LEC Matchup of the Week : Luon vs Labrov

The game between SK Gaming and BDS kicks off the second week of the LEC's summer split, League of Legends' EMEA elite, this Saturday. The clash is bound to break one team's unbeaten streak. Both are aiming for a fourth consecutive victory, and the bot lane will no doubt once again be the focal point. That's why our Match-up of the Week will feature two supports, Labros "Labrov" Papoutsakis - last week's MVP - and Lee "Luon" Hyun-ho. An analysis:

In the first week, both supports shone brightly, so much so that they couldn't resist leaking important information about their play styles and champion pools. For example, the Greek player chose three melee champions (Rell twice and Nautilus), while his Korean counterpart piloted three ranged champions (Ashe, Renata, and Nami). Despite playing two opposite styles, both players stood out for their teams.

Another significant difference is that SK's duo mostly took advantage of the laning phase by choosing aggressive duo lanes and trying to punish the slightest misstep from their opponents. This was clearly not the case for Yoon "Ice" Sang-hoon and Labrov, who preferred to passively neutralize their opponents in the early game in order to stand out later. They were able to do so thanks to their excellent lane swap control, especially against G2 and Team Heretics.

It will be interesting to see whether SK is ready to react to the lane swaps at the start of the game or whether BDS is ready to match an aggressive duo lane. Here comes the area where the match within the match is likely to be the most heated: the draft. Whoever is better prepared to respond to the other's tactics during this phase, and then in the early lane, will undoubtedly gain a significant advantage over their opponent.

As for jungler proximity, Labrov didn't often play with Theo "Sheo" Borile during his first summer games. BDS preferred to use their support as an all-risk insurance for its AD Carry, often positioned on vulnerable champions such as Jinx, to enable him to recover resources safely. On the other hand, Luon often hangs out with Ismaïl "Isma" Boualem on the Rift, to put some rhythm early, impact the map, and recover objectives.

Especially against G2, the Korean distinguished himself with a KDA of 4/0/6 at 15 minutes. He was present in all his team's eliminations. However, Labrov has the upper hand overall, with 88.3% Kill Participation (KP) compared to Luon's 76.5%. In fact, the Greek has the second-highest KP percentage after the first three days of the summer season, behind only Ice (90%).

Finally, when it comes to the mid-game, the two structures have clearly not assigned the same roles to their respective supports. Luon plays a lot for catches with his team, making himself available to move around the side lanes. However, the former LCK CL resident was less prominent during teamfights, fulfilling his support role as required but without creating particular sparks.

The other - Labrov - has adapted to his team's main strength this season: teamfights. He has even become its main driver. Always on the lookout for a devastating flank on his Rell, Labrov earned his place as MVP in our Team of the Week mainly for his creativity and accuracy in this role. It was a brilliant flank from him that gave BDS victory over Heretics, leading to a pentakill for Ice.