2020 LoL European Championship Summer
The League of Legends European Championship, or LEC for short, is the premier franchise circuit for European pro LoL teams. The continents' top ten teams face off across two seasons each year to determine the top dogs of the region.
Each season comes with a separate prize pool as well as qualifying spots for international events including the Mid Season Invitational and Worlds.
2020 LoL European Championship Summer Betting Tips
G2 Esports
1.55
Petar
Fnatic
2.60
Michistrate33
Fnatic
2.60
Michistrate33
Fnatic (1.5)
1.55
Michistrate33
G2 Esports
1.57
Bisto6
G2 Esports
1.30
heroico
G2 Esports
1.30
Petar
Rogue
2.34
specialist
MAD Lions (-1.5)
2.35
betiminjo77
MAD Lions
1.60
Alpines
MAD Lions
1.60
Petar
G2 Esports (-1.5)
1.65
betiminjo77
FC Schalke 04
2.17
Petar
Rogue
1.74
nipitus
Rogue
1.74
Petar
G2 Esports (-1.5)
1.90
nipitus
G2 Esports
1.36
Petar
FC Schalke 04
1.42
Petar
Origen
2.85
melaza
Rogue
2.10
nipitus
Rogue
2.22
KiroiSenko
MAD Lions
1.70
Petar
Misfits
3.69
KiroiSenko
G2 Esports
1.30
Petar
exceL
2.52
nipitus
Fnatic
1.58
KiroiSenko
FC Schalke 04
1.70
nipitus
Team Vitality
2.28
KiroiSenko
G2 Esports
1.35
Petar
MAD Lions
1.43
nipitus
MAD Lions
1.40
Petar
FC Schalke 04
2.54
nipitus
FC Schalke 04
2.55
yazz
exceL
1.91
nipitus
Rogue
1.39
nipitus
Rogue
1.35
Petar
Fnatic
2.31
KiroiSenko
G2 Esports
1.65
Loeber
G2 Esports
1.65
Petar
MAD Lions
1.33
Petar
MAD Lions
1.33
Loeber
Rogue
1.45
Petar
FC Schalke 04
2.58
odisea
FC Schalke 04
2.58
Michistrate33
Fnatic
1.90
Michistrate33
Fnatic
1.85
Guedo
G2 Esports
1.41
Michistrate33
Team Vitality
3.22
ser-alex
G2 Esports
1.36
Petar
MAD Lions
1.47
Michistrate33
MAD Lions
1.47
Petar
Misfits
1.99
Michistrate33
SK Gaming
1.85
Brusmar
FC Schalke 04
2.40
Michistrate33
G2 Esports
2.03
Galaktikos
G2 Esports
1.97
Suspect28
Fnatic
1.79
Galaktikos
FC Schalke 04
2.75
Galaktikos
exceL
2.03
Suspect28
exceL
2.00
Galaktikos
MAD Lions
1.64
Petar
Fnatic
2.37
Galaktikos
Fnatic
2.41
odisea
Fnatic
2.40
zambique
MAD Lions
1.65
Suspect28
Fnatic
2.39
Michistrate33
Rogue
1.55
arianaverast
G2 Esports
1.16
Petar
Origen
1.43
Petar
Team Vitality
2.95
Michistrate33
Origen
1.43
Galaktikos
SK Gaming
1.70
Petar
exceL
2.20
Suspect28
G2 Esports
1.79
Galaktikos
G2 Esports
1.76
Bisto6
Team Vitality
3.15
heroico
Fnatic
1.45
Petar
Origen
1.83
Galaktikos
Misfits
2.13
Bisto6
Rogue
1.33
Petar
FC Schalke 04
2.63
Galaktikos
G2 Esports
1.49
Michistrate33
G2 Esports
1.47
Petar
G2 Esports
1.46
Mee28
MAD Lions
1.36
Petar
Misfits
2.51
ser-alex
Misfits
2.42
arianaverast
Misfits
2.40
Petar
Rogue
1.25
Petar
Team Vitality
1.94
Michistrate33
Team Vitality
1.91
Petar
Misfits
2.75
tennislover
MAD Lions
1.50
Petar
G2 Esports
1.31
tennislover
G2 Esports
1.30
Petar
Fnatic
1.15
Petar
Team Vitality
3.01
Michistrate33
Origen
1.43
tennislover
Origen
1.43
Petar
Rogue
1.44
tennislover
Rogue
1.45
Petar
Fnatic
1.33
Petar
MAD Lions
1.17
Petar
Team Vitality
1.73
Petar
G2 Esports
1.60
Bisto6
G2 Esports
1.60
Petar
MAD Lions
1.70
Bisto6
MAD Lions
1.70
Petar
Rogue
2.06
Galaktikos
Team Vitality
2.35
Galaktikos
Fnatic
1.50
Sebesh-5
MAD Lions
2.12
Petar
MAD Lions
2.05
Cashfire
MAD Lions
2.05
Bisto6
G2 Esports
1.20
Petar
Misfits
1.63
Galaktikos
Team Vitality
2.33
Bisto6
exceL
1.65
Petar
FC Schalke 04
2.30
Galaktikos
Fnatic
1.59
tennislover
G2 Esports
1.47
Galaktikos
G2 Esports
1.46
tennislover
G2 Esports
1.45
Bisto6
G2 Esports
1.45
Coys
MAD Lions
1.49
Galaktikos
MAD Lions
1.49
tennislover
Misfits
1.39
Galaktikos
SK Gaming
1.57
Galaktikos
exceL
