In the European League of Legends Liga LEC, many of the teams are starting the spring season with big changes from Friday. In addition to LEC newcomers, many European talents are also returning from North America. For the LEC, this means an exciting start.
One team is always at the top of the LEC rankings: Team Vitality. At "Upcomer", Vitality even made it to eighth place in the global ranking. "The expectations are incredibly high because Vitality has such individually strong players in the team," says Canadian commentator Anika "Ryxcales" Wolter in an interview with the German Press Agency.
Pressure on vitality in the LEC
According to LEC commentator Daniel "Drakos" Drakos, Vitality should make it to the finals. "I think it's incredible that this year we are already assuming that we have our finalist," he says. "It's a crazy situation, but if anyone can handle the pressure, it's Vitality.»
There are similarly high expectations for Fnatic. "I think they will definitely play at the top, but this Fnatic will have a different identity than before, " says Ryxcales, looking at the new team. Among other things, the organization has brought LEC champion Marek "Humanoid" Brázda from MAD Lions into the team.
After a disappointing season with LoL star Martin "Rekkles" Larsson, G2 Esports has also made several changes to its players and coaching staff. According to Ryxcales, the team now needs a familiarization phase. "They're really starting almost from scratch," Drakos says. "G2 has a chance to prove itself again. But the team is definitely not the old G2.»
German LEC newcomer highly popular
The caster is most looking forward to the German rookie Steven "Reeker" Chen, who starts at last year's champion MAD Lions. "He was in high demand and I have confidence in MAD's coaching staff to build a rookie," Drakos says.
For Ryxcales, he is exactly what MAD needs now in terms of playing style. Drakos, however, remains cautious: "It's really hard to give MAD a leap of faith at the moment." Whether MAD can defend the title is just too uncertain at the moment.
According to Drakos, the new season will be a complete bloodbath and a chaotic disaster. "That's the beauty of a New Year of the LEC," said the caster. "Any team can beat any other team.»
