EU LCS Mid-season madness

With the midpoint of the summer split having just passed, we have to take a look at the current standings and see which teams have surprised us, both impressively and disappointingly. First, let's take a look at the standings.
We have:
1. FNC at 10 - 0
2. OG at 8 - 2
3. H2K at 7 - 3
4. GIA at 5 - 5
5. EL at 4 - 6
6. ROC at 4 - 6
7. UOL at 4 - 6
8. GMB at 3 - 7
9. SK at 3 - 7
10. CW at 2 - 8

 Let's start at the top of the table, where Fnatic have successfully beaten their own win streak record set in the summer of 2013, a record which three other teams have fallen short of. Those teams, being Gambit in spring 2014, Alliance in summer 2014 and SK in spring 2015, were at their very peak when they got to the edge of beating that record, and the same could be said for Fnatic right now, although it seems that they are having a very easy time beating everyone else in Europe. So what does this say about the roster following the return of Rekkles? Having had what can only be described as a slump during his time on Elements, most people had low expectations upon his return to Fnatic. I think it is safe to say he has surpassed those expectation several times over, with his return to the high ranks on the top performers leaderboards. It is also safe to assume this roster is more powerful than last year's with the victory over Origen further proving that point. Interestingly, Fnatic have almost secured themselves a guaranteed playoff position.

Taking a look at second and third, where Origen and H2K have been in a fierce battle for the second place spot, the skill difference is almost invisible. Both of these teams are incredible and despite Origen being the newcomers this split, they have shot straight to the top. H2K look to be at the same level they ended last split on, and it will be very difficult to tell who will take second place. However, Origen have beaten H2K already and that may be the deciding factor going into the second half of the split.

Sitting at fourth is Giants. Narrowly avoiding autorelegation in the spring split, nobody expected anything much from Giants. But with the addition of their new support, G0DFRED, the team seems to have turned around. While they do sit two wins below H2K and only one above the mad scramble for fifth place, they seem to be one of the better teams this split. I think there's a trend here. H2K went ham once Kasing joined, MYM nearly avoided autorelegation when Noxiak joined, Element's playstyle and mentality improved when Krepo arrived and now last split's 9th place team is fourth after G0DFRED joined. Jokes aside, Giants look much more like a team and less like five high elo players. Pepiinero no longer has to constantly 1v9 and they no longer play like a worse version of last split's Elements. While it's true that the members may not have the best mechanical skill, their decision making is solid and that has net them the 50% winrate they currently hold.

This then brings us to the fifth place spot, where Elements, Roccat and Unicorns of Love are desperately trying to claim that 5th place spot for themselves. However, there seems to be a gap in skill. Elements and Roccat look to be improving while the Unicorns seem to be on a decline. This may be because of the return of Nyph to Elements' roster and the replacement of Woolite by MrRalleZ. These swaps have breathed new life into these teams, with Elements having their first 2-0 week for a long while. It has still yet to be seen whether or not Nyph can uphold both a coaching and a starting position, and it is heavily suspected that PuSH is paid to stand there in a suit and pretend to be helping with picks and bans.

Tied for eigth we have Gambit and SK, who ironically have caused problems for each other. SK have dropped after losing FORG1VENGRE to Gambit, with Gambit being there themselves due to not being able to harness FORG1VEN's raw mechanical skill. The two teams just do not seem to be able to win games through strategy or outplays, which is unfortunate since there are some very good players on both of those teams. And finally, in 10th place we have the Copenhagen Wolves. Not an unusual sight, with last split being the only time they avoided relegation. The ban of Dentist seems to have had more of an effect on the team than anticipated, and they can only hope to avoid autorelegation moving into the second half of the split.

 As always, I am Metis Lee, feedback is appreciated and if you enjoyed this post, a follow on twitter @Metis_Lee would be nice and plus, you get updates from me, which is always good. Well, most of the time... Ok, only sometimes, but it's still a good idea.