League of Legends EU LCS Summer Split 2016 Top Tips

It’s Time For The EU LCS Summer Split 2016

The League of Legends EU LCS Summer Split 2016 is here and we’ve got the very best betting tips right here for you.

The EU LCS Spring Split saw total dominance by G2 Esports winning both the regular season and the playoffs. They were a massive surprise team this year having just qualified for the EU LCS from last year’s challenger series.

Going into the League of Legends 2016 Summer Splits though could we some more upsets or can G2 Esports continue their rise to the top?

A quick Spring Split recap

When G2 ESports started the Spring Split I don’t think many people saw them being as dominant as they were.

With much of the same team that they competed in the Challenger Series with, G2 Esports really took the League of Legends Betting Guide Championship series by storm.

They were closely followed in the league by H2K who were entering their third season in the EU LCS having finished 3rd the previous two seasons.

Despite a strong 2nd place finish in the table they disappointed in the playoffs finishing fourth overall.

It was Origen who faced off with G2 Esports in the playoff final. They succumbed to G2 Esports fairly easily though.

The biggest shock to the Spring Split was probably the fall of Fnatic who finished 6th in the league 3rd in the playoffs.

One of the most well established LoL esports teams they have always competed highly in the EU LCS. However the fall was perhaps not a surprise as their roster was heavily raided by the LA LCS team Immortals and so their lineup was almost unrecognisable.

What to Expect in the EU CLS Summer Split

Following the major raids of EU LCS sides from North America before the Spring Split, many established sides took a few risks in their recruitment, and many didn’t pay off.

That’s why we’re seeing all sides making changes in their roster ready for the 2016 Summer Split.

G2 Esports have made the biggest statement of intent, but a return of an old favourite to Fnatic will see them potentially improve and the very interesting move of a top flight German football team into the world of Esports makes this a very interesting Summer Split tournament.

We’ll look at the moves of each team in detail below.

How are G2 Esports looking?

Despite a fantastic Spring Split, G2 Esports have rung in the changes, perhaps due to their disappointing showing in the mid-season invitational.

They’ve brought in Zven and Mithy, both talented and experienced players from Origen. A big blow for Origen and a boost for G2 Esports.

Whether these two LoL players can quickly fit into the aggressive, high risk/high reward style that G2 Esports play, in a short space of time has to be questioned.

However these are top players and over the course of the season they should embed nicely and could make G2 Esports very competitive by the time the LoL World Championship comes around.

Will H2K come out on top?

H2K had a very good Spring Split, coming in second, though were disappointed to end up 4th in the playoffs.

Then they were hit with a massive blow as they lost FORG1VEN to Origen. Being one of their very best players this was always going to be difficult to replace.

However they have done so by bringing in Freeze from the banned NA LCS side Renegades.
Freeze is a very good ADC and while he might not be able to perform to the standards of FORG1VEN, it is still a good replacement.

Other than that H2K have kept their side consistent in the hopes that great team cohesion will see them through into the League of Legends world championships 2016.

Can Team Vitality outperform their current form?

After a strong regular season in the Spring Split and performing consistently as one of the top sides, Vitality were a shock early departure in the playoffs getting knocked out in the first round.

Being new to the EU LCS after acquiring the place of Gambit Gaming, they are looking to make a big wave by qualifying for the World Championships straight off the bat.

So they’ve decided to mix things up by making two roster changes, bringing in MightyBear and Police, replacing Hjarnan and Shook.

Both players are Korean but have at least a basic understanding of English to help them integrate quickly.

Police is a well-established player with Apex Gaming in the NA LCS, however MightyBear is a relative unknown.

This makes Team Vitality a real unknown as they move into their first Summer Split. They’ll certainly need to shake off the knocks they received in the playoffs and try their best to recapture their regular season form.

Can Origen return to previous form?

Origen had a slightly disappointing League of Legends EU LCS spring split regular season finishing fourth overall. Having made the semi-finals in the World Championships, much was expected of them this year.

They made big improvements in the playoffs though managing to come in second to the dominant G2 ESports.

However the close season has seem the lose the world class pairing of Zven and Mithy which is a massive blow.

They’ve replaced well with FORG1VEN from H2K and Hybrid from G2 Esports. Both are very good players, though FORG1VEN’s situation is made complicated as he could be called up for Greek military service at any moment.

This worry, and the fact that despite the good replacements, losing Zven and Mithy does mean Origen are non-the-less clearly weakened, means that Origen are possibly in for a tough Summer Split.

