The LEC Summer Split is in the penultimate week of its regular season as three teams, G2, Fnatic and Splyce, have already locked in their place for playoffs, though there are still three spots remaining with most teams fighting to crack the top six.
After taking down Fnatic, it's looks extremely likely that G2 will finish top once again but there is still a fight between Splyce and Fnatic for the all-important first-round bye as the top two will be guaranteed a place in finals weekend in Athens.
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With form shifting, there are a lot of juicy games to sink your teeth into this week. Here's this week's games to keep an eye on, with betting odds in brackets.
Find all LEC live streams and make your predictions on our LoL matches page.
Excel Esports (4.25) vs Fnatic (1.18)
First up, we have the battle of the British esports organisations. On paper, you'd put your money on Fnatic winning this every day of the week but the underdogs Excel love to punch above their weight.
Excel managed to build together a three-game wins streak with an exceptional victory over Splyce last week; the team joint with Fnatic in the standings. Marc "Caedrel" Lamont is always extremely proactive in the early game but this time it was mid-laner Son "Mickey" Young-min who got the ball rolling with exceptional play on Irelia.
Related: NA LCS Summer playoffs predictions
The battle between junglers Caedrel and Mads "Broxah" Brock-Pedersen will likely be the deciding factor in this match. Last week against G2, Broxah coin-flipped the game with extremely aggressive ganking which didn't pay off and left himself extremely far behind.
However, the last time these two teams met Excel were able to build up a massive lead but weren't able to capitalise and threw away their chance. Fnatic will be hoping they don't cut it as close this time.
Misfits Gaming (3.30) vs Schalke (1.28)
Two teams who are battling for playoffs, the current standings and recent form point to a Schalke win.
Misfits young squad came all-guns-blazing into the LEC a few weeks ago but have since fizzled out as teams have learned how to deal with their aggression.
Players like Adam "Lider" Ilyasov and Danny "Dan Dan" Le Comte have shown they can solo-carry a game but we haven't seen that same level prowess from Matúš "Neon" Jakubčík. It's likely the Slovakian ADC will be completely outclassed by Schalke's Elias "Upset" Lipp and there won't be any way back for Misfits.
Origen (2.20) vs Splyce (1.60)
With both teams having stacked rosters, this could be a fantastically close match though recently neither have been at their best.
Both teams have a lot to play for as Origen are barely hanging on to the final Playoff spot while Splyce will be desperate to overtake Fnatic and secure that all-important second-place.
Origen picked up a much-needed win against Misfits last week but heartbreakingly lost to Schalke via backdoor. Splyce will be an even tougher test and will give us a true idea if the Spring Split runners-up are even Playoffs calibre this Summer.
Rogue (2.90) vs Schalke (1.35)
Rogue's young squad are holding on to a slim chance of Playoffs and will need to live up to their potential if they want any hope of beating Schalke.
Like Misfits, Rogue have a lot of talented individual players with Emil "Larssen" Larsson being the particular stand-out. He should be able to match up well against Felix "Abbedagge" Braun though both players will be contesting the popular Azir pick.
However, the jungle match-up might be too much for Rogue to overcome. Kacper "Inspired" Słoma hasn't looked convincing on any pick outside of Ola while Kim "Trick" Gang-yun has been a revalation for Schalke this Summer and will likely be where this game is won. If not, Schalke have the late-game contigency plan of Upset.
Fnatic (1.35) vs Vitality (2.90)
Finally we have this exciting game between Fnatic and Vitality which is too close to call. Vitality have been incosistent all year but have recently shown glimpses of the highs we know the team are capable of.
Impressive wins over G2 and Excel last-week has given Vitality's rster a much-needed confidence boost and will be able to play with no fear against Fnatic, especially considering their predictable drafts.
Fnatic will almost certainly go for the Karma ADC pick again with Twisted Fate and Aatrox also likely to make an appearance. Vitality are a creative team and will likely look for direct counters though if they experiment too much, that plan could blow up in their faces. Fnatic certainly aren't at their best but are still formiddable opponents - they play one style but they play it well.
Pictures: LoL Esports / Flickr
