League of Legends LEC 2022 Summer Split Playoffs Week 1: G2 Esports secure Malmo ticket, Fnatic complete reverse sweep

Caps and Razork performed exceptionally well for their teams during week 1 of the playoffs (Image via Riot Games)
Caps and Razork performed exceptionally well for their teams during Week 1 of the Summer Split Playoffs (Image via Riot Games)

The opening week of the playoffs at League of Legends LEC 2022 Summer Split has officially come to an end. It was an eventful week with three games that ultimately met fan expectations.

However, amongst everything that has happened, the first and most important news is that G2 Esports booked a ticket to Malmo after demolishing Misfits Gaming 3-1 on Saturday. Apart from that, Fnatic made a massive comeback after being 2-0 down against EXCEL in the Lower Bracket.

G2 Esports' result was something that everyone expected. However, with how Fnatic performed, it was a real surprise that the team managed to defeat EXCEL as the Lower Bracket match ultimately came down to the team that decided to make one less mistake.


Caps and Razork shine for G2 Esports and Fnatic during League of Legends LEC 2022 Summer Split Playoffs Week 1

The best-of-five match between G2 Esports and Misfits at League of Legends LEC 2022 Summer Split was quite enjoyable, despite many touting it as one-sided. G2 Esports had to fight for the win throughout the series, with Caps playing the most vital role.

The series' highlights were Caps' Ahri in Game 1 and Azir in Game 3, where he solo-carried three different team fights and helped G2 Esports grab victory. Fans should give credit to both Brokenblade and Flakked, who played marvelously.

In the Lower Bracket, the best-of-five match between Fnatic and EXCEL, Razork is the one who deserves a lot of credit. He was handed the Poppy in four out of five games, and his plays were crucial to Fnatic's comeback.

Poppy is an anti-engage champion, and Razork made sure to disrupt the complete engagement composition from EXCEL continuously. He ensured that the enemy team split up or was always at a man's disadvantage in the fights.

Apart from that, Razork was also very smart at roaming and ganking his lanes, which helped Upset to scale up and carry in the end. Razork's Baron steal in Game 4 was also vital towards turning that game around as EXCEL was in quite a dominating position at that point.

In any case, G2 Esports has qualified for Malmo, but Fnatic's arduous journey in League of Legends LEC 2022 Summer Split Playoffs has only begun. Information regarding the rest of the playoff stages is provided below.


Full details regarding upcoming games at League of Legends LEC 2022 Summer Split playoff stages

G2 Esports has qualified for the Upper Bracket Finals and will now face Rogue in Malmo, Sweden. Meanwhile, Fnatic managed to defeat EXCEL and progress to the Lower Bracket.

The Upper Bracket Finals will not take place as of yet, since they will be held alongside the Grand Finals in Malmo. However, all the Lower Bracket matches will be held at the LEC Studio in Berlin.

As of now, Fnatic, Misfits, and MAD Lions are the three teams in the Lower Bracket of League of Legends LEC 2022 Summer Split. The next set of matches in the Lower Bracket within the tournament have been listed below:

Match NumberTeams
Match 4Misfits Gaming vs. Fnatic
Match 5MAD Lions vs. Winner Match 4

Thus, Misfits Gaming will face Fnatic in Match 4 since the former has a lower seed than the MAD Lions. The winner of Match 4 will qualify to face the MAD Lions, while the loser will be eliminated from the tournament.

However, there is a lot at stake in Match 4 when compared to Match 5. This is because G2 Esports, Rogue, and the MAD Lions have already qualified for League of Legends Worlds 2022.

Therefore, only one more slot is left, which will be occupied by whoever wins Match 4. The loser will obviously have no chance, but the winner will at least get the opportunity to participate in the play-in stages.

These playoff games at the LEC 2022 Summer Split are meant to determine the teams' seeding. The teams who reach the playoffs finals will qualify for the main event at Worlds 2022, while the other two teams will have to participate in the play-in stage.

It goes without saying that all teams want to reach the finals as a direct qualification to the main event means fewer headaches and a lot more time to practice and rest. The play-in stages are extremely volatile, and there is always the chance of getting eliminated due to a few sloppy performances.

In any case, the dates of these lower bracket games are not provided as of yet. However, they will be available on the official Twitter account of League of Legends LEC in a few days.