The LoL team from Schalke 04 lost both opening games in the first week of the LEC 2020. Expectations were high for star carry FORG1VEN ahead of the new season of the League of Legends. Yet, the former ADC proved to be too strong.
This is the situation at Schalke: Schalke was the fourth strongest team in Europe last year. However, in the new season, Schalke has changed its LoL team in 3 positions.
They lost their young carry, Elias “Upset” Lipp, who is regarded as one of the best ADCs and talents in Europe, and instead brought in the 27-year-old FORG1VEN. The Greek is a legend but has not played professionally for years.
In Power Rankings, Schalke was rated as weaker ahead of the season, and the first results are going in that direction.
1. Game lost Schalke on equal footing
This was game 1: In the first match of the LEC 2020, Schalke faced Excel Esports, who were rated as “similarly strong”. It was a barometer for both teams to see where they stand so early in the season regarding their processes, communication, and team fights.
The match turned out to be a close affair. Ultimately, Excel was able to win in 40 minutes. In the new LoL season, games seem to last significantly longer on average than before.
FORG1VEN was able to hold his own on the bot lane with Xayah, and the German midlaner Felix “Abbedagge” Braun had a good record on Cassiopeia. After 18 minutes, Schalke 04 was even ahead 7-3 after a triple kill from Abbedagge.
The decisive moment was ultimately a team fight, which the Excel supporter Tore decided with an Unbreakable Wall on Braum. With it, he was able to prevent a lot of damage.
In the end, Excel was narrowly ahead in kills with 20-18.
After the match, Schalke seemed quite confident that they would start the season well.
No chance against Origen
This was game 2: The second game of the week against Origen ended much more bitterly. It finished after 38 minutes with 15-4 for Origen.
There, former Schalke ADC, Upset, shone. He had a score of 7-0-4 playing Senna.
Schalke especially had problems in the mid lane, where Abbedagge had no impact on Ryze, finishing with 0-5-2. He was repeatedly focused and ganked.
The defeat was bitter, as Schalke seemed hopeless and it looked like the communication within the team was not working. Origen, on the other hand, presented strong early form and seemed to have everything coming together. They even managed to win against the top team Fnatic in the first week.
This is how things stand now: After the first week, Schalke is at the bottom of the LEC.
Things are looking better for G2 Esports, who managed to win both opening games, as expected from them.
China pauses due to virus
What’s going on in the other leagues?
- In the USA, the perennial champions, Team Liquid, lost against the newly structured Cloud 9. Team Liquid is missing their actual starting jungler Broxah due to visa issues.
- In China, the LoL league LPL has been put on hold until further notice. They want to wait until the coronavirus is under control and no longer poses a threat to the players.
The title image comes from the Twitter account of Schalke 04 esports.
