LEC Spring Split 2020 Week 1 Recap

The 2020 competitive season returned this weekend for Europe. The LEC broadcast studio opened up the year with a dazzling production to wow the audience. It’s something the European league has put a lot of effort on and it pays off really well.

The games themselves did not disappoint viewers at all. After numerous roster moves in the offseason, including a troll-ish roleswap yet again from G2, fans are definitely excited for this season. Here are the top 3 highlights from this week:

1. G2 Switcheroo

G2 left fans baffled with yet another experiment. They rotated Luka “PerkZ” Perkovic back to the mid lane and sent Rasmus “Caps” Winther to the bot lane. Perkz debuted professionally for G2 as their mid laner but roleswapped to bot lane after Caps joined the team last year. This year, they’re switching it the other way. I’ve argued that this is a better fit for G2, as Perkz is the more vocal leader of the two and mid lane is better suited for that role. Moreover, Caps arguably has a higher mechanical ceiling and able to maintain a wider champion pool, which would definitely benefit him in his new role.

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So far, their first two games are nothing short of brilliant. Both superstars certainly carried their team to a clean 2-0 Week 1. To be fair, their early game did show a lot of room for improvement but that’s to be expected.

.@G2esports go undefeated in Week 1! #LEC pic.twitter.com/4BTFdbURoN

— LEC (@LEC) January 25, 2020

2. Struggle for 2nd fiddle

It’s no secret that G2 is poised to have another great year. They managed to retain their entire roster and are looking to avenge their runner-up finish at Worlds a couple months ago. However, that doesn’t mean the rest of the LEC are just going to hand the Spring title over to them. After all, Fnatic played relatively well at Worlds, knocking out RNG out of the tournament early on. Unfortunately for them, Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen’s transfer to Team Liquid left a void in the team’s already fledgling chemistry. Former SK Gaming jungler Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek took his place. Fnatic ended Week 1 with a 1-1 record.

If Fnatic end up having a down year again, it would definitely be Origen that would fill the void. Origen already played well enough last year and only narrowly missed Worlds in the gauntlet. They managed to upgrade their bot lane with an up and coming star in Elias “Upset” Lipp. The 20-year old will need plenty of help from his team if they want to legitimately challenge G2 for the title.

3. Rise of Rogue

Was it just a lucky week for Rogue or are they really in it this time? We’ll find out in the coming weeks. For now, it’s a huge relief for Steven “Hans sama” Liv to be winning again. After a disastrous season with Misfits Gaming, the highly-touted marksman will now be able to continue his growth. With him are a pair Swedish solo laners that absolutely terrorized their lane opponents in Week 1. Finn “Finn” Wiestal and Emil “Larssen” Larsson both had their moments alongside Hans sama in their first two games. Their game against OG is  a must watch next week!

The #LEC standings after Week 1! pic.twitter.com/kEW8LHBstB

— LEC (@LEC) January 25, 2020