League European Championship Week 5 Predictions

With the second half of the Spring Split, we look to make some solid predictions on this tough week of games. Our standings are the following: Brandon (29-11), Manny (26-14), Major (24-14), and Ibriz (25-15). Who will gain ground in the prediction race as we set ourselves up for the second half? Regardless of who does let's get into the game.

Friday, February 15th

12 PM ET Fnatic (2-6) vs Splyce (5-3)

Fnatic continued their upward trajectory this past week, with another 1-1 week. It is starting to look dire for them regardless as the other playoff contending teams started picking up wins as well. Splyce has looked strong in the majority of matchups and it should be no different against the sluggish Fnatic. Splyce is making a strong case for making them one of the better teams in the LEC, but at times have dropped games that seemed to be perfect for them. If Splyce finds themselves making a lot of mistakes this might swing in the favor of Fnatic.

Brandon: Splyce
Manny: Splyce
Major: Fnatic
Ibriz: Fnatic

1 PM ET Origen (4-4) vs Excel (2-6)

Origen showed what all the fans wanted to see from the beginning of the split. They also accomplished this by going against one of the hottest teams in the league. This will mean that Origen's stock will skyrocket when they face Excel this week. Excel, on the other hand, has dropped more games and is now tied with Fnatic. It feels unlikely that Origen will drop this game but we have been surprised before. Being the last game before the second half of the split starts; will put pressure on teams to finish as high in the standings as they can.

Brandon:
Manny:
Major:
Ibriz:

2 PM ET SK (3-5) vs Vitality (6-2)

Vitality has been constantly outperforming their opponents (sometimes in the craziest of base races) and it shows in their current standings and record. Vitality still seems to be just below the top two teams, G2 and Schalke but might be a deadly force in playoffs. This week they end their first half against SK, a team that shows promise but still lacks that special something to be one of the better teams. Vitality should be the clear favorites going into this game but as we know League can be an unpredictable game at times.

3 PM ET Rogue (0-8) vs Schalke 04 (6-2)

Rogue made an announcement on Tuesday about how they are looking to change their roster with the hopes of picking up their first win. It looks unlikely to happen when they face Schalke 04, however. Schalke did lose for the second time this split but it is expected for them to bounce back against Rogue. Rogue, being the underdog, will have no pressure and we hope to see them swinging for the fences with a new refreshed roster.

Brandon: Schalke
Manny: Schalke
Major: Schalke
Ibriz: Schalke

4 PM ET Misfits (4-4) vs G2 (8-0)

G2 seems to be extremely motivated to be the second LEC team to accomplish an 18-0 season. During preseason we expected Fnatic to be the main contender, but we realized that was not quite the case. After the first two weeks, we saw Misfits rise as one of the favorites, but since they have sluggishly made it to a tie for fifth. It seems this will be another one-sided stomp for G2. As fans, we hope that this match can be a lot closer than what it seems it will be from the past few games.

Brandon: G2
Manny: G2
Major: G2
Ibriz: G2

Saturday, February 16th

11 PM ET SK (3-5) vs Fnatic (2-6)

Saturday starts with an exciting rematch between Fnatic and SK gaming. SK will be hoping to take down Fnatic yet again, hopefully with no remakes. Fnatic has definitely improved and is looking to go even in the standing with SK. Pirean and Selfmade both will key players for SK as they look to 2-0 Fnatic in their first split back in Europe. This will be the real judgment game to see if Fnatic has improved at all through 8 matches of play.

Brandon: SK
Manny: Fnatic
Major: SK
Ibriz: SK

12 PM ET Excel (2-6) vs Splyce (5-3)

Up next we see Excel take on Splyce for their second match of the split. The first time these two teams they had a scrappy set. Excel did have a strong start to their game but like in many games, they failed to concrete their leads and ended up dropping many crucial victories. Splyce should be the all-around favorite but it will a tough challenge. Excel can show great growth if they start taking some of these games.

1 PM ET Schalke 04 (6-2) vs Vitality (6-2)

This, to me, should be the match of the week as we see a rematch of the two teams tied in second place. After Schalke dropped their game against Origen some feel that it showed many of the downfalls that this Schalke team can face. This seems to be the most of the even teams up in the top of the table and it will be interesting to see if Schalke can pull off a 2-0 over Team Vitality. If Vitality does drop this game that could be a huge detriment to their hopes at a playoff bye, so a lot will be on the line for this game.

Brandon: Vitality
Manny: Schalke 04
Major: Vitality
Ibriz: Vitality

2 PM ET Rogue (0-8) vs Misfits (4-4)

Not many will be looking towards this game but with Misfits being sloppy, then it could be for an interesting affair. Rogue is set to go 0-18 but is making all the possible moves to try and get their first win this week. It is still an important match for Misfits as they look to improve for their 50%-win percentage.

Brandon: Misfits
Manny: Misfits
Major: Misfits
Ibriz: Rogue

3 PM ET Origen (4-4) vs G2 (8-0)

Origen had an impressive week four and will be hoping to prove they can beat the best team in Europe when they face G2. There is something the air every time G2 plays and it really is starting to feel that they can go undefeated this season. With that in mind, they can't underestimate any of their opponents if they truly want to accomplish this feat.

Brandon: G2
Manny: G2
Major: G2
Ibriz: G2

Who do you think will be the best team in the second half of the split? Do you agree with our picks? Let us know via Twitter.