This starts up tomorrow, get hyped!
As always the man with the best preview is me (and from what I've seen so far its the ONLY preview up so far). While this won't be as in depth as my NA LCS preview (which is like 6k words already and growing) it should give everyone who reads it a solid overview of how things stand in Europe.
Relevant Links:
Leaguepedia
RIOT EU LCS Hub
The Teams
Championship Tier
1.
fnatic
soAz - Top
Cyanide - Jungle
xPeke - Mid
Rekkles - AD Carry
Yellowstar - Support
The reigning, defending, two time champions of the European LCS are pretty much the odds on favourite to win the first split of the European season. Their only roster change was to remove the average Puszu with the wunderkid Rekkles. This hasn't been an easy transition for the team as they are used to playing with the solo laners being the main focus for the team, while Rekkles is used to having the team be built around him. Gambit's destruction of fnatic at IEM Cologne shows that they are not unbeatable, but with top tier talent at every position, fnatic are well situated to extend their reign atop the LCS.
Burning Questions:
Can the team adapt to playing Rekkles' style?
Will fnatic even care about playing well in the regular season?
Are any of fnatic's mainstays finally going to show their age? (4 of fnatics players were season 1 mainstays)
2.
Alliance
Wickd - Top
Shook - Jungle
Froggen - Mid
Tabzz - AD Carry
Nyph - Support
After tons of off season speculation about a super team forming in Europe, Alliance's roster falls short of being called a super team, but it is clearly very good. 2 of EG's strongest members form the backbone of the team, but this is a team that is clearly Froggen's. He wants to win and it was clear that his old EG teammates were not up to the task. Wickd is still Wickd, having his good days and his bad days. Shook is being hyped as the best jungler in Europe, which Diamondprox scoffs at, but at first glance he seems really good. Froggen is still Froggen. Tabbz and Nyph might not have much chemistry, but the talent between the two of them cannot be denied
Burning Questions:
Will this team have chemistry problems?
Will Alliance have the same problem as EG - namely they played for Froggen too much and neglected other lanes
Is Wickd on the chopping block?
How good is Shook?
3.
Gambit Gaming
Darrien - Top
Diamond - Jungle
Alex Ich - Mid
Genja - AD Carry
Edward - Support
Gambit Gaming return to their traditional lineup with the return of Edward, back from one split in North America with Curse. Gambit is still Gambit, equally capable of crushing some of the best teams in the world and then losing to the bottomfeeders of the league in the next game. Their victory at IEM Cologne will give Gambit fans reason for hope, but Gambit will remain inconsistent, simply due to their insane travel schedule (they fly from Russia to Germany each week). Gambit basically does not seem to care about regular season games, but in games that they need to win, they remain one of the best teams in the world.
Burning Questions:
- Will Gambit ever move to a teamhouse in Germany?
- Does Gambit care...at all about the regular season?
- Can Genja be the player that was amazing at IEM Cologne and BotA or will he revert to his typical play?
- Will Edward integrate back into the Gambit lineup with out problem?
Mid Table Tier
4.
Millenium (formerly Alternate)
Kev1n - Top
Aranae - Jungle
Kerp - Mid
Creaton - AD Carry
Jree - SUpport
The former Alternate roster moves to Millenium's sponsorship for the split. Millenium have made two very nice moves in the offseason, acquiring Kev1n from SK gaming and Kerp moving from the top lane to replace ForellenLord in mid. This new roster had a great start, absolutely pummeling CLG 2-0 in the Battle of the Atlantic. Kev1n is one of the most underrated players in Europe, playing a variety of champions and playing them well. Kerp had a great debut in midlane but will need to play well against the murders row of top level midlaners in Europe. Creaton and Jree will be the backbone of the team and is one of the premier botlanes in Europe.
Burning Questions:
Is Kerp really as good as he showed at BotA?
Will Aranae hold the team back?
Can Creaton carry the team like he did before he broke his hand?
Is this team a contender for a top 3 place or merely a mid table team?
5.
