We’re back with another 2021 League of Legends European Championship (LEC) Summer betting preview. On today’s menu, we have the opening rounds of the second week, featuring a handful of exciting bouts.
LEC Summer Week 2 – Day 1
When: Friday, June 18 – 18:00 – 22:00 CEST
Number of Games: 5
Last week we went three-for-three with our LEC 2021 Summer Week 1 Day 3 betting picks and are now nearly four units in profit on the split. Had I not been too reckless with my kill handicap picks last Saturday, the numbers would look much better, but what can you do…
SK Gaming vs Schalke 04
Friday, June 18 – 18:00 CEST
SK Gaming have been playing better than initially expected, but I’m still not convinced. Mid laner Ersin “Blue” Gören has been confirmed to start today, which should serve as an added boost to SK, but overall, they’re still weaker than Schalke 04, who enter this match rightfully priced as 1.497 favourites.
The betting odds make a lot of sense, considering SK are not only individually outclassed but have also been very shaky with their showings. While I have said that SK have been playing better than expected, that doesn’t mean they’re good, and you can’t really defend a team that has managed to throw away two massive leads during the first week.
This match can easily go both ways, but I won’t be betting on SK, nor am I ready to trust Schalke 04 at the offered odds.
No Prediction
MAD Lions vs Excel
Friday, June 18 – 19:00 CEST
Excel enter the second week of LEC 2021 Summer off a disastrous week one. And it was not only their players underperforming that makes me concerned about Excel heading into Week 2 but the overall look of the team.
Excel are making way too many mistakes for me to see them as potential punch-up underdogs, and until I see some improvement, I’ll continue to avoid betting on them. On the other side, MAD Lions are the polar opposite.
While they haven’t been performing exceptionally good, they still deserve some praise for what they have shown – even in their losses. Those who have been watching MAD Lions this season would also know that this is a very explosive team that can quickly run away with kills when given the opportunity.
This should work well into Excel’s sluggish playstyle and present MAD Lions with plenty of chances to grab easy kills. I have made a mistake backing the favourites with a kill handicap before, but this is a match I feel confident predicting will end with at least a seven-kill lead for MAD.
Prediction: MAD Lions -6.5 kills – 1.662 Pinnacle
Rogue vs Misfits
Friday, June 18 – 20:00 CEST
We were very bullish on Misfits this season, and they have yet to show anything that would make us change our mind. The Bunnies are playing very well and seem not to get enough credit for the improvement they have been showing – namely with their decision making.
There is a world where Misfits return to their old reckless ways, but as it stands now, they come off as a very stable team. Their next opponents, Rogue, haven’t impressed me too much with their performance.
They beat Vitality in a game that had no business ending in their favour and proved to be up to par with Fnatic in their loss – which either means Fnatic have improved or Rogue have fallen off. For me, it’s more the former and a little bit of the latter.
I’m usually very careful about overreacting to short stints of greatness from the teams – particularly in the first week of the split. That said, Misfits have shown enough for me to believe they can defeat Rogue and shouldn’t be priced nearly as high as they are.
Prediction: Misfits to win – 2.73 Pinnacle
Team Vitality vs Fnatic
Friday, June 18 – 21:00 CEST
I like Fnatic far better for this bout, but I have a feeling we’re in for a chaotic game. Team Vitality kicked off the season well and should have arguably won their match with Rogue, however, amidst all the solid showings, I sensed that Vitality are a bit too careless.
They have enough talent to be highly competitive, but it seems like the players aren’t on the same page and are making some weird calls. Most of all, I was confused with their playstyle last week which didn’t fit with what their team composition wanted to achieve.
Fnatic, on the other side, have started to show that they can be organised and make the right calls – which is a complete opposite to the Fnatic of the last split. They’re by no means perfect, but there’s been a massive improvement in Fnatic’s shot-calling and overall decision making.
Everything points towards a win for Fnatic, but I need to see a bit more from them before I’ll bet on them when they’re priced as the favourites.
No Prediction
G2 Esports vs Astralis
Friday, June 18 – 22:00 CEST
With G2 Esports, you never know what you’re going to get, but you can be sure that they’ll enter the match with some of the biggest talents in the LEC. That alone makes it tough to side against them, as this team is equally as capable of crushing anyone as they are of choking and dropping the ball.
Still, I’m hopeful that G2 will find their long-lost form this split and be competitive at LoL World Championship.
Their next opponents, Astralis were undeniably the worst team of LEC 2021 Spring, however, they looked much improved last week. Although not a big fan of the organisation, I like the way Astralis play.
They know they’re going to be the underdogs for almost any match of the split, and it seems like they don’t care too much. They instead go for creative picks to cause as much chaos as possible and potentially surprise their opponents.
That earned them two wins last week, granted they haven’t beaten any tough opponents yet. Winning against Excel and Schalke 04 is a solid achievement, but nothing to write home about.
G2 Esports should be winning this match more times than not, but I don’t feel comfortable betting on them. The only bet that would make sense is to back G2 with a kill handicap, but if you’re willing to take G2 with -7.5 or higher, you need to be sure that they’ll be a much better team on the day. I’m not confident in that.
No Prediction
