MAD Lions overcame a late 6,000-gold deficit in Game 5 against Rogue to win the 2021 League of Legends European Championship spring split on April 11 and earn a spot at the Mid-Season Invitational.
The team made history by beating Rogue 3-2 and became the first team outside of Fnatic, G2 Esports and Alliance to win the European title. Top laner Ä°rfan Berk “Armut” Tükek claimed the series MVP award after being instrumental in the team’s comebacks and engages on Wukong.
The LEC champions will represent Europe at MSI, the first international event on the League of Legends esports calendar, starting May 6 in ReykjavÃk, Iceland.
Rogue went up 2-0 early
Rogue went up 2-0 in the series quickly as jungler Kacper “Inspired” SÅ‚oma and AD carry Steven “Hans sama” Liv brought the team two wins. Hans sama as Varus in Games 1 and 2 and his partner, support Adrian “Trymbi” Trybus, dominated the bot lane with multiple early kills. Inspired on Hecarim was a force in Game 1 with a 2/0/6 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) scoreline. His second game was less impressive but still instrumental, as he notched a 1/4/7 performance.
Rogue won the first game in 35 minutes after a back-and-forth mid game. They took control after claiming their third Drake off of a massive team fight around the objective. In Game 2, Rogue came back after MAD took the lead because of a team fight at 24 minutes. MAD claimed four kills, Baron, three towers and a Drake off of the fight win. But, Rogue came back off of some smart Baron calls and a disastrous fight at the Dragon pit at 44 minutes. Both teams wanted the Dragon Soul as they each had three Drakes, and Rogue claimed the Soul and fight. They ended the game shortly afterward.
MAD Lions win three straight to become LEC champions
In the third and possibly final game, MAD went back to comfort and power picks. Armut picked his patented Wukong, while mid laner Marek “Humanoid” Brázda returned to Orianna. The game was close, but the two carries for MAD put up good stats and fights to take the game in 35 minutes. Armut finished with a 6/1/3 scoreline and Humanoid went 8/2/5. Game 4 was a more measured affair as MAD were in control throughout and closed out the quickest game of the series at 23 minutes. Javier “Elyoya” Prades Batalla, the LEC Rookie of the Split, had a great Game 4 and dominated the jungle with a 5/1/6 score line on Udyr.
Game 5 was shaky for MAD, but Humanoid on Viktor that helped close out the game. He, along with Elyoya on Volibear and their teammates, outfought Rogue in the final minutes of the game to make the comeback.
MAD will take on other league champions in May at MSI to fight for an international title.
