First King of Winter: LEC Winter Split Week 2, Day 3 Recap
The LEC is the European League of Legends professional circuit, with a total of 10 teams competing across three split: Winter, Spring, and Summer. The top 8 teams at the end of each split will advance to the Group Stage.
Team Vitality have emerged as the first qualifier for Top 8 this Winter Split with their victory over G2 Esports. SK Gaming and BDS have successfully accomplished a 3-0 weekend, a first in a very long time for either organizations. KOI and Excel have had their spirits smashed this week, with 0-3 respective scorelines across the weekend. Astralis secure their first win of the Winter Split.
Here’s a complete cover for everything you might have missed from Week 2 of the 2023 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Winter Split.
Current LEC Standings (Week 2)
LEC Winter Split Week 2 Standings. Image screencapture Strafe Esports.
Day Three Match Results
Astralis vs Excel Esports [1-0]
Astralis end the game in 31.18 minutes with a 10.5k gold lead against Excel. A match of unending aggression for both sides, Excel consistently sought a favorable team fight but the heroics of Astralis’ top laner Finn “Finn” Wiestål shut them down hard each time. Moreover, Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup rained terror on Lucian with a staggering 9/0/7 performance.
Strafe Player of the Series: AST Finn
BDS vs MAD Lions [1-0]
BDS secure their largest scalp so far of the Winter Split, with a 39.41 minute victory over MAD Lions. They finished the game with a 7.4k gold lead ahead of their opposition, with top laner Adam “Adam” Maanane continuing his reign of terror with the Darius counterpick.
Strafe Player of the Series: BDS Adam
SK Gaming vs KOI [1-0]
SK Gaming emerged victorious in 29.31 minutes with a 9.6k gold lead. KOI began with a strong lead in the early game, placing Emil “Larssen” Larsson on the Tristana with two early kills. They managed to secure three drakes; however, SK Gaming turned the fight around the 23rd minute, acing KOI before securing Baron. From there it was a clean downhill victory for SK.
Strafe Player of the Series: SK Markoon
G2 Esports vs Team Vitality [0-1]
Jungle diff was the story of the night as Team Vitality sent G2 packing in 36.44 minutes with a whopping 11.9k gold lead. Despite the jungle counterpick of Udyr from rookie G2 jungler Martin “Yike” Sundelin, Vitality jungler Zhou “Bo” Yang-Bo delivered a masterclass performance on Vi.
Strafe Player of the Series: VIT Bo
Team Heretics vs Fnatic [1-0]
Despite a resurgence of form for Fnatic, Heretics managed to secure the game in 40.37 minutes and a reversed 5.3k gold lead. Fnatic initially led the way with 5.6k gold lead, 6 kill advantage, and 3 drakes secured. Moreover, Martin “Rekkles” Larsson was fed on the Varus with an 6/1/3 scoreline. However, in typical Fnatic fashion this split, a poorly chosen engage and impressive mechanics from Jakob “Jackspectra” Kepple, turned the tides of the game.
Strafe Player of the Series: TH Jackspectra
Notable Stats for LEC Week 2
- Astralis achieve their FIRST victory of the LEC Winter Split 2023
- G2 achieved the 2nd fastest victory time in LEC history at 18.45 mins. (Achieved against Team Heretics on Day 2)
- Team Vitality secure top eight.
- At 66.7% pickrate, K'Sante boasts the highest pickrate and second lowest winrate at 25% in the LEC. Only Viego ranks below in winrate. (According to Oracle's Elixir)
Image credit: Team Vitality