2.67
salahsyh
SK Gaming
1.54
tennislover
Fnatic
1.48
Petar
Origen
1.35
Petar
Misfits
1.60
Sebesh-5
Misfits
1.56
Galaktikos
SK Gaming
2.50
Brusmar
Misfits
1.55
Petar
Rogue
1.45
Galaktikos
Rogue
1.45
Petar
Origen
1.52
tennislover
Origen
1.52
Galaktikos
Rogue
1.40
tennislover
FC Schalke 04
2.75
Galaktikos
SK Gaming
2.97
dew9321
MAD Lions
1.48
tennislover
MAD Lions
1.48
Galaktikos
G2 Esports
1.43
Galaktikos
G2 Esports
1.42
tennislover
Team Vitality
4.07
yazz
Fnatic
1.25
tennislover
MAD Lions
1.40
Galaktikos
exceL
3.04
odisea
Misfits
1.96
Galaktikos
FC Schalke 04
1.74
Galaktikos
Fnatic
1.43
tennislover
Rogue
1.50
tennislover
SK Gaming
5.38
zambique
FC Schalke 04
1.59
tennislover
G2 Esports
1.40
tennislover
MAD Lions
3.25
zambique
Preview
The 2020 LEC Summer Split is finally here! What a fascinating year this has been — in every way, shape, and form. The first half is definitely one to remember, if only for all the wrong reasons. A global epidemic, recession, a huge shift to an online only format for all major esports, and so on.
In other words, everyone wants to forget the last six months as quickly as possible and move forward towards a brighter future. If anything, competitive esports as a whole managed to adapt in these trying times and impressively so. Riot passed the test with flying colors, and while they certainly struggled a bit with the whole transition to online, it didn’t take them longer than just a couple of weeks to make the whole online broadcast pretty much a carbon copy of what they did in the past. It was an impressive transition and is a testament to their team-wide talent and dedication.
It feels like competitive esports took a backseat for a while and rightfully so. There were other, more pressing matters (pandemic-related), and competitive gaming sort of became a refuge for those wanting to escape the dreadfulness or 2020. It is, then, a bit hard to make the shift once again, to treat esports as something as important (to us) as it was in the past.
So let’s do a somewhat quick recapitulation of what happened and what it means for the upcoming 2020 LEC Summer Split.
Preliminary 2020 Summer Split Power Rankings
The Kings of Europe
1. For the LEC, 2020 was (at least so far) yet another one-sided affair. It started and finished about as everyone had expected coming into the year — G2 Esports winning it all in emphatic fashion. There were, however, a couple of surprising twists here and there, but nothing too mind-blowing. Fnatic were able to prove their worth yet again and secure the second place behind the current “kings of Europe”, MAD Lions grew into a bona fide challenger (one that is stylistically complex and layered), Origen fought back valiantly but failed to leave a mark, and Rogue — while certainly great at times — failed to synergize in time and actually compete at the highest of levels. There weren’t any huge surprises and, frankly, that’s what everyone expects this time yet again. G2 are simply too good at this point in time, they’re like an unassailable titan of unparalleled strength. No matter who stands against them across the Rift, they always find a way to win; they often blow their opponents out of the water in such a dominant way that you sort of feel like you might as well shut the stream down — like you’re watching an absolute mismatch, and like it’s going to end any minute now. It often does, too, as they mostly clean sweep their opposition in about seventy minutes of game time. Let that one sink in.