Copenhagen Wolves
Youngbuck - Top
Amazing - Jungle
cowTard - Mid
FORG1VEN - AD Carry
Unlimited - Support
This second incarnation of the Copenhagen Wolves bears absolutely no relation to the team that played in the spring split of season 3. Yet this is a team with potential that is really fun to watch. Youngbuck and cowTard are a pair of the streakiest, off-meta playing solo laners in league - they are equally capable of playing great and carrying or playing terribly and feeding. The strength of the team is FORG1VEN, one of the new breed of European AD carries that is less Yellowpete and more Wildturtle. Amazing is one of my favourite junglers to watch, an absolutely fearless playmaker (and with a name like Maurice Stückenschneider, how could he not be entertaining?
Burning Questions:
Will cowTard prove to be more than 'that guy who played mid before Bjergsen turned 17?'
How much can FORG1VEN carry?
Will Amazing create plays or create blunders?
How does this team stack up against the top level European teams, when they've been playing Challenger teams for so long?
6.
SK Gaming
fredy122 - Top
Svenskeren - Jungle
Jesiz - Mid
CandyPanda - AD Carry
Nyph - Support
A team that almost didn't make it to the EU LCS rounds out our midtable teams. SK Gaming were down 2-0 to Supa Hot Crew xD and looked hopelessly lost, but SK turned it around with the reverse all-kill to secure their spot in the LCS. The problem with the team isn't talent, its that they haven't quite figured out the chemistry yet. Are they are team that is built around CandyPanda? Or Jesiz? Part of the problem is that fredy122 is no more than average in the top lane, and Jesiz is one of the truly inconsistent players in LoL. He was terrible in their two losses against SHC, and then brilliant in their 3 wins. I really like Svenskeren, but he has the tendency to absolutely disappear for long periods of time or make lots of innefective ganks. The loss of nRated is also huge as it breaks up one of the legendary bot lanes in LoL - yet Nyph should be an adequate replacement
Burning Questions:
Is Jesiz for real? Or will people be asking for Ocelot to come back?
Will the real Svenskerren please show up?
Can Candypanda strike a strong partnership with another German support?
Dangerous Bottomfeeder Tier
7.
Roccat
Xaxus - Top
Jankos - Jungle
Overpow - Mid
Celaver - AD carry
Vander - Support
One all Polish squad leaves the LCS (MyM), and another one joins as Roccat will sponsor the team once known as KMT. KMT surprisingly upset NiP in the EU Promotion qualifier but remain mostly an unknown quality. Their star player is clearly Overpow with Celevar and Jankos mostly being the supporting staff. Questions surround Vander and Xaxux - are they really LCS quality players? Roccat will hope that their momentum from beating NiP will carry them to safety in the LCS.
Burning Questions:
Was the 3-0 vs. NiP a fluke?
Is Overpow as good as he seems?
Will Vander and Xaxus hold back the rest of Roccat?
8.
SUPA HOT CREW XD
Mimer - Top
Impaler - Jungle
Moopz - Mid
Mr Rallez - AD Carry
Migxa - Support
A team that I'm sure RIOT hopes will be sponsored any day now, Supa Hot crew had a crazy string of circumstances propel them into the LCS. They led SK 2-0 in their promotion series, but then lost 3-2. They then were able to get into the LCS via Lemondogs collapse (via failed paperwork) and defeating MyM to claim the 8th spot. The team's best players are Mimer and Mr Rallez who both could play for many teams in the European LCS, I'm just not sold on the rest of the roster, who appear to be challenger level players at best. Nonetheless, SHC do play an exciting brand of League and are generally fun to watch
Burning Questions:
Are SHC just happy to be in LCS or will they be a threat?
Can Mr Rallez, one of the most hyped AD Carries hold his own with a mediocre supporting crew?
Is there any way they don't finish bottom of the table?
Final Thoughts
The EU LCS divides nicely into 3 tiers. The top teams are fnatic, Gambit and Alliance in some order, while Millenium, Copenhagen Wolves and SK Gaming are all good teams that can take a game off of the aforementioned top teams. The bottom of the LCS seems set to be Roccat and SHC but either of the teams could surprise.
Pre-Season All-star team
SoAz - Top
Diamond - Jungle
Froggen - Mid
Rekkles - AD Carry
Nyph - Support
The European LCS kicks off with a Super week, January 14th, 2014 with fnatic up against Gambit Gaming in less than 24 hours!