LEC Summer Playoffs kick off with Rogue upsetting Splyce

William Davis Published 24/08/2019

The 2019 LEC Summer playoffs are off to a surprising start.

Despite entering with a young squad, Rogue opened the playoffs with an upset win over Splyce.

Out of the five players on the team, only Oskar “Vander” Bogdan has LEC playoffs experience. The rest of the squad is angling for a championship for the first time, but showed no nerves under a brighter spotlight.

Rogue is one of the up-and-coming teams in the LEC and look ready for big things after a 3-0 victory.

Rogue plays Yuumi and Garen

Rogue started the series in explosive fashion.

Throughout the regular season, Rogue had a reputation as a slow team that played a reactive style. In the first game of the playoffs, Rogue undermined that perception with a creative, proactive game. This started in the picks and bans.

Bottom laner Paweł “Woolite” Pruski locked in Garen and support Vander took Yuumi. This duo was played by Fnatic near the end of the regular season and proved to be a viable option for the bottom lane.

Jungler Kacper “Inspired” Słoma helped out the pair early on. Ganks turned into kills, putting Woolite into a comfortable position as they transitioned into the mid game.

On Splyce’s side jungler Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir applied pressure in the top lane, but that effort went to waste when Rogue rotated in as five. They caught the Splyce players and destroyed the turret.

From that point on, Splyce kept making mistakes that Rogue punished.

Support Tore “Norskeren” Hoel Eilertsen failed to punish the Yuumi pick with his Volibear. Despite recent nerfs, the cat still looks incredibly strong when paired up with Garen.

Rogue had enough control of the map to go for an early baron. Only two Splyce members were alive at that moment and Finn “Finn” Wiestål took it upon himself to try and foil those plans. He fought one versus two while the team killed the purple worm.

Splyce made one final, desperate move by hiding in a bush to try and catch Rogue by surprise. That plan backfired as the burst damage from Rogue popped the enemies like balloons. Rogue marched into the enemy base unopposed.

Larssen runs wild for Rogue in game two

Mid laner Emil “Larssen” Larsson is not known as a flashy player, as he often focuses on farming and supporting his teammates. He showed that he has a bit of razzle dazzle in him in game two though, as he started things with a solo kill on Marek “Humanoid” Brázda.

He was a force to be reckoned with and served as the main carry for Rogue.

Just like in game one, Rogue leveraged its early advantage into a rotation to the top lane and took down the turrets one by one. Splyce had some moments and scored some picks, but nothing significant enough to take the lead.

Rogue played a one-three-one style, with the solo laners pushing the side lanes. This created enough pressure to break Splyce’s defense. The baron buff was the next step.

Splyce had strong enough wave clear to keep their head above water but couldn’t take on Rogue in a direct fight. Rogue pulled the trigger one last time for the ace and the win.

Rogue makes it quick in game three

Rogue kept the momentum going in game three.

The rookie team took over the map early in the game, creating pressure and disrupting any strategy Splyce had. Larssen pushed in the side lanes on his own while the other four grouped up.

It became obvious that Splyce didn’t have the means to respond to Rogue’s aggression. Whenever Rogue forced a team fight, Splyce limped away with multiple losses.

Rogue continued to play fast-paced League of Legends, taking a decisive ace around the mid lane and ending the game in 26 minutes. This closed out the series in 3-0 fashion.

Rogue is moving on to the next round, where they will face the winner of the upcoming series between FC Schalke 04 and Team Vitality. The 2019 LEC Summer Playoffs schedule can be found here.

William Davis

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