Misfits vs SK Gaming

For our fourth match of the day we have an extremely interesting clash between SK Gaming and Misfits. You'd think that this would be a must-watch game because of Misfits' stellar line-up, but that's not the case. At least not entirely. The biggest surprise of the inaugural LEC match day wasn't the flashy branding, or the cool new graphics. It was SK Gaming's incredible upset against Fnatic.

The fact that they were able to take down the reigning "kings of Europe" with such relative ease is downright mind-boggling, and the fact that they had to do it back-to-back because the first game got remade only makes their achievement that much more incredible.

No one gave them a chance, and with good reason. Fnatic were fighting for the Worlds trophy just a couple of months ago. Now, sure, they did lose Rasmus "Caps" Winther, but they were still able to retain four of their six-man core from 2018. That alone should propel them into playoff contention from the very get-go, let alone enable them to take down a team many predicted to be bottom-tier.

Everyone on SK played on an insane level, but it was Oskar "Selfmade" Boderek that unlocked his team in both games. His early game pressure was sensational, and his gank success rate was almost flawless. To outplay a team of Fnatic's caliber two times in a row - in his LEC debut - is absolutely mind-blowing. It's been quite a long while since we've had a rookie start off with such immense success, and it only made the upcoming LEC Spring Split that much more exciting.

After yesterday, their clash against Misfits got a lot more interesting - and also harder to predict.

Misfits also had an incredibly dominant showing, and that might be an understatement. But it's hard to really judge their success since Rogue couldn't mount an offensive and were playing on the back foot from the beginning after Misfits caught Mateusz "Kikis" Szkudlarek out of position. The gold lead that Steven "Hans Sama" Liv attained was simply insurmountable. Every member on the Misfits roster played out his role to perfection, but it was against a team that didn't do anything, almost literally.

On the other hand, Fnatic had two chances to turn the tides and yet failed both times - in spectacular fashion, one might add. And it wasn't for a lack of trying or motivation. SK Gaming were simply on fire.

No one is giving SK the benefit of the doubt coming into tomorrow, and with good reason. But after witnessing their insane level of play against Fnatic, it's hard not to bet on the underdogs on this one.

Make no mistake, this is by no means a safe bet. Far from it. But SK Gaming's chances skyrocketed, and perhaps it's time for us to capitalize. They're entering today's match with a ton of hype, and if they manage to repeat their performance they could very well end the week with two wins behind their belts.