Melany M. August 31, 2018
FC Schalke 04 Esports qualified to the EU LCS final for the first time after defeating Team Vitality in an intense series.
Schalke and Vitality met in the semifinals with Vitality as the favorite. The team in black and yellow finished the summer split on a strong note thanks to new jungler Mateusz "Kikis" Szkudlarek. Schalke was more inconsistent throughout the season, enduring some difficult losses by the end.
In game one, Vitality dominated the early stages of the match thanks to aggression from Kikis and Lucas "Cabochard” Simon-Meslet in the top lane. This aggression continued and Schalke jungler Maurice "Amazing" Stückenschneider wasn’t quick enough to respond.
Schalke got back into the game after securing baron and an ocean drake. The team in blue opened the map up and Vitality’s aggression wasn’t enough to stop them. At 28 minutes, Schalke secured an ace, a second baron, and Vitality’s nexus.
For game two, Vitality took a less aggressive approach, allowing Erlend "Nukeduck" Våtevik Holm to secure a double kill in the mid lane and to snowball from there.
Nukeduck shined with assertive flanks and more kills that Vitality couldn’t respond to. An eight thousand gold lead at 23 minutes turned into a baron and a win for Schalke.
At match point, Schalke stumbled for the first time. Kikis was able to outmaneuver Amazing in the jungle, and while Nukeduck again showed early aggression, Vitality was quick to respond this time around.
Amadeu "Attila" Carvalho had a strong presence across the map, and with a baron buff and the team behind him, Vitality took two inhibitors. After a quadra kill, Vitality took its first game of the day.
Vitality continued its aggressive play in game four, but Schalke adapted, disengaging every time the enemy team tried to start a fight.
In the mid game, Vitality focused its attention on Amazing, as Schalke’s jungler was caught out of position multiple times. The multiple kills on Amazing gave Vitality the opportunity to claim some objectives, but it wasn’t enough to stop the rest of the Schalke’s squad.
Vitality grew desperate trying to start fights that began to turn in Schalke’s favor. Schalke secured multiple barons, leading to the victory and a pass to its first EU LCS final in the team’s brief history.