LEC: G2-Roleswap, Misfits course change and fresh wind for Vitality

LEC title defender G2 Esports wants to become even more successful with the next role swap. Misfits Gaming has changed course, and Team Vitality is going through a change after a recent weak performance.

On 24th January the starting signal for the LEC. Before it gets going, we will take a closer look at all ten teams in the league.

G2 Esports: Even more dominant with next role swap?

After G2 Esports secured both LEC split titles last year, the team is the clear favourite to win the Spring Split 2020.

G2 is, therefore, making only one change to its core lineup: Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther and Luka ‘Perkz’ Perković swap positions.

Since Perkz has had a strong ADC year and Caps has almost always convinced in the mid-lane, G2 expects even more flexibility from the change. It will be checked whether the two star-carries of the team will work even better in another constellation.

Since Europe’s six-time champion since 2019 is known for its focus on creative strategies and flexible picks anyway, this measure does not seem far-fetched. After Perkz’ quick and successful adjustment, Caps is also capable of handling the change of position.

G2 Esports will again set itself the goal of winning everything. This includes not only Europe but also the major international competitions. The MSI Champion and World Finalist were one of the best teams in the world last year and are the giant to beat in the LEC.

In the second half of 2019, Perkz and Co. have lost some of their dominance. Can they turn it up again this year?

Misfits Gaming: Are no-names better than stars?

Misfits Gaming seemed to want to get serious in 2019. The lineup consisted of big names like Beom-hyeon ‘GorillA’ Kang and Paul ‘sOAZ’ Boyer and the fans had a lot of faith in the team. But the veterans were disappointing all along the line and the year turned out to be a disaster for the otherwise ambitious organisation.

So this year the Misfits are going for the rookies. Youngster Iván ‘Razork’ Martín Díaz and supporter Petr ‘Denyk’ Haramach regularly played well for the Vodafone Giants. Mid-laner Ronaldo ‘Ronaldooo’ Betea gained experience as a supporter with Fnatic Rising. Import-AD-Carry Yeong-hoon ‘Bvoy’ Ju has played in China and Latin America and is the only non-rookie the team has signed.

Ex-Academy player Danny ‘Dan Dan’ Le Comte will continue to play for the Bunnies on the top lane. The lineup focuses on potential and talent instead of big names. It’s a 180-degree turn for the Misfits.

The advantage of such a lineup: The pressure to succeed is comparatively low because, on paper, it does not compete with the top teams.

So does the US organisation accept that they will only play for one of the back playoff places to strengthen their position in the long term? It seems so. From a financial point of view, especially after the last split, that’s probably a sensible approach.

Team Vitality: Does a fresh breeze bring back success?

Team Vitality started the 2019 season with great ambitions but was unable to match last year’s success. Therefore the organisation decided to make a change in the run-up to the Spring Split 2020 and put Lucas ‘Cabochard’ Simon-Meslet and Jakub ‘Jactroll’ Skurzyński three new faces at their side.

Duncan ‘Skeanz’ Marquet, Aljoša ‘Milica’ Kovandžić and Markos ‘Comp’ Stamkopoulos are talents from the regional European leagues and now get the chance to prove their class in the LEC.

The talent development strategy has worked well for Vitality before: At the beginning of 2018, the organisation signed four players from the rising star Giants Gaming – three of them rookies – and finished fourth in the Spring Split. Later on, it also went on to the World Championship. So the rookie method can undoubtedly lead to success and Vitality has experience with the approach. Top lancer Lucas ‘Cabochard’ Simon-Meslet will lead the young newcomers as captain.

However, the experienced coach Jakob ‘YamatoCannon’ Mebdi is missing this season. Just how important the Swede, known for his inspirational speeches, has been for the development of the young players remains to be seen. Hadrien ‘Duke’ Forestier is following in his footsteps.

The 28-year-old has had a good year as a Splyce coach and with a little luck could even turn out to be an upgrade. Playoff participation is always the minimum goal for Vitality. Changes always mean risk, but here the fresh wind could be just the right thing.