EU LCS Week 2 Betting Tips: Vitality's Time to Shine?

Axel Sjödin

June 20th, 2018

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We're moving into the second week of EU LCS after a very intriguing start to the split. After the new 8.11 patch came out, two weeks before the Summer Split, the meta is completely up in the air and it might be the most interesting start to a new League of Legends betting season event we've seen in a long time.

The 30-minute farmfests with few kills are seemingly a thing of the past, as the new meta encourages early game focused strategies, with what last season would be considered wacky picks. This could potentially have a major impact on the power dynamics in the league moving forward.

So far games have had an average game time of 29:12 compared to the Spring Split's 38:47. This indicates that there's more snowballing from the early game which means mid- and late game comebacks will probably be more rare this season. We only saw one comeback during the first week of the split because of a serious blunder from the team ahead. Strong early game teams will, in other words, be overjoyed.

Is This Vitality's Time to Shine?

During spring Vitality had a very strong start to the split going 7-1 in matches after four weeks due to their very strong early game. They eventually got figured out somewhat and the results started to decline. That was however in a completely different meta with more room for late game strategies. If you’re planning on incorporating Vitality as a part of your betslip at top eSports gambling sites make sure to keep this in mind.

This patch plays very much to Vitality's strengths and they looked like a force to be reckoned with during the first week, beating both Splyce and Giants within the 30-minute mark. There was no indication of a comeback in any of the games, they applied pressure and shut down the map very clinically in both games.

This weekend they face Fnatic on Saturday and 11/10 for a Vitality victory on Betway is a tempting prospect. Fnatic is a different beast however, they won the Spring Split and are still considered to be the best team in the EU LCS.

A Shaky Start to the Split From Fnatic

They got completely stomped by Misfits in the first game and miraculously came back from an 8k gold deficit against Schalke 04 in their second game. Fnatic has had problems with Misfits' playstyle even during last split, going 0-2 even though they won the league. But the same pattern emerged versus Schalke 04 as well.

They got smashed early game by both teams and the only reason that they came back versus Schalke 04 was through sneaking a Baron and getting away unscathed. If you give Fnatic an inch they will take a mile, but it feels very unlikely that Vitality will let the same thing happen to them.

If Rekkles stay on champions like Karma and Janna this week as well, Vitality will have a good chance of taking down the Spring Split champions. If you're not convinced that Vitality can capitalize on an early game lead Bet365 is offering 1/1 for the first team to reach 10 kills. There is a decent chance here for an upset in any case.

G2 Has Adopted the New Meta

The success early on in this split will revolve around which teams are the fastest to adapt and shape what is viable. So far G2 has been looking solid with their wacky team compositions. G2 seems to have a read on what it takes to succeed in this new uncertain meta, how to draft a powerful set-up and the skill to execute it.

Unlike Rekkles who has almost had zero impact so far, G2's Hjarnan seems to fit perfectly into the new meta. He has a history of playing non-traditional ADC picks since way before the new patch arrived, which has lead to a seamless transition into these weird setups for G2's bottom lane. He played a very impressive Heimerdinger during last weekend and will probably look to do the same again this weekend.

They'll face off against Schalke 04 on Friday in the third round and are the favourites going in to the game. Schalke 04 had a decent start to the split by first taking down Unicorns of Love and almost beating Fnatic. They have yet to face a team that looks as comfortable with the new meta as G2 though and there's definitely value in a 11/20 bet on a G2 victory available at Betway.

G2 might be the team that has looked the strongest so far and if they keep this level of play up they're in prime position to win the split seeing as their strongest competitor Fnatic does not look like their former selves so far. Judging by statements and interviews after the first week, Fnatic seems determined to make the funnel strategy work and this might give G2 the chance to get ahead in the league table.