MAD Lions Summer Preview, Rising Lions
| Tags: League of Legends
| Author Bence Loksa
Failing to make playoffs in the Spring, 2021 LEC Champions are looking to bounce back. Check our MAD Lions Summer Preview.
A few days remain until the start of the Summer Split of this years’ League of Legends European Championship, where the 10 teams battle it out for the three sports in the 2022 Worlds! There are some obvious candidates for this years’ season closing event, those teams being Rogue, Fnatic and G2 Esports. But there are some squads who could stir the waters, such as Misfits Gaming and MAD Lions.
Even though the latter failed to make playoffs in the Spring, they are coming back stronger than before to reclaim their throne. MAD Lions had a great showing last year: after Irfan “Armut” Berk Tükek and Javier “Elyoya” Prades Batalla joined the squad. They finished 3rd in the 2021 Spring Split, then went on to beat Rogue and G2 Esports to make it to the finals. There they beat Emil “Larssen” Larsson and co. a second time. After finishing MSI 2021 in the playoffs, they secured third place in the Summer Regular Season again. However, they made it to the finals through G2 and Rogue a second time last year, then managed to beat Fnatic in the finals while only losing 1 game. They made it to the Worlds Playoffs, beating teams such as Gen.G, LNG Esports and Team Liquid in the Group Stage, but failed to eliminate 2020 World Champion squad DWG Kia.
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In the offseason, Marek “Humanoid” Brázda and Matyás “Carzzy” Orság left MAD Lions to compete in the colours of Fnatic and presumed superteam Team Vitality. The Spanish organization then signed two rookies, Steven “Reeker” Chen for mid-lane and William “UNF0RGIVEN” Nieminen as an ADC. While the team started the Spring Split okay, they went 0-6 in weeks 5 through 7. Even though they were flawless in the Regular Split ending superweek, they only got to 7th place, which meant that they didn’t get to compete for the MSI-spot this year.
This was a huge failure for the organization as well as the players, so it was time for some changes. While he didn’t have many incredible matches, UNF0RGIVEN stood his ground among the greatest players of the European region, so we can watch him fight alongside Norman “Kaiser” Kaiser and the rest of the Lions.
We can’t say the same for Reeker, who found himself in water which was a bit too deep for the young midlaner. For the time being, he left the team and the LEC to compete in the French LFL with Team BDS Academy. In his place, MAD Lions signed veteran player Yasin “Nisqy” Dincer, who played for Splyce, Cloud9 and Fnatic, but has been on the bench for the Spring Split. But now, the Turkish-Belgian returns to compete, giving Elyoya and the team something they lacked last split: a stable midlaner who they can rely on. Nisqy can also carry when needed, so he should be the whole package – but can MAD Lions bounce back enough to beat Rogue, Fnatic or G2 in the run for the World Championship?
Bence "Atreus" Loksa is a freelance journalist and League of Legends shoutcaster, covering all things esports and gaming, also yelling loudly at big plays happening on the Summoner's Rift. While his main focus is Riot Games' hit MOBA, he also dabbles in Call of Duty, VALORANT, and as of recent, the tabletop wargame Warhammer 40,000 - where he looks to make some grudges with his Leagues of Votann army.