EU LCS Summer week 6 preview

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

The visit to Wembley Arena in London was a refreshing experience for all the LCS pros. Meeting with the UK fans and hearing the roar of the crowd every time a play was made, a ward was cleared or an objective was taken is something which the players definitely will not forget. However, the games at the arena did not satisfy everyone. Fnatic fell to a very convincing Millenium, Alliance continued their dominance with two victories and ROCCAT got their break and moved away from the bottom two spots. The table after the departure from British land looks as follows:

Alliance and SK continue to hold their positions on top, however, an unlikely competitor emerged from the depths and usurped the last spot in the top 3 - Millenium. After a convincing victory against Fnatic, the team surpassed the Supa Hot Crew and left Fnatic in fifth place with a 50% record. Unfortunately, following a controversial statement, Gambit Gaming were left using four substitute members. Despite a valiant effort from the four subs, it proved insufficient to overcome their LCS counter-parts. This left Gambit in a very tough spot, second to last, with a 4-8 record.

Teams to watch:

Millenium:

No trace was left of the old Millenium coming into the Summer Split. Creaton and co. have been landing surprising victories left and right and have climbed all the way to the third spot in the leader board. Surpassing an unconvincing Supa Hot Crew, Millenium have the chance to surpass SK Gaming should Week 5 go their way. With excellent play across the board the question remains whether the line-up will keep their form and be consistent throughout the next weeks. Kerp has been praised by peers and fans alike for his incredible mid lane performance, but other members need to step-up and lend the German a hand. This week, they are facing the ultimate challenge - SK Gaming and Alliance. Millenium are masters of their own fate.

Supa Hot Crew:

The Crew had a 1-1 showing in London with their newest addition Yerrow and the addition of the talented Brit does not seem to disturb the chemistry within. This week they face the returning Gambit and Fnatic. Shaping up to be a rather tough week, the Crew need to snap out of this inconsistent streak and continue their early-season performance. A blow to Fnatic would be exactly what the team needs to get back in the game and solidify their upper table status. Not to mention that Fnatic is also direct competition for the top 4 place. One thing is for certain, the Crew have their work cut out for them.

Copenhagen Wolves:

The pack is in a very peculiar spot at the moment - they bring tons of interesting games and always go "the distance" with their opponents, but always end up losing the game in the end. During their visit in London, the Wolves were greeted by a massive howl by the British audience and even though the game versus Alliance could have gone either way, the first place team did not let their opponent walk out with the victory. Half-way through the season we see that no one is irreplaceable and both Airwaks and Woolite have fit their roles perfectly, albeit to not so much success. Things looks grim for the Wolves and with matches against Fnatic and Gambit, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, the pack will land surprising defeats to their opponents in order to regain the confidence lost in the past couple of weeks.

Players to watch

Erik 'Tabzz' van Helvert

The Dutchman was the hard-carry which denied Copenhagen Wolves a much needed victory in London. Regarded as one of the most skilled and knowledgeable marksmen in Europe by his peers, Erik is on a hot streak since the start of the Summer Split. Voicing his opinions on 4.10 we can expect that the marksman will come fully prepared for the rather interesting changes to the role which Riot introduced. Known for his mastery of auto-attack based champions, the Erik recently tweeted his success with Vayne in solo queue. Hopefully, week 6 will see the return of the Queen of AD Carries in the Dutchman's hands.

Raymond 'Yerrow' Tsang

The newcomer will have to immediately fill the shoes of the experienced Bram 'wewillfailer' De Winter who brought a lot to the line-up. Fortunately for the Crew, Raymond has had more than enough competitive experience and also has been in a team with Impaler before so he can immediately hop in and show his a-game the same way he did in London. Tough matches await SHC this week and if Yerrow wants to stand out, he has to do all in his power to make sure that MrRallez gets rolling on the marksman of his choice. The stage is set, the spotlights are on Yerrow and it is his turn to shine.

Lauri 'Cyanide' Happonen

Fnatic are having a very rough Summer campaign so far. The 6-6 record shows that the champions are not adapting well and someone needs to step up and drag the team out of the tough series they've entered. Just as in the quarterfinals of the Season 3 World finals, now is the time for Lauri to shine and carry Fnatic thorough another dark period. The jungler has proven time and time again the the meta champions fit him and even the rather obscure Jarvan is a regular pick for the Finn. Dubbed as the most selfless jungler out there, Lauri needs to get his star trio of xPeke, sOAZ and Rekkles going as Fnatic desperately needs to avoid more losses.

Top game to watch:

Millenium vs SK Gaming

After Millenium's successful week 5, they are now breathing in the necks of SK Gaming. The ever-present threat of Kerp has elevated the Millenium performance and taken them to a third spot in the leader board. However, in order to remain consistent, a team-effort is required. In that aspect, they are facing the "European C9" - SK Gaming, a team famous for their rotational and teamplay excellence. The blue and white squad, on the other hand, suffered a disappointing loss against Alliance, but quickly redeemed themselves with a convincing, but controversial win against Supa Hot Crew.

With everything on the line, both squads will be looking for a certain victory in this match. SK need to keep their number one dream alive despite the two win deficit compared to Alliance. On the other hand, Millenium have proved to be a momentum-based team and a victory against a "big fish" is vital at this stage. A key match-up here is Kerp vs Jesiz as the mid lane duel will most likely decide the fate of the game. A secondary spotlight can be given to the two silent helpers - Kottenx and Svenskeren as the pair will be doing all in their power to snowball the bot and mid lanes.

The European LCS continues on Thrusday, 25th June at 18:00 CEST at lolesports.com. To find out the latest info, check the scores and see what your favorite players had to say, go straight to our Coverage Center.