Misfits and Team Vitality will look to end their Summer split on a high note in Saturday’s 3rd/4th place match in the Europe League of Legends Championship Series.
Misfits still have three of the players who made it all the way to the quarter-finals of last year’s Worlds where they narrowly lost 3-2 to arguably the most legendary organisation in the history of League of Legends, SK Telecom T1.
Out went PowerOfEvil and IgNar and in came the former Splyce pairing of Sencux and Mikyx to fill out the roster. Ever since then Misfits have been an incredibly dangerous team, notorious for their unique champion picks under the direction of coach Moose.
Alphari under-rated
Manning the Top lane is Alphari, who continues to be one of the most overlooked players in the league. A rock in terms of his continued excellence and ability to play multiple styles, Alphari does generally get placed on tanks in order to facilitate the likes of Maxlore and Hans Sama.
That duo has been the highlight of Misfits during their successes this year, with Hans Sama in particular being at the centre of their play style during their lone victory over Fnatic in the semi-finals.
Inconsistent Misfits
The question for Misfits is whether or not they can rebound after being thoroughly outplayed by the likes of Caps, the player considered the best in the region.
Misfits also have the flexibility to play Jesiz in the Support position should they feel the need, although that seems unlikely given he’s only had a week of playing time during Misfits’ second-half struggles.
Misfits have been up and down of late, appearing completely lost down the stretch of the regular season before sweeping away G2 Esports to open the quarter-finals.
Pick and ban the key
Team Vitality have a similar pick-and-ban approach to that of Misfits, with coach YamatoCannon well known on the scene for his unusual champion picks.
This approach was most evident in their semi-final against FC Schalke 04, in which for the opening two games they flexed Poppy down into the Support position in order to keep it away from Schalke’s Top-laner Vizicsacsi, who is known for that champion.
Kikis’ shift pays dividends
Vitality became a completely different team during the second half of the split after they made the shift to Kikis in the Jungle. Previously playing both Top and Jungle and even being out of the scene for a bit, Kikis completely changed how Vitality play with a heavy emphasis on the early game.
Known for his early-game aggression and willingness to enter the enemy Jungle, Kikis brought new energy and life into a team who appeared to be fading fast, as they had done previously in the Spring split. This change facilitated change among the other players, with Attila consistently looking to play early-game champions such as Draven in order to create pressure for Kikis to play off.
Mid lane crucial
The key player for Vitality is Mid-laner Jiizuke, who was the catalyst when Vitality initially found their success at the beginning of the Spring split.
Jiizuke is a player known primarily in recent times for his play on Galio, looking to assist the likes of Kikis and Attila in a similar style to that of Sencux for Misfits.
However, Jiizuke is more vital to his team’s overall success, as his play tends to directly correlate with Vitality’s up-and-down performances. If Jiizuke can find consistency during this 3rd/4th place match, Vitality will have put themselves in a solid position to take the series.
Misfits favourites
The over-riding thought is that both teams bring interesting pick and bans to the series and that should add the necessary spice to a contest between two teams that are no doubt disappointed not to have made the final.
Expect the unexpected as Vitality and Misfits do battle for third place.
In terms of odds, what the layers expect is a Misfits win – Dafabet making them 1.666 favourites. Team Vitality are offered at 2.240.