That’s G2 Esports in a nutshell basically. To make matters even more impressive, they dominated beyond measure even though they went for yet another historic role swap — Rasmus “Caps” Winther to AD carry with Luka “Perkz” Perkovic back to mid. It took them a while to adjust, but once the going got rough they looked about as dominant and clean as they did back in 2019. Still, Caps didn’t show as good of a mastery of his new role as Perkz did a few months back, so they’re going back to their 2019 state.
Because of this, expect to see the best and most dominant incarnation of G2 ever in just a couple of days. Whether or not they’ll manage to keep up with the LPL is anyone’s guess, but the potential is certainly there.
2. At number two we have none other than Fnatic. The former “Kings of Europe” looked reinvigorated with Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek, a much more aggressive and bravado-fuelled jungler when compared to Brock “Broxah” Mads-Pedersen. Fnatic looked like an entirely different team — far more aggressive, risk-taking, and proactive. Still, even at their best, they were good enough to beat anyone below them (eight teams, in fact) but not good enough to contest for the LEC throne. Once their backs were against the wall, they failed to solve the G2 Esports puzzle. Now, make no mistake: that’s not an embarrassing thing at all. Still, they once again find themselves in a very tough position, in a limbo of sorts. They’re the second best team in the region and they cannot go any higher. They’re just not good enough to beat G2 at League of Legends, and there’s no other, less direct way of phrasing it. They’re an insanely talented, stacked team but they’re just not going to be any better than the one team that’s on top.
They’re also a fiesty, passionate bunch, and even though they don’t like playing second-fiddle (who does?), it seems as though they’re simply destined to remain in second place for the foreseeable future.
The Great But Not There Yet
3. At number three we’re going with MAD Lions. Just writing this one evokes a strange feeling. They’re every inch an underdog and yet they don’t play nor look like one. They're fearless, prone to fighting and experimenting (no matter the odds), and don’t intend to give over even a meter of the Summoner’s Rift. They’re like a younger, less experienced version of G2 Esports; what they lack in experience they more than make up in bravado and willingness to skirmish. They’re the next breed of European talent, and they know it. At their best, they can tango with G2 Esports on even footing; at their worst they’re a Top 5 team. Either way, that’s not too shabby for a line-up that consists of four rookies and a quasi-veteran in the mid lane. They’re still rough around the edges, they’re inexperienced and often inconsistent, but watching their development has been an absolute pleasure, and it’s impossible not to get excited for what’s to come.
They’re the dark horse of the LEC right now, and it’s hard to predict how high they’ll soar once the Summer Split begins.
4. Origen — Yet another staple LEC organization that just can’t catch a break. They’re in a similar position like Fnatic: better than the vast majority of the region, but just not dangerous enough to compete at the highest of levels. Make no mistake, they’re an insanely talented team, but their biggest strengths and virtues just aren’t in tune with the current meta. They’re like an LCK team of old, mechanically solid, macro-oriented, and clean in execution. The LCK, however, is no longer at the top of the world of competitive League and with good reason. Origen is not the kind of team that’ll consistently push the pace of the game, they won’t attack without fear or go for those risky plays. This is why they’ll never truly be a top-tier team, and why they always drop the ball against the best teams out there, most notably the former and current “Kings of Europe.”
They’re effectively a gatekeeper, and while they certainly look great at times, they’re just not stacked enough as a five-man unit to actually compete at the highest of levels. Without any concrete change to their starting line-up they simply don’t stand a chance of leaving much of a mark. The only question now is whether or not they’ll be able to land in the top three or not. In any case, they should definitely be capable of locking down a spot at the World Championship, seeing how Europe will be getting four representatives this year.
