Vitality vs Schalke 04
Vitality shocked the world yesterday when they defeated Rogue, however, I am not too surprised by that result. Rogue have been looking very shaky over the last couple of fixtures and if there was one team that could have exposed them it was Vitality, who basically had nothing to lose.
Schalke 04, on the other side, continued with their miracle run with a commanding win against Fnatic, which was in most part thanks to another phenomenal performance from jungler Gilius and mid laner Abbedagge who are currently playing at an outstandingly high level. We also can’t forget to mention the 8/1/10 performance from Neon and strong individual performance from Odoamne.
Both teams are put in a do-or-die situation here, meaning that the team which loses will be denied entry into the playoffs, so it’s safe to say the urgency to win will be there. Picking out a winner, however, is tough. Both Schalke and Vitality have been playing much better as of late and while it’s easy to jump on Schalke 04’s hype train, they still make mistakes which we expect Vitality will punish. Having said that, the same thing can be said for Vitality who also tend to make mistakes and give up unnecessary deaths.
Schalke seem like the most likely victors, but based on what these two sides have shown as of late, a bet on Over 22.5 kills is the best option we can take. Both have been very aggressive and since this is a match no team will want to lose, we are likely in for a long match with plenty of kills on the board.
Prediction: Over 22.5 kills – 1.934
Origen vs SK Gaming
It’s a difficult time to be an Origen fan right now, and from the looks of it, their situation is unsalvageable. Well, they still have about 1% chance of making it to the postseason, so there is still a chance (in theory), but I’m more talking about the team’s morale which is at an all-time low.
I’ve already talked about Origen and their internal struggles in day 1 previews, and after their humiliating loss to Excel, it’s safe to say the situation got exponentially worse. On a more positive note, Origen looked somewhat decent yesterday, but if you manage to lose in a way they did… well you likely won’t defeat any team from now to the end of the split.
SK Gaming have stumbled against G2 Esports yesterday, but at the end of the day they had to face G2 who have finally started to show their true power. I would not criticise SK too much for that loss and would even go on to praise their performance, especially Crownshot and Limit. ZaZee had a tough time in the mid lane, albeit he had to face Caps and was constantly pressured by Jankos, so his 1/4/3 is a bit misleading.
SK Gaming are in my book a better team that Origen, however, I am still not ready to bet against OG, since they still field some of the biggest individual talents in the league. Having said that, OG make way too many mistakes, which should allow SK to pick up plenty of kills. Will SK manage to translate their lead and close out the series is anyone’s guess, but they should end the game with at least double digits in kills.
Prediction: SK Gaming over 10.5 kills – 1.819
Misfits vs G2 Esports
G2 Esports have secured a spot in the playoffs which is both exciting to see, since it seems like G2 Esports have finally found their old form and at the same time I’m not too happy with that. The biggest problem I have with G2 now is that they have nothing more to fight for – in other words, they can win or lose both of their last two fixtures and it won’t matter.
That does not mean much in the greater picture, but anyone who is familiar with G2 will confirm that in situations as such, G2 will focus more on having fun and trying out some weird drafts rather than push to win and basically achieve nothing. That begs the question of what will we see this Saturday? Maybe Lillia in the jungle or Yasuo as an ADC… Even if G2 decide for a proper draft, the history has tough us they won’t take this match too seriously.
This, however, does not change the fact that Misfits will likely still lose, since they are, with all due respect, a bad team- Nevertheless, they should still make this game interesting. In the situation they are now, Misfits desperately need to win, so we can expect the “all-or-nothing” approach we have seen from Schalke and Vitality, which usually turns games into bloodbaths. With that in mind, we will trust Misfits to tack up at least nine kills.
Prediction: Misfits over 8.5 kill – 1.769
