League of Legends European Championship Predictions: Week 2

The start of the LEC proved to be exciting and full of surprises. We already witnessed some of our first upsets, and possibly have a better idea of the strength of teams. For a full recap of the first day click here. Fnatic has already surprised us with their 0-2 start, even though their match against Origen was much closer. They will be looking to bounce back in a tough week in the LEC.

On the other hand, G2 Esports and Misfits seem to be the teams to fear as they both had strong 2-0 performances. After the first week of predictions, our scores are Manny (7-3), Ibriz (5-5), and Brandon (6-4). Being separated by no more than two games this week will be extremely important to see if one of us can develop a significant lead. (All times are approximate times and are displayed in the Eastern Time zone if need help converting for your time feel free to use this time converter.

Friday, January 25th

12 PM ET Fnatic (0-2) vs. Team Vitality (1-1)

Fnatic had an undesirable start to their 2019 campaign going 0-2 in the first week. The former worlds finalists struggled to find their footing against a surprising SK Gaming and even though they had a lead against Origen they weren't really able to close out the game. For Vitality, we saw two close games come out of them. At times they lacked the early game aggression we witnessed in their impressive worlds performance but they proved they can still pull off dominant team fights to close out a game. This should be a close game for sure but our writers give the edge to Vitality to take the win.

Manny: Fnatic
Ibriz: Team Vitality
Brandon: Team Vitality

1 PM ET Rogue (0-2) vs. Splyce (1-1)

Splyce was known last year to have the 1-1 curse. Another split and more of the same, in terms of results. Splyce has shown some great play so far and most of our writers believe this great play will translate to a win in this match-up. Rogue had a tough week starting against an impressive Misfits lineup and facing a tough Excel team that showed they might have something to show. If Rogue clean up their play, they could pull an “upset” in this one.

Manny: Splyce
Ibriz: Rogue
Brandon: Splyce

2 PM ET Excel (1-1) vs. G2 Esports (2-0)

G2(-0) might have been the favorite coming into the season, thanks to the acquisition of Caps in the offseason. What not everyone expected was just how good this team could be and after the first week, they seem to be the team to beat. Excel had a good start to their inaugural season by proving they have some tricks up their sleeve. This will be a difficult match for Excel but they have nothing to lose against the best team of the league.

Manny: G2 Esports
Ibriz: G2 Esports
Brandon: G2 Esports

3 PM ET SK Gaming (1-1) vs. Schalke 04 (1-1)

The LEC has already given us some great games and it all started with SK Gaming winning two games against Fnatic (one was remade, but with such a lead it was clear they would have won). Sadly, SK was no match for Misfits as they got dismantled but I think that they did fight one of their toughest opponents. Schalke 04 had a good game against Vitality, showing why they built around Upset, but like SK they faced off against the best team in the league and fell to G2 Esports in a 24-minute stomp. This will be a statement game for either team showing they are in the top of the table and can be contenders below G2 and Misfits.

Manny: SK Gaming
Ibriz: SK Gaming
Brandon: Schalke 04

4 PM ET Origen (1-1) vs. Misfits (2-0)

Misfits came out of the gates swinging and look to improve on their record when they face Origen in the last game of the day. Hans Sama and GorillA showed their dominion over the bot lane and seem to be the best in the region at the moment after having such strong showings. Origen has shown signs of what made so many fans fall in love with them back when they first came on the scene. This could be a great opportunity for Origen to showcase they are much better than what they showed in week 1. I personally believe that if Misfits do pull off another strong showing, they will make a strong case that they are the best team in the league. Misfits will face off against G2 in week 5 but until then we can speculate they are the best two teams.

Manny: Misfits
Ibriz: Origen
Brandon: Misfits

Saturday, January 26th

11 AM ET Fnatic (0-2) vs Schalke 04 (1-1)
Fnatic had a lot of problems going into the first week. One would hope that after a full of week of practice and fixing their main mistakes they can bring a more competitive side throughout week 2. Schalke, on the contrary, had some strong showings and look to keep winning games. Our writers think that Schalke should take this game over Fnatic, let us just hope its a close one.

Manny: Schalke 04
Ibriz: Schalke 04
Brandon: Schalke 04

12 PM ET SK vs. Excel

One word: Selfmade. I think it was unfortunate for SK to fight Misfits as their second opponent, give this team some more time and they will only get better. Excel was the team not many people thought would do too well but after getting their first win in week 1, I believe they also have the talent to show something more. This is another game that our writers agreed on.

Manny: SK Gaming
Ibriz: SK Gaming
Brandon: SK Gaming

1 PM Rogue (0-2) vs G2 Esports (2-0)

Rogue has gotten the short end of the stick and you could say that unless they are able to pick up a win soon, they might be in trouble early on in the LEC. G2, on the other hand, should show no signs of slowing down. They should be able to take this game by the horns and have another dominating performance.

Manny: G2 Esports
Ibriz: G2 Esports
Brandon: G2 Esports

2 PM ET Origen (1-1) vs. Splyce (1-1)

Splyce has been a well-known name in the European League of Legends scene, ever since the 2016 summer split where they finished an impressive second place and made it to their first ever World championship. Ever since last summer, they got stuck with the 1-1 curse and are still attempting to break out of it. Origen has shown some great signs to being the fan favorite like they were back in 2015. This being the second game can give the teams a big momentum push going into week 3.

Manny: Origen
Ibriz: Origen
Brandon: Splyce

3 PM ET Misfits (2-0) vs. Team Vitality (1-1)

Team Vitality inspired the west last year during their Worlds performance. The original team to do so has to be 2017 Misfits and even though last year they looked lackluster, they seem like one of the best teams right now. Will Team Vitality be able to make the best out of this game and give Misfits their first loss? It might be one-sided for most people but I think Vitality could surprise us.

Manny: Misfits
Ibriz: Vitality
Brandon: Misfits

Agree with our picks? Do you expect any big upsets? Let us know on Twitter and join our brand new Discord to talk League of Legends esports with the community and our writing staff.

Image Credit: LoL Esports (Flickr)