The Dark Horses
5. Rogue — The last two spots of the playoffs are somewhat interchangeable. We’ll go with Rogue here, but it’s really up in the air. Rogue, even though we’ve already seen them in action over the last three splits, are still hard to read as ever. On the one hand, there’s a ton of potential, that’s pretty much a fact at this point. They’ve given us a glimpse of their talent and it left no one indifferent. On the other hand, they’re so painfully inconsistent when it matters the most that it’s just hard giving them any kind of benefit of the doubt. Sure, they’re at times amazing (and can tango with the very best teams in the region), but if they can’t consistently reproduce that kind of play then it’s all in vain.
That’s Rogue in a nutshell. You can never count on them getting the job done, but counting them out is also out of the question. If anything, they have all the right tools to compete at the highest of levels and — if they play their cards right — should definitely be a lock for the playoffs. If Origen implode and Rogue get on the same page in time, they could potentially (at best) squeak past into the Top 4.
Then again, you can never be too sure when Rogue are in question.
6. Misfits Gaming — The sixth and final team to round out the playoffs. No one expected them to make much of a splash coming into 2020 and there’s a very good reason why that was the case. Their line-up simply wasn’t impressive in any way, shape, or form. There was just no potential to speak of, and even their one veteran in the mid lane — while certainly talented — didn’t play particularly well in four whole years. The days when Febiven last dominated happened so long ago that they feel like a distant dream.
Still, even though they had such meager means, Misfits managed to pull off a run for the ages. Their first half of the split was downright mesmerizing and most of it came from their incredible mid and jungle duo. Misfits had no business being in the playoffs with so many rookies and yet they defied the odds, much like MAD Lions. There was, however, one glaring weakness, and it was their bottom lane. It wasn’t exactly horrendous but it lacked the strength to tango with the best teams in the LEC, which is obviously a very concrete problem. Sometimes they went even; other times they were outclassed to such a degree that you felt bad for just watching it happen.
The upcoming Summer Spit is going to change that, and noticeably so. Misfits pulled off a spectacular pick-up by signing Splyce alumni Kobbe from Team SoloMid. It was an unexpected twist, but also a highly welcome one. Not only did they give a home to one of the more experienced European veterans out there, but they also bolstered their team by quite a noticeable margin.
Now, Misfits won’t become a top-tier behemoth overnight. That’s just not possible. That said, they’ll be able to compete on a much more even footing going forward. Kobbe will give them a much-needed boost in the late game with his pristine positioning and spectacular team fighting, and Razork and Febiven will take care of the early and mid stages of the game. They instantly became a lot more rounded through a twist that almost looks like a divine intervention — they signed the perfect player in the nick of time; the same kind of player who would probably never accept to compete under their banner as he would have much better options.
We still need to see them compete, but the potential is certainly there. That last playoff spot is definitely not guaranteed, but they have all the right tools to get the job done and qualify.
Outside of the Playoffs
This is where things get a lot more complicated, much like it did back when the Spring Split began. The last four teams are — generally speaking — separated by the slimmest of margins. This is the point where there are no guarantees whatsoever. Whatever happens is fair game, basically. If you’re looking to be on the LEC, this is where you have to be extra careful.
These teams will naturally take games off each other on a fairly regular basis. There are no rules; logic and reason no longer apply here.
7. Excel Esports — XL, much like Rogue, is a tough nut to crack. They’re fairly similar style-wise but they’re just not as stacked or talented as a five-man unit. When they need to perform, they almost always miss the mark. They’re an enigma, frankly. They’ll pass the hardest test when there’s nothing on the line but will implode in spectacular fashion once it’s “do or die.”
They’ve made two changes to their starting line-up but it still doesn’t feel like they’re going to do much in the grand scheme of things. Their head coach Youngbuck — the most respected and accomplished coach in the region with six titles to his name — is still an absolute strategic behemoth, but without the right players at his disposal there is only so much that he can do.
Still, despite what they inherently lack, there’s a lot to like about their roster. They’re aggressive and proactive — two key virtues that go a long way in today’s meta. The only problem they have is the fact that they don’t know how to fully (and most optimally) channel their plans. They know what they need to do (at least more often than not), but they fumble their execution almost by default. There’s always something missing whenever they engage or go for a play. These egregious faults aren’t always visible, but every time they face a top-tier opponent their flaws tend to stick out like a sore thumb and the best LEC teams know how to capitalize.
