The Recap: Europe Week 7

 

Europe will be Europe. No team is safe from the teams below them, and the standings are ever fluid. This week, ROCCAT didn’t have an amazing showing, while both SK Gaming and Copenhagen Wolves showed that they can more than compete with the big boys.

Games of the Week

Day 1: ROCCAT vs. Copenhagen Wolves

Sometimes, Copenhagen Wolves jungler Amazing lives up to his name. Once his Nocturne - an unusual pick to begin with - hit level 6 and got his ultimate ability Paranoia, he became an absolute terror. It seemed that every time he activated his ultimate, multiple members of ROCCAT went down. Both Youngbuck and his Trundle and Unlimited’s Annie did their jobs by locking up just about anyone in sight, making sure that members of the already behind ROCCAT couldn’t escape from the carnage that Amazing facilitated. After ROCCAT grabbed a risky Baron kill in a desperation move, CW showed exactly how strong they were, dropping four members of the buffed squad and pushing in for the win.

Day 2: Fnatic vs. Gambit Gaming
                 

If there was ever a good time for Fnatic to finally break their eight game losing streak, it’d be against their perpetual rivals Gambit, the team that set them down their huge slide way back in Week 3. To do so, they took their patented double AP composition, giving sOAZ the extra hot Lulu in the top lane to go up against Darien’s Dr. Mundo. Right away, the plan succeeded, with sOAZ grabbing a whole bunch of early kills, essentially forcing Darien out of the game. Meanwhile, Cyanide and his Wukong was ganking all over the place, feeding both xPeke’s Nidalee and Rekkles’ Sivir. After getting behind, Gambit couldn’t force the teamfights necessary to win against Fnatic’s poke-heavy composition, and Fnatic simply sieged down the Nexus. Finally, Fnatic ended their nightmare, and did so without dying a single time.
Day 2: Supa Hot Crew vs. ROCCAT

Supa Hot Crew has historically struggled against ROCCAT, but not today. Things started well for them, with Moopz and his Gragas taking advantage of Overpow’s mid lane Vladimir, allowing Impaler to put pressure on the other two lanes. This ensured that they didn’t lose many objectives during the early phase of the game. If ROCCAT had been allowed to farm sufficiently and get to the late game, it would have been a struggle for Supa Hot Crew to finish the game out, but they made sure to knock out the reigning leaders of the European LCS before Vladimir or Xaxus’ Trundle managed to get strong enough to really give them trouble. Thanks to the loss, ROCCAT is now tied with Gambit for first place.

Big Players of the Week

 Amazing




The Wolves are on a four game winning streak, and Amazing is at the core of their success. His Nocturne play against the top-ranked ROCCAT was stellar, and his Lee Sin play against Millenium was bold and risky but ultimately extremely successful. Expect some more highlight plays from this Wolf as the season continues.

sOAZ

Fnatic’s top laner struggled hard in his first game this week as Renekton, going 1/5/3 in their loss against Alliance. But on Friday, he more than made up for it with his Lulu top pick against Gambit. He dominated Darien’s Dr. Mundo in the laning phase, giving Fnatic the early lead they needed to run away with the rest of the match.

Surprise of the Week

Fnatic finally breaks their losing streak

Fnatic picking up their first win in nine games was surprising in and of itself, but the real shockers come when you consider how they did it. First of all, they did it against the ever-strong Gambit, and secondly, they did it with the double AP composition that has given them so much trouble in the past. They showed exactly how the high-damage team selection should work, getting a lead early and never letting it go.
SK Gaming, Copenhagen Wolves climbing the ladder

SK Gaming has been sitting in the middle of the pack for a while now, but they’re beginning to show signs of life. After two wins this week, they’re officially sitting in third place all by themselves, and have their sights on Gambit and ROCCAT, who have both been inconsistent in recent weeks. Expect a battle between the three.
Two weeks ago, the Copenhagen Wolves were 4-8 and tied for last place. Four games later, however, they’re sitting pretty at 8-8 and are tied for fourth place. Amazing and Forg1ven have been leading their squad with incredible play, dropping Fnatic, ROCCAT, and Millenium twice on their way up the leaderboard. In typical EU LCS fashion, no highly seeded team is safe from the bottom tier squads, and things can change incredibly quickly.

Disappointment of the Week

VandeR’s Morgana on Day 1

ROCCAT support player VandeR has become known for his incredible Thresh play, but teams have begun to recognize that and ban out the Chain Warden when they go up against him. Last week, he simply picked Morgana and continued to be a terror in the bottom lane. However, he didn’t keep up that level of performance forever, and it showed during ROCCAT’s game against Copenhagen Wolves, where he seemingly couldn’t land a Dark Binding or get his Soul Shackles to linger for long enough to be effective. His struggles were a huge part of ROCCAT’s loss that first day.