With just one round-robin standing between them and the league's “group stage,” where only the top eight squads from each split progress, professional League of Legends teams can be eliminated from contention quicker than ever. Three teams are still trying to get into the rear of the progression table as we enter the last day of the Winter Split round robin.
One of the most illustrious League teams in Europe, #Fnatic, is on the verge of being eliminated from group stage contention, which would be the first time the group has missed the playoffs of a split. Fnatic has qualified for the playoffs in every LEC/EU LCS split since 2013, and if they fail tonight, they would end a streak that has lasted ten years.
This season, Fnatic has been slow to get going, as seen by their 2-6 record after the first eight games of the single round robin. The orange and black have one game left to play, and it's win or go home time. Here's how Fnatic may still go to the group stage of the Winter Split.
The Possible Comeback
The second and third games on the LEC schedule today will be the only ones that count for Fnatic because they still have control over their own destiny going into the last day of the first stage of the Winter Split. The second matchup on today's schedule, KOI vs. Astralis, is crucial for determining the playoff seeding because it will undoubtedly fill one of the two open group stage spots.
Coming into the final day of the first stage of the Winter Split, those two teams have records of 3-5, and whomever wins that match will, without a doubt, be guaranteed a berth in the group stage.
In order for Fnatic to stay in the race, they must win their third game of the day against SK Gaming. If Fnatic defeats SK, they will play the loser of KOI vs. Astralis in a tiebreaker. If they drop out, the opposite team from the KOI/Astralis combination will secure the final seed, and they will return home empty-handed.
No of whether club holds the head-to-head between the two, a tiebreaker game must be played for eighth place in the initial round robin of a split in accordance with LEC regulation 8.15.10. Week one saw Fnatic defeat KOI, but yesterday they fell to Astralis.
On Wednesday, 11 a.m. CT, Team Heretics and Team BDS will square off in another encounter that carries playoff implications, and will play a significant role in the remainder of their journey.