Unicorns of Love are not on top of their game

The Unicorns of Love had a somewhat disappointing Spring Split, having finished 5th in the league and being knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.

But their previous record will have little bearing on this Summer Split as they will be using 3 new players in their roster.

Fox has left for the newly formed FC Schalke 04, Steelback has moved to Team ROCCAT and Loulex has been released and is currently unattached.

In their replacements Unicorns of Love have taken a massive risk bringing in some really untried players.

Move and Veritas are both Korean players, Move has some experience in the LCS but not for a few years. Veritas and other newbie, Exileh have never played in the LCS before.

It’s a risky strategy and the likelihood is that in the short term it won’t pay off. They seem to be taking a longer view, perhaps for next year’s Spring Split. I certainly wouldn’t be expecting them to do much this season.

Don’t discount Fnatic from having a good tournament

Having been raided heavily by the North America League of Legends Champions Series sides, Fnatic had a poor Spring Split.

However they have recovered one of their lost talents as YellOwStaR has returned after failing to settle with Team SoloMid.

There was a lack of synergy in the bot lane for Fnatic with two different supports being used. YellOwStaR will take back his support role and this will help Fnatic to no end.

Other than YellOwStaR coming back into the side, Fnatic have made no further changes, they’ll definitely show an improvement on their Spring Split regular season form and stand a good chance of making the World Championships.

Could German affiliated FC Schalke 04 be one to look out for?

FC Schalke 04 (yes they are officially affiliated with the German football side), are the new kids on the block having acquired the 2016 EU LCS spot from Elements.

Being the official eSports team for a multi-million pound football club means that there could be some heavy backing behind the FC Schalke 04 League of Legends team.

Though they’ve generally played it safe in their first roster, keeping 4 of Elements original roster from the Spring Split, adding just Fox from Unicorns of love.

Elements finished in 7th in the Spring Split regular season and so despite, the signing of Fox, who is a very good Mid player, they’re unlikely to make any massive inroads into this season.

Struggling Splyce aren’t looking like winners or are they?

The 2016 EU LCS Spring Split was Splyce’s first and they had a tough time coming in 8th, having to win the promotion playoffs to avoid relegation.

They’ve added to their lineup, picking up Mikyx after he was dumped by Fnatic due to the return of YellOwStaR. The Spring Split with Fnatic was Mikyx’s first experience in the LCS though and so he doesn’t add a lot of experience to the side.

The Summer Split will likely continue to be a season of struggle for the side, though the lack of changes will help improve team cohesion and they’ll now have some experience in the LCS which could help bring some improvements.

Team cohesion, a problem for ROCCAT

Team ROCCAT will have been very disappointed with their 9th place finish which put them in great danger of relegation out of the LCS.

They’ve responded by making several changes to their lineup. Steelback has joined from Unicorns of Love, while Raise and Parang, two Korean players have joined from Star Dust (a Korean team from their Challenger series).

These three are replacing Tabzz, Noxial and Edward. All three of these had a lot of experience in the EU LCS and challenger series and so this is a risk from ROCCAT. However it is perhaps telling that all three that left have dropped down into the challenger series and out of the LCS itself.

Overall ROCCAT are still looking pretty weak and will struggle with team cohesion following these heavy changes to their lineup.

Expect a rough LCS for Giants

Giants finished bottom of the 2016 EU LCS Spring Split and were very nearly relegated in the promotion playoff.

Being perennial strugglers of the European League of Legends Championship Series, this will come as no great surprise though.

They’ve made a couple of changes though, bringing in Maxlore and NighT, but neither have an experience in the LCS. They’ve also promoted Hustlin from their sister side GIANTS! Underdoges.
The players they’ve replaced are no great loss to the team and to much of an extent this in just freshening things up a bit.

Unless a couple of these unknown players turn out to be wunderkinde, I would have to guess it’ll be another rough EU LCS Summer Split for Giants.

Who to Bet On in the 2016 EU LCS Summer Split

It’s G2 Esports all the way. They’re an excellent side and were so strong in the Spring Split. If you’re betting on the outright winner of the regular season they really are the side to choose.

Fnatic will likely do much better than they did in the Spring Split regular season. The return of YellOwStaR is a big boost and will help sort out their greatest weakness.

I’d certainly see them make the world championships and could give G2 Esports a run for their money in the playoffs.

H2K will continue to do reasonably well after their good Spring Split but I wouldn’t expect them to improve on it.

So I would thoroughly recommend G2 Esports, despite their short odds, as they are just such a strong lineup and have shown they are clearly the dominant side in Europe.

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