With only Team BDS locked in for the LEC 2024 Winter Playoffs, the LEC 2024 Winter Week 3 Preview is about the most important and interesting round of the Regular Season!
Only one week remains from the LEC 2024 Winter Season, but there’s still 7 spots vacant in this year’s first Playoffs. While Team BDS can basically sit back and relax, there are 4 teams – G2 Esports, Fnatic, SK Gaming and Team Heretics – which are only a single win away from ensuring their advance. However, the other end of the of the standings are not doing so hot, with one team failing to score a single W so far.
LEC 2024 Winter Week 3 Preview
Who will be the first to join Team BDS?
The Swiss team surprised everyone by locking Playoffs before the biggest squads such as Fnatic and G2 Esports. However, their performance doesn’t seem like last Spring, where the meta was perfect for the one playstyle they were good at, as BDS showed to be able to adapt.
Trailing behind the only 5-1 team of the LEC is FNC, G2, SK Gaming and Team Heretics. SK Gaming was undefeated after Week 1, but only scored a single win Week 2 as they tried shifting their strategy which didn’t work out the best. Fnatic and G2 had a round similar to the one before, with 2 incredible dominant matches and one fluke. In the case of Fnatic, they just hit a wall and didn’t seem to know how to recuperate against BDS, while G2 Esports shot themselves in the foot again, this time failing to put their lategame carries ahead, with Hans and Miky having nobody to support with their Seraphine-Sona lane. While G2 couldn’t pull of the 3-0, they beat their old players, as they only needed 28 minutes to defeat Team Heretics – who nevertheless only need one win as well after beating SK.
MAD Lions KOI and Team Vitality are also very close of ensuring their next 3 weeks. MDK didn’t have as hot of a round as on Week 1, and they only beat Rogue, who are considered to be the second weakest team at the moment. Team Vitality had a resurgence though, as after an 0-3 blowout, they won all 3 of their matches utilizing Patch 14.1b to the fullest with Corki in the midlane and Senna – Nilah in the botlane, with a masterclass Ahri game from Vetheo.
Obviously, the 4-2 teams can lock their place as soon as Saturday, which should be Fnatic, G2 Esports and SK Gaming. While SK will have a harder time against Vitality than anticipated, if they return to their tactics that worked in week 1, they should be okay. For G2 and Fnatic, they won’t have as hard matchups as the other 2 4-2 squads (provided FNC doesn’t in the early game). For Team Heretics, I believe Team BDS is the most consistent team at the moment, so unless they step up their midgame or manage to stomp BDS early (while also keeping Adam in check), they are in for a tough match.
The last chance for Karmine Corp
On the end of the standings is GIANTX, Rogue and Karmine Corp – who need to go 3-0 just to have a chance at qualifying, while other teams on the edge of Playoffs need to fluke. GIANTX is the closest to making it, but as they face G2 Esports and MAD Lions KOI on Saturday and Sunday, they might not get a win until the last day of the regular season – versus Rogue, who also has their work cut out for them. Even though they managed to defeat G2 Esports during Week 1, that was far from a convincing victory, and they looked lost in every other match they had.
Karmine Corp will be Rogue’s first opponent, and even though the former team is 0-6 while the latter is 1-5, I still trust KC more. Even if the French squad doesn’t know how to play from the midgame onwards, they had some great individual performances, such as Bo’s Lillia game last Sunday, while RGE needed to be spoonfed kills from G2 in order to look competent. However, KC is unlikely to get another win over the course of Week 3, so they might be the first team to lock themselves out from the Winter Playoffs.
LEC 2024 Winter Week 3 Predictions
Day 1:
- Team Heretics vs Team BDS: BDS Win
- Team Vitality vs SK Gaming: SK Win
- Fnatic vs MAD Lions KOI: FNC Win
- GIANTX vs G2 Esports: G2 Win
- Karmine Corp vs Rogue: KC Win
Day 2:
- Team Vitality vs Team Heretics: HRTS Win
- Team BDS vs Rogue: BDS Win
- Fnatic vs G2 Esports: FNC Win
- MAD Lions KOI vs GIANTX: MDK Win
- SK Gaming vs Karmine Corp: SK Win
Day 3:
- GIANTX vs Rogue: GX Win
- Team BDS vs Karmine Corp: BDS Win
- Fnatic vs Team Heretics: HRTS Win
- SK Gaming vs G2 Esports: SK Win
- Team Vitality vs MAD Lions KOI: VIT Win
Don’t forget to check back next week before the start of the LEC 2024 Winter Playoffs for more news about the biggest EMEA League of Legends tournament, as well as our updated Tierlist!