LEC 2023 Winter: Group Stage Week 1, Day 2

The 2023 Winter split resumed for Group B’s bo3 matches for the LEC Group Stage.

The League of Legends EMEA championship continued its course in another thrilling set of matches for the Group Stage.

The 2023 Winter Group Stage Draw

Group A

• Vitality
• SK Gaming
• Heretics
• KOI

Group B

• MAD Lions
• G2 Esports
• Team BDS
• Astralis

How are the rest of the Groups decided? Following the new 2023 format for the EMEA League, the winners for Game 1 & 2 will face off in an upper bracket match. The same will be done by the victors of the 3rd and fourth match. Afterwards, all the losing teams compete in lower-bracket bo3’s.

Those that win in the loser’s bracket can climb their way back up for a spot in the Play-offs by defeating the losers from the upper bracket match-ups. With only 8 top teams remaining, expect top-tier plays as the strongest teams in the LEC duke it out on Summoner’s Rift.

MAD Lions vs Astralis

Game 1

Game 1 saw the underdogs of the LEC top 8 face MAD for a full bo3 to earn a spot at the winner’s bracket. Elyoya’s Maokai pick showed initiative to capitalize on early-game roaming capabilities while Astralis leaned towards their comp’s team fight advantages. Nisqy’s Azir made sure that the score stayed close towards the midgame when MAD Lions secured 3 dragons. While Kobbe’s Ezreal consistently closed the score gap up to that point, Astralis lost a crucial late-game skirmish that snowballed into a win for the MAD Lions.

• Teams: MAD 1 – 0 AST
• Time: 27:30
• Kills: 19 – 8
• Turrets: 9 – 3
• Gold: 56.4k – 43.7k
• Dragons: 3 – 1
• Barons: 1 – 0

Game 2

Superior teamfight potential from Team Astralis came from a Jax and 113’s Jarvin IV. This along with Dejor’s Sylas completely dominated the entire match. After midgame, AST earned soul point without conceding a single objective kill to MAD and finally put the last nail in the coffin for Game 2.

• Teams: AST 1 – 1 MAD
• Time: 26:27
• Kills: 3 – 17
• Turrets: 9 – 3
• Gold: 55.7k – 48.8k
• Dragons: 4 – 0
• Barons: 1 – 0

Game 3

Kobbe’s Cassiopeia bot lane pocket pick made both teams wary of each other in the first 10 minutes. Things got more dicey after the 15-minute mark as both teams seriously started trading. After losing control over the Jungle, Elyoya was chased out and got forced to concede Baron after Finn’s Jax led a victorious skirmish in mid lane. With almost a 5-man kill lead, the game felt decided. But after a well-coordinated clash in bot lane river, Chasy’s K’Sante set pulled a team wipe that completely turned the entire game around.

• Teams: MAD 2 – 1 AST
• Time: 29:03
• Kills: 20 – 12
• Turrets: 6 – 2
• Gold: 53.1k – 46.0k
• Dragons: 3 – 0
• Barons: 0 – 1

Team BDS vs G2 Esports

Game 1

Explosive clashes in midlane tore through BDS defenses as Crownie’s Zeri found easy finishes 14 minutes in. Another teamfight at BDS’s top tier one turret wiped out 4/5 of the Switzerland-based contender. With the Baron ripe for the taking, G2 claimed the jungle objective before sieging every lane for a complete tower wipe. With a massive lead, one proud overstep was all it took to turn the game around. But after playing all of their cards right, G2 took Game 1 in dominant fashion.

• Teams: G2 1 – 0 BDS
• Time: 31:00
• Kills: 12 – 4
• Turrets: 10 – 3
• Gold: 64.9K – 51.9K
• Dragons: 2 – 2
• Barons: 1 – 1

Game 2

A complete killfest from start to finish. A very calm early game gave way to a massive impact for  as Nuc’s Azir superiority couldn’t give G2 an opening to set up a good enough comeback. Any engagements all ended in Team BDS’ favor this time around. An unorthodox Olaf-Elise comp resulted in a very one-sided match for BDS.

• Teams: G2 1 – 1 BDS
• Time: 38:09
• Kills: 7 – 23
• Turrets: 4 – 10
• Gold: 61.3k – 72.2K
• Dragons: 1 – 4
• Barons: 0 – 1

Game 3

G2’s adaptability and aggressive macroplay allowed them respond to Team BDS’ Game 2 win in kind. Yike’s Lillia was able to contain Adam and Sheo when they tried pushing top lane early game. Without taking their foot off the gas, they capitalized on BDS’ scattered state to run the opposition down. When the game slowed down, objective kills were prioritized by BDS to close a brutal 10k gold deficit. When all was said and done, G2 just had too much damage for BDS to put up a fight.

• Teams: G2 2 – 1 BDS
• Time: 22:55
• Kills: 27 – 5
• Turrets: 10 – 1
• Gold: 52.0k – 34.1K
• Dragons: 1 – 2
• Barons: 1 – 0