LEC Summer Split : KC-G2 and FNC-GIANTX

The second day of the LEC Summer Split playoffs - the EMEA elite in League of Legends - kicks off this Saturday with Fnatic taking on GIANTX, followed by the match of the week: Karmine Corp vs G2 Esports. These matches will take place in BO3 (best of three rounds) and will not be eliminatory, as the loser will always have the chance to make up for it in the loser bracket. The winners, on the other hand, will join the semi-final of the upper-bracket. Here's a round-up of Saturday's head-to-head action.

While the Black and Orange got off to a flying start to the regular season, they suffered a dip in form over the last few rounds, a state of form also confirmed by their poor performance against Team Liquid at the Esports World Cup (0-2). GIANTX, for their part, will undoubtedly be able to count on prodigy Adam 'Jackies' Jeřábek, who has enjoyed an outstanding regular season. They will also be able to count on Antonio 'Th3Antonio' Espinosa, who has been on the rise all summer.

Fnatic had held on to their invincibility until the sixth day of the regular season, but it wasn't until Iván 'Razork' Martín and his team met their great rivals, G2 Esports, that all their confidence collapsed. Since that defeat, Fnatic has lost all its competitive games in the LEC and EWC (5 in a row). No doubt the Black and Orange will be keen to bounce back, as confidence is so important to them. This is particularly true for the botlane, which needs to get its head above water and get back to the form of the first six games.

Victories and defeats are often down to Oh 'Noah' Hyeon-taek and Yoon 'Jun' Se-jun at FNC, as shown by the two international competitions - MSI and EWC - where the Koreans performed poorly, falling victim to frequent deaths, especially in the 2v2s. All in all, though, their level of play over the season remains convincing, as they are both second in the KDA rankings for their role (4 for Jun and 7.6 for Noah).

And they won't be facing the league's biggest performers. The Korean duo know a thing or two about this, as when they met in the regular season, Patrik 'Patrik' Jírů, despite being on Senna, ended the game with a deficit of 9,300 golds. However, Nicolas Perez, the team's assistant coach, told us: "Patrik's slump seemed to be linked to his confidence. He needed a reminder that he is indeed a good player. Patrik has both talent and experience." So the Czech too needs to regain his confidence, but in the meantime GIANTX has had to find another way to win games.

If the Anglo-Spanish organization has qualified for this second part of the segment, it is mainly thanks to its sololaners. First and foremost Jackies, who was undoubtedly his team's best player even in defeat, constantly standing up to his opponents as the last rampart. Then there was Th3Antonio who, despite a poor start to the season, was quick to raise the bar and also performed well, winning the game's MVP award on two of his team's three victories.

Although G2 got off to a poor start this summer, the two-time European champions soon got back into the swing of things. The Samurais began the competition with two defeats and one win, before bouncing back to win the remaining six matches. Sergen 'BrokenBlade' Çelik and Co are undoubtedly the favourites to win their third title of the year this summer. Their dominance is such that the North Americans, for example, refer to Europe as a "one-team region".

In fact, the Samurai have not been surprised once this year in a best of match in the LEC, as it seems to be their favourite playground. G2 broke the curse that has afflicted the West, unable to beat an Asian team in a BO match since 2020, by winning a serie against Top Esports (3-0) during the mid-season tournament (MSI). The Karmine Corp should therefore be just one of the gravel on which the Emperor has stepped in his quest for three titles. But beware of overconfidence against a team that knows how to surprise...

In fact, the Blue Wall won three of their four games while in a 20-minute gold deficit. The Blue Wall also surprised everyone by managing to climb into the middle of the regular season rankings after two last-places. Karmine Corp have come a long way, thanks in particular to the acquisition of three new players on the topside who, it would seem, will serve as a foundation on which to build for the future.

Especially with young Vladimiros 'Vladi' Kourtidis, who took the plunge after just one split in the LFL. The Greek has so far not performed very well in his lanes at the highest EMEA level, but has always been crucial in decisive moments. However, the Greek will need to correct his aim if he is to avoid the worst against an imperious Rasmus 'Caps' Winther, who will use the slightest advantage to snowball.

The KC botlane can also take heart from this regular season as they suffered a number of setbacks in the previous two. Veteran Elias 'Upset' Lipp, especially, has visibly pulled himself up by his bootstraps, as he now ranks second in the league DMG% for his team, behind... Jackies.