LoL - LEC: Movistar KOI lock playoffs, SK Gaming take first victory in Summer

The third week of the League of Legends EMEA Championship Summer Split brought us some extra answers about the current form of Europe’s mid-table teams. Movistar KOI secured their spot in the playoffs by taking down Natus Vincere 2-0, though they still don’t look compelling. NAVI, on the other hand, showed more fight and could surprise in their last two matches.

In the other group, SK Gaming grabbed their first — and probably most important — win against Team Heretics, their direct rival for a playoff spot. The Spanish organization now sits at 0-3 and is forced to beat Team BDS next week if they want to hope for a tiebreaker.

MKOI gave themselves a little scare, but still logically own their spot as the second strongest team in Group A. With this second victory, they are already guaranteed a place in the Playoffs. Even without being convincing, they remain difficult opponents to beat, as shown by their series in the first week against Karmine Corp, which also went to three tight games. Javier "Elyoya" Prades mentioned to Sjokz on the mic that "we had a very chaotic game. It showed that we were not on the same page. At the end, it is normal because we come from not so many weeks of practice". This could be the consequence of a packed schedule for the team, who are coming back from MSI in Canada and the EWC. As a reminder, MKOI could only start scrimming one week before the start of the Summer Split. We’ll see if this has further consequences throughout the split.

But if they got scared today, it’s also because NAVI showed some great things. You can feel in this roster that a new flame has been lit, and the players themselves testify to it. In his post-match interview, Emil "Larssen" Larsson, who delivered a spectacular Akali performance in game 1, said, "We showed a solid, good performance. We showed some signs of what we're doing in practice." Adam "Adam" Maanane shared a similar feeling on his X account: "Even though we lost, I am proud of us."

He also didn’t fail to remind that the most important part is yet to come: "To be honest, everything that happened today was a bonus. The real match is tomorrow against Vitality." Indeed, NAVI only has two matches left to play, against GIANTX and Team Vitality, and taking a win this Sunday against the bees would give them a very good shot at qualifying for the Playoffs. The series kicks off at 5 PM CET.

Team Heretics’ chances of qualifying for the playoffs are now slipping away fast. SK Gaming made the best of the situation, and can thank their botlane, who probably played their best BO3 since Tim "Keduii" Willers joined during the Spring Split, as well as Duncan "Skeanz" Marquet, who was decisive in the jungle, continuing the strong form he has shown in his first two series this Summer. Taking responsibility on carry picks in games 1 and 3 with Nocturne and Vi, the Frenchman explained in his post-match interview that he was "very stressed, but really confident in myself," he explains. "The mood is really good in the team. This win will help a lot, and scrims will be less stressful now," he adds, pointing out that this roster is still trying to find its pace.

This was illustrated by Kim "Loopy" Dong-hyeon’s words to Armand Luque in our post-match interview: "It's been a really hard year for me, my mental state hasn't been great [...] Keduii cared a lot for me. I'm very thankful he's so kind to me." If this victory gives them at least a temporary release, they hope it can also bring them a turning point. In any case, they are at least guaranteed a tiebreaker BO1 against Team Heretics if the latter wins their final match.

For TH, the equation is simple: if they don’t win against BDS on Monday, August 25th, they will be the first team eliminated from the Playoffs race, and the first team to finish their LEC year. A harsh punishment inflicted by the format, for a team that had shown promising signs of progress in the Spring Split.