an incredible amount of potential and is entering the second week of play with a metric ton of hype: Misfits Gaming. In many ways, the one thing MSF lacked last split was a dangerous bottom lane duo and a bit of time to fully synergize, diversify their arsenal, and get on the same page in-game. By the looks of it, they've nullified almost all of their inherent weaknesses and are now poised for a spectacular run, barring any huge, unforeseen twist or unexpected team-wide implosion that would push them off the rails. The addition of Kobbe has legitimized this roster in more ways than one and has given them yet another potent tool to work with. They now actually have a threat in the bottom lane and can play accordingly. That's absolutely huge for a team that was so desperately lacking in the bottom half of the map mere weeks ago.

Their games so far were pretty darn impressive all things considered, and the fact that they were only able to register a single win in no way diminishes their valiant effort and the potential which was on display. They nearly took down Fnatic and were able to outclass Origen in a spectacular back-and-forth barnburner to close out the week. If given the right tools to work with (and a bit more time), this Misfits line-up could, by all means, grow into a Top 3 team. This is quite a lot of praise for a team that is currently 1W-2L, but the potential is certainly there. Whether or not they'll realize it in time is a completely different matter altogether.

In any case, we're siding with Misfits on this one and with good reason. They might not be clean in execution and they might struggle a bit (even against a team of SK's caliber), but when push comes to shove they should, without a doubt, be able to secure the win.