LEC Playoffs: Schalke 04 Esports finishes season in top 4

Clear victory against Fnatic

Jungler Gilius, Top Laner BrokenBlade & Co. had entered the Spring Split playoffs in fourth place in the group stage. In the first round of the Upper Bracket, Schalke first faced defending champion G2 Esports, who had won all four previous LEC Splits. Against G2, the royal blues showed an absolute top performance, in the best of 5 it went into the decisive fifth match. There, however, Schalke had to admit defeat after a tough fight.

The next opponent in the lower bracket was Fnatic. The seven-time LEC champion had previously won 3:1 against SK Gaming and went into the match against S04 Esports with plenty of self-confidence. But that didn’t help. The roval blue  had a great day and did not concede a single game in the 3-0 win. Gilius and his teammates deservedly advanced to the next round of the Lower Bracket.

Rogue is too strong

Schalke now played against Rogue for a place in the semi-finals of the Lower Bracket, where G2 was already waiting. G2 was defeated in the Upper Bracket by the MAD Lions (1:3). The match between Rogue and the Royal Blues started evenly, with both teams taking one game each. Rogue’s 1-0 lead was equalised by S04.

After that, however, Rogue, who had finished the group phase together with G2 at the top and is aiming for the very first LEC title, showed its class. Both the third and fourth games went to the team led by top Laner Odoamne, who was still active for Schalke until November 2020. Rogue will now battle G2 in the semi-finals of the Lower Bracket for a place in the LEC Spring Split grand final.

The final on 11 April will conclude the playoffs not only with the LEC winner but also the European participant in the Mid-Season Invitational. Since 2015 (with the exception of 2020), the winners of the worldwide splits have met there every year in April/May. The last Mid-Season Invitational was won by G2 in 2019. This year, the big event will take place from 6 to 22 May in Reykjavík, Iceland.