Eight teams are left in the LEC Spring Split group stage.
After three weeks and a nail-biting tiebreaker, we have the final eight teams moving on to the LEC Spring Split group stage. Team BDS was the unlikeliest of all, finishing the regular season in first place with seven wins and only two losses. Close behind was a three-way tie between Astralis, G2 Esports, and Team Vitality, all of whom shared a 6-3 scoreline.
After that was another three-way tie, this time between SK Gaming, Fnatic, and KOI. MAD Lions was the last team to clinch a group stage spot after they managed to edge out Team Heretics in the tiebreaker. They are joined by Excel Esports as the two teams to be eliminated during the regular season. This is how the group stage will look like for the next portion of the LEC Spring Split:
Group A
Astralis
Fnatic
MAD Lions
Team VitalityGroup B
G2 Esports
KOI
SK Gaming
Team BDSThe LEC Spring Split group stage will split the final eight teams into two groups of four with all games being played in a best-of-three format. Only the top two teams from each group will move on to the playoffs. The teams that finished at the top of the group will face one another in the upper bracket final of the playoffs, which will be a best-of-five. As for the teams that finished in second, they will meet one another in the lower bracket semifinals.
To determine who will move on, the LEC's new format is as such: The winners of both series will move on to face one another in the winners' series to determine who will finish first in their respective group. As for the two losers in the first series, they will still have another shot at redemption during the elimination series. The winner of that match-up will move on to face the loser of the winners' series to see who will claim the second-place spot.
Group A will kickstart the group stage games with MAD Lions going up against Team Vitality, followed by Astralis versus Fnatic. Group B matches will take place the next day with Team BDS and SK Gaming, followed by G2 Esports and KOI. Group A will also see a potential LEC Winter Split group stage rematch between MAD and Astralis while the same can also be said in Group B with KOI and SK.
As for Team BDS, they have been the most in-form squad so far in the LEC with their two losses coming against G2 Esports and SK Gaming. And even after said losses, BDS has still managed to top the regular season leaderboard. The likes of Adam "Adam" Maanane and Juš "Crownie" Marušič have been stellar for BDS, winning four and three regular season MVP awards respectively.
The same can also be said for Astralis, a team that not many would have pegged to finish second in the spring regular season. Especially given the team's previous history in the LEC of always being a bottom-four org, Astralis' ascension is nothing short of inspirational. Both BDS and Astralis didn't manage to make it past the group stage during the Winter Split with both teams being eliminated while in the same group. Hopefully, we'll get to see both teams in the playoffs this time around.
But with every team's rise to prominence, there will always be a few that gets left to the sidelines. Unfortunately, this time it's Team Heretics and once again, Excel Esports. Having finished dead last in the winter split, XL managed to get a slightly better track record in the spring but it still wasn't enough to see the team through. As for Heretics, this will be a big blow considering the amount of talent that is on the squad.
The LEC Spring Split group stage will take place slightly over a week from today April 9 and 10 for the first two series of both groups. The winners' series will take place on April 11 while the elimination series will happen on April 16 followed by the decider series the following day.
