League of Legends
Play In has concluded, and with quite shocking results for some people. Spain choked again, and France still reigned supreme against Portugal of all regions, and a Minor ERL team went through! Many exciting stories have helped configure an EU Masters 2022 Summer Main Stage that I think will shock many people. Anorthosis Famagusta, after having their Main Stage seeding removed by Riot, got to work to make a great Play In run, returning to Main Stage to Greek fans' delight. On the other hand, there were 3 Major ERL teams to choke, as JDXL, Bisons, and Illuminar Gaming were not even able to pass Groups.
Anyways, while this Play In was exciting, more fun will come to Main Stage, with bigger teams, bigger expectations, more France vs. Spain banter, and more predictions on my side!
GROUPS
Group A
· UOL Sexy Edition
· Zero Tenacity
· Giants
· Vitality.Bee
Group A comprises teams from Germany, Poland, Spain, and France. Group A represents the Death Group in the EU Masters, as only one has a minor ERL. I don’t know who could pass on this group, and I hope all teams are tied with a 3-3, or at least with three teams going 4-2. UOL
- The Winners: UOL Sexy Edition and Giants. Alongside Heretics, UOL has the most significant shot of stealing EUM from France, so I think they will finish the Group Stage in the first place, with Giants as a close second and Vitality.Bee out.
Group B
· LDLC OL
· X7 Esports
· AGO Rogue
· Anorthosis Famagusta
Group B comprises teams from France, the Nordics, Poland, and Greece. Besides being one of the “easy groups” due to having a minor ERL with Anorthosis Famagusta coming as the Play-In seed, there's more to it than it seems in the first place. The LFL champion, the 2 best performing teams on NLC and UL besides their results, and the best Minor ERL team we’ve seen this year, I'm sure this group could be very spicy…
- The Winners: LDLC OL and AGO Rogue. I think AGO Rogue wants to win very badly, and X7 could find problems adapting to the group dynamic, so I’m rooting for them to qualify alongside LDLC in the first place.
Group C
· Heretics
· BDS Academy
· Valiance Progame
· SK Gaming Prime
Group C comprises teams from Spain, BDS Academy, the Balkans, and Germany. This could be an easy group to predict, as it’s not like Valiance or SK Prime are bad teams, but their rivals are too much to handle. On the other hand, the seeding order could be very important, as it can change a lot in the upcoming Knockout Stage.
- There's no doubt about the Winners: Heretics and BDS Academy. But I think Heretics will come out first after a Tiebreaker with BDS, with bigger implications than it may look in the first place…
Group D
· DUSTY
· Schalke 04 Esports
· Macko Esports
· GameWard
Being composed of teams from Iceland, Germany, Italy, and France, this is probably the Group with a lower level, including the #4 French seed, a Minor ERL team, and 2 teams that stepped up in playoffs. Still, their performance in a Group Stage has not been proven yet. Still, there are a lot of unknown players to watch and scout for 2023, so you know what to do if you are looking for new faces…
- The Winners: GameWard and Schalke 04. LFL will always be a contender, and GameWard will end 1st in Group D, probably with a 6-0. The second seed will be more disputed, with Schalke coming out on top, as I think Prime League is kind of a dark horse in the ERL scene looking at how Play In Stage developed.
PREDICTIONS
As the community received my last predictions well, I thought making another one could be a fun and a non-polemic way to add some spice and take. I must say my opinions are biased and will very probably be wrong, but I can’t say I have doubts about it:
Predictions for the EU Masters - Quarterfinals. AGO Rogue, BDS, Gameward, Schalke 04. Why do I think 2 French teams will fall on Quarters? Well, not because they are the worst teams (they are not), but I believe they will be facing Giants and LDLC, with Giants making an upset over Gameward because there has to be at least one surprise, and LDLC winning over BDS again.
- Semifinals: Giants and UOL SE. Again, because of seeding, some surprises will come, with a Spanish derby in one Semifinals, with Heretics winning comfortably and UOL facing the monster, LDLC.
- Tournament Winner: LDLC OL. They are just better than everyone else in this tournament. They will stomp whoever comes in Finals and position themselves as the best ERL team in 2022. And yes, they are my favorite French team, and I will still be rooting for French teams to fail.
To know more about all the teams coming to EU Masters, check this guide here at BLIX.GG.