EU LCS Spring Split Playoffs Highlights

 

Well, it felt like it was just yesterday that we were all hyped about Elements’ OP roster, Piglet’s ascension into the North American scene, the debut of the fan-favorite Unicorns of Love, and the (apparent) Golden Age of Counter Logic Gaming.

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Oh, how the times have passed.

With the North American and European Spring Split already having drawn down its curtains, we look back at some of the teams during the entirety of the split that played games and crafted moments that made us all laugh, cry, gasp, hype, faint, cheer, fangasm, believe in magic, and pretty much everything else in between the emotional spectrum.

What’s up everyone, my name is Kenji from Prince Kouhii’s Anime Reviews and today I am not actually doing an Anime Review per se, but rather a lookback to one of the most epic splits in LCS history:  The League of Legends 2015 Championship Series Spring Split.

Alrighty, without further fanfare, let’s allons-y into the magical, mythical, mystical Spring Split Series. 

European LCS Spring Split 2015:

Let’s start with EU, the region that probably had more roster changes than Dyrus’ average deaths-per-game.

Despite these changes, however, this year’s EU LCS Spring Split has become one of, if not the most dynamic and radical split yet, and one of the reasons for that hype is the team that was fresh out of the Challenger series:  Unicorns of Love.

They don’t usually wear the hats during matches.

UOL, also known as the “bane of soloQ” for the popularization of complete cheese picks, quickly became a favorite amongst the League community after their 2-0 sweep against Team Solomid at IEM San Jose WITH A JUNGLE TWISTED FATE PICK.  After that, they proved to be ridiculous competition at the EU LCS, being able to defeat other major competitors such as Elements, Fnatic, and SK Gaming, just to name a few.

However, it was during the playoffs that the Unicorns really proved to be beings of pure magic.

Not only were they able to defeat the fast-tracking Gambit Gaming, they were ALSO able to defeat and crack open the almost-invincible armor of SK Gaming, going 3-2 in the semifinals.

AND NOT ONLY THAT, but they proved to be true to their cheese by defeating both teams in classic UOL fashion:  with Jungle Gnar, Udyr, and Shaco, all of which were not seen yet in the EU LCS (as far as I can tell at least).

Despite losing in the finals, UOL proved that they are definitely an up-and-coming team and a force to be reckoned with, especially because this was only their first split and they can only get better from here.  If you’re looking for an exciting team to watch for, you can always count on the Unicorns to pull off a crazy stunt, like Varus Mid, and get away with a win.

Well, almost always.

Another team that had an incredible showing this split was SK Gaming.  With the addition of FORG1VEN (of Coppenhagen Wolves fame), SK quickly rose to the top of the standings in such a dominant fashion.  Due in part on FORG1VEN’s ability to super-farm and hyper-carry his team to victory, SK looked to dominate the rest of the split, ending the regular season with a 13-3 (more or less) score.  Unfortunately, the playoffs proved that SK Gaming is not invincible by any means, losing their Finals spot to UOL and then relegating to 4th place after being reverse-sweeped by H2K.

However, SK is still a fearsome team that can definitely make a huge comeback next season, as they have already set up a strong headline for themselves as one of the best teams in the EU LCS.

By far.

H2K was another team that proved to be an impressive powerhouse this split.  With the addition of KT Rolster’s Ryu, combined with the powerhouse top-laner Oddoamne and kaSing the support wonder, H2K quickly climbed to the top of the standings by the end of the regular season, placing themselves comfortably at the #3 spot.  Despite their lose to Fnatic at the semis after a dominating 3-0 clean-sweep against Coppenhagen Wolves, H2K were able to reverse sweep SK Gaming in the 3rd place match and thus established themselves as a fearsome EU team that definitely has the potential to take control of the Summer Split.

And finally, Fnatic.  

The HOLOHOLO intensifies….

Arguably the team with the most dynamic roster change (with YellOwStaR being the only remaining member from the original team), Fnatic had A LOT to live up to, considering the massive success of the original Fnatic.  Nevertheless, this newly assembled team, with YellOwStaR’s leadership, erased everyone’s doubts with their impressive plays and game-changing strategies that allowed them to sit comfortably with SK Gaming at the top of the EU LCS.  To top  it all off, they proved that a major roster change does not matter:  Fnatic will still win the championship, as it has done so multiple times in the past, and has continued to be the most dominant team in Europe currently.

With their run-and-gun, aggressive play style, YellOwStaR’s instructions, and household players like Febiven, Reignover, and of course Huni, Fnatic may not be the same, but the fact that they are a magnificent team already with lots more room for improvement down the road makes them just as formidable as the Fnatic of old.

And now, we patiently await the EU LCS Summer Split, where we get to see more action, more dynamic growth, more strats, more HOLOHOLOHOLO, and more Xpeke.

 

THE NORTH AMERICAN LCS SPRING SPLIT  PLAYOFF HIGHLIGHTS WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON.

UNTIL THEN, SEE YOU IN THE FUTURE.