This article is part of our LoL Previews series.
G2 vs. Unicorns of Love:
Summary:
Unicorns of Love surprisingly dismantled GIANTS Gaming to earn a spot in the semifinals in Krakow. With a solid foundation of Kiss "Vizicsacsi" Tamás, Zdravets "Hylissang" Galabov, and coach Fabian "Sheepy" Mallant, the underdogs found success, earning the right to face G2. They'll need to be nearly perfect to take out the defending champions in what should be an uphill battle. In particular, UoL will need Fabian "Exileh" Schubert and Kim "Veritas" Kyoung-min to continue their positive progression, with Kang "Move" Min-su also needing to make plenty of plays to free up his laners, just for UoL to have a chance.
G2 were awful at MSI and came into the split hounded by criticism from European fans after failing to earn a strong seed for Worlds. They responded by winning the Summer Split's regular season, without losing a best-of-two throughout the season. Despite losing Mateusz "Kikis" Szkudlarek and swapping Korean import Dae-Han "Expect" Ki into the full time top lane role, G2 looked pretty dominant throughout the season. G2 have a star-studded lineup full of players players that can carry games through dominant early play. Kang-yoon "Trick" Kim, Luka "Perkz" Perković, Alfonso "Mithy" Aguirre Rodriguez, and Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen are all formidable opponents that may dismantle UOL at any point in the series. Trick is one of the best early game junglers in the EU LCS, rivaled only by Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski and Lee "Spirit" Da-yun in his prime. Trick succeeds in playing around all lanes, but it's his synergy with Perkz that leads G2 to success. Mithy and Zven are regarded as the best bot lane in Europe and for good reason, giving G2 a double headed carry threat in the middle and bottom lanes. G2 have the star power and teamwork to finish as champions of Europe once again this summer.
Key Matchup: Vizicsacsi vs. Expect
I'd expect both Zven and Mithy to dominate their lanes throughout this series as G2 seems to have a clear skill advantage over their UoL counterparts. If UoL have any chance of winning, it's on the shoulders of Vizicsacsi, who can play multiple roles for his team. He's proficient in split pushing and will need to try to get the better of Expect to keep UoL in this series.
The Verdict: G2 3-0
It'd be a shock to me if UoL win a game, to be honest. UoL backed into the playoffs and although they looked very good against GIANTS, G2 is a whole other animal. G2 have the star players and should handle this series pretty easily. They may drop a game, but I don't think it goes any further than that.
Splyce vs. H2K
Summary:
After destroying Fnatic in truly dominating fashion, H2K booked their place in the semifinals. Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski was exceptional for H2K in the quarterfinals, out-jungling Spirit in all three games and giving H2K the lead early. If this version of Jankos shows up again, there aren't many teams that can stop H2K. With Yoo "Ryu" Sang-ook playing well in three games as Vladimir against Fnatic, it will be interesting to see if he gets his hands on the champion against Splyce. The new meta fits Konstantinos "FORG1VEN" Tzortziou's style quite well and his lane dominant style sets H2K up for turret first bloods. H2K looked great against a dejected Fnatic, but Splyce present more of a challenge.
Splyce were great in the regular season, a team with excellent macro play and a group of young players coming into their own as playmakers. It seems every member of Splyce has greatly improved from their performance in the Spring Split, and with a great coach in Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi, the team has developed into a top two team during the regular season. Chres "Sencux" Laursen is a true carry in the mid lane, dominating on carries such as Kassadin throughout the year. Kasper "Kobbe" Kobberup has also stepped up this season, developing a synergy with his new support Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle to provide a threat in the bottom lane. With the action taking place in the bottom lane, Martin "Wunder" Hansen's stability and flexibility in the top lane gives Splyce a player who can play a wide range of champions, from carries to more utility focused champions depending on the team's current needs. Jonas "Trashy" Andersen has perhaps improved the most, becoming an excellent early game decision maker, finding the spaces in the game to get his team ahead in the laning phase. Splyce have brought it all together, but will having no playoff experience be a factor in this series?
Key Matchup: Sencux vs. Ryu
The matchup in the jungle is equally as intriguing, but the winner of the mid lane is more important in my eyes. Ryu played great on Vladimir, but struggled overall during the split and may see the champion banned away against Splyce. Sencux is a true carry for his team and if he can get a lead to snowball his lane while roaming to help his side lanes, Splyce should be able to gain a nice advantage over H2K.
The Verdict: H2K 3-2
I told myself before the Fnatic series that whoever won I would take 3-2 over Splyce. I think this should be an extremely close series, with two really solid macro focused teams competing against one another. However if Jankos plays the way he did against Fnatic, I'm not sure Splyce will have any sort of answers. Splyce come into the series in much better form than Fnatic, but I'll give the edge to the more experienced side.
