Even though we are only 2 weeks into the 2023 LEC Winter Split, squads are already focusing on the final week of the regular season. After the recent format changes, teams are a single week away from being out of championship possibilities, and this time around that includes 2 of the most known organizations within the LEC.
After a total of 6 games each, Fnatic and KOI are 1 game out from dropping into the 9th and 10th places of the LEC table, these spots being the edge of getting eliminated from playoff/ group stage contention. On top of this, both squads will have an incredibly tough schedule ahead, with them being the underdogs on paper.
Before the season started, Fnatic fans were hopeful of the roster being a true title contender, mainly after the organization signed bot laner and team legend Martin “Rekkles” Larsson back. With the historic bot laner in place, analysts started suggesting Fnatic would be a real threat this year. Nevertheless, they have not been able to play as a team yet, having underwhelming results with clear signs of no improvement.
Fnatic seems to be out of sync throughout the early game, currently being the second-worst team in total gold at 15 minutes. The team shows no aggression or proactivity in the early game, thus losing pressure around the map and ultimately failing when executing ganks or tower dives, which are the main source of income outside of farming.
¡Primera semana de LEC superada! Así tenemos la clasificación:
1⃣@TeamVitality
2⃣@G2esports
3⃣@MADLions
4⃣@KOI
5⃣@FNATIC
6⃣@SKGaming
7⃣@EXCEL
8⃣@TeamHeretics
9⃣@TeamBDS
🔟@AstralisLoL #LECInvierno | https://t.co/SUKeqOzJaF pic.twitter.com/bhFwH1gTtu— LVP (@LVPes) January 24, 2023
As for KOI, they started the season with a strong showing, taking 2 out of their first 3 matches, against Excel Esports and Team BDS. Unfortunately, this form would not last, the LEC defending champions have lost consecutive games and will be facing the best 2 teams in the league, G2 Esports and Vitality. After Odoamne was cut from the team, it seems stability has been lost for the champions.
Most of their players seem to have dropped their championship winning form, for example bot laner Comp has not been as oppressive as before in the early game, being rather behind in gold at 15 minutes compared to other bot lakers from the league. Last summer he was one of the most aggressive yet consistent bot lakers out there, even managing to half early gold marks similar to mid laners.
If both of these mainstream teams are not able to find wins this week, fans will need for both Excel Esports and Astralis to not win a single game moving forward. Only once the next set of games is played will we find out how this story ends, the 2023 LEC Winter Split resumes on Saturday, February 4th.
Don’t miss out on the rest of our content as we’ll be covering the entirety of the League of Legends competitive scene plus other tournaments and sharing our esports picks with you! Don’t forget to bet on esports at BetUS Sportsbook & Casino. We’ve plenty of lol odds for you to take a look at and fully enjoy.