Either way, they should not be underestimated, if only for the brute force approach they sometimes employ. They’re not going to upset the LEC status quo, but they never go down without a fight and will definitely compete to the best of their ability regardless of the odds.
8. Schalke 04 — Reading Schalke’s current power level is pretty much an impossible endeavor at this point in time, much like it was back when the 2020 season began. They have a couple of fantastic players but just how well they’ll look over the next three months is anyone’s guess. They’ve had good moments in the past and they’ve definitely fought through thick and thin over the last couple of months, so at least we know they’re capable of fixing their issues and growing as a team.
Then again, they lack the talent and potential to actually compete at the highest of levels. They might be able to upset here or there, but anything higher should be out of the question. They’re just not good enough to compete in a hyper-competitive setting like the LEC and actually leave a mark. Still, despite their lacking play and innate limitations, they’re going to fight for every inch of the Summoner’s Rift, so at least they’ll make things somewhat interesting.
The Bottom Dwellers
Finally, to close out the list, we have two horrendously underpowered line-ups (when compared to their peers and adversaries). Vitality and SK Gaming will face an uphill battle from the very get-go. They're just not as good as they need to be to actually compete at this level. Furthermore, they didn't make enough changes during the off-season to actually warrant anyone's benefit of the doubt. They're just as mediocre or incomplete as they were back in Spring, and one or two roster changes aren't enough to turn them into bona fide challengers.
9. Team Vitality — Vitality will start the Summer Split off with the kind of line-up they were gunning for back in Spring. Their initial mid laner Milica has finally been cleared for a visa, so they can now hope to compete on a more even footing from the very get-go. Then again, we're talking about "hope" here, and not much else. Many thing they downgraded in the jungle position and while they did bring over another solid, up and coming support (who's also Greek, like their current ADC), they've also kept Jactroll, and no one's quite sure who's going to get the nod and become the starter. It seems like even if they decide on the best and most optimal line-up that they just won't be strong enough to do much in 2020. They're simply lacking across the board and, barring any unforeseen magical twist, they shouldn't be able to finish any higher than the bottom two or three.
Still, much like a couple of teams above them, they rarely go down without a fight. They still have a very solid top and mid laner and if they draft around their strengths they might be able to push back harder than most people expect.
10. SK Gaming — Lastly, there's SK Gaming. Where does one even begin. They've finished ninth in Spring but have made two very questionable roster changes by moving their mid laner to top and signing a rookie to replace him. They've also kept two-time MVP Trick as their jungler (who looked downright abysmal throughout the majority of Spring) and the same goes for their underwhelming bottom lane. The best part, frankly speaking, is that they signed a brand-new head coach, someone who's proven and has a successful track record (and is a former pro player, to boot). Will it be enough, however? All signs are pointing towards a resounding "no" but we'll reserve judgement until we see them in action. In any case, they're horrendously underpowered when compared to the rest of the LEC and shouldn't be able to do much, given their inherent flaws and glarring weaknesses.
Closing Remarks
That’s it for our preliminary 2020 LEC Summer Split rankings! As you can see, it’s almost a carbon copy of the way things resolved in Spring. The main reason behind this is that no one made any huge change that we can actually go over in great detail. The ten permanent partners listed above are all pretty much entering the second half of the season with their original line-ups, with a few changes here and there. The most recent split did, however, give us quite a concrete view of their overall strengths and potential, so it's fairly easy to predict how thing will unfold going forward. There are no guarantees, of course, but the 2020 LEC Summer Split shouldn't bring any huge surprises all things considered.
As always, if you're looking to bet on the LEC, make sure to watch as many games as possible as things often tend to change and shift on a weekly basis. Expect absolute chaos once the split begins, but things should settle after a couple of weeks of play.
Tournament Format
Group Stage:
Double round robin with Best-of-One matches. The top six teams qualify for the seasons playoffs.
Playoffs:
Double elimination bracket with Best-of-Five matches. The top two teams of the season are seeded directly into the upper bracket finals. The third seed chooses whether they play either the fifth or sixth seed, with the fourth seed facing the leftover seed.