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With North America closing out its Spring Split this past week, it’s now time for Europe and Korea to do the same. Both leagues had shocking upsets in week nine and their playoff pictures are left reeling because of it.
With both the EU LCS and LCK having their best teams neck and neck in a race for playoffs, here are the five best series from the two leagues in their final week:
MVP vs. Samsung Galaxy
When: Wednesday, March 29 at 7 a.m. Eastern
How: LCK1
Why: These are the two hottest teams in the LCK right now. MVP took down kt Rolster last week and moved into a tie with them for fourth place in the standings, while Samsung Galaxy managed an incredible sweep of SK Telecom T1. With both teams having improved every week so far, this should be the perfect preview of a possible playoff match between the two.
Afreeca Freecs vs. kt Rolster
When: Thursday, March 30 at 7 a.m. Eastern
How: LCK1
Why: kt Rolster has had a hard couple week since their back to back defeats at the hands of arch rival SK Telecom. Since then they have fallen to both Samsung Galaxy and MVP and are tied with the latter for fourth place. With only the top five teams advancing and Afreeca Freecs only one game behind kt Rolster in the standings this game has suddenly been granted huge importance for a roster that had first place aspirations at the beginning of the split.
MVP vs. SK Telecom T1
When: Saturday, April 1 at 4 a.m. Eastern
How: LCK1
Why: SK Telecom are probably fairly safe in their spot at number one, but MVP will come in here with a lot to play for. Depending on how their series against Samsung goes earlier in the week, it’s entirely possible that they are in the hunt for a number two seed, and after knocking off kt Rolster last week an upset here wouldn’t be out of the question.
Splyce vs. H2K
When: Sunday, April 2 at 10 a.m. Eastern
How: EULCS1
Why: After an entire split with these two teams being fairly separate, Splyce has snuck up on H2K a bit. The first time these two teams met was back in week one and the series went to H2K and wasn’t even close, but this is an entirely different Splyce team with the meta continuing to shift in their favor. With only one game between the two teams, EU’s Group B playoff seeding race has gotten a lot more interesting.
Misfits vs. Fnatic
When: Sunday, April 2 at 1 p.m. Eastern
How: EULCS1
Why: Misfits are going to the playoffs. But the same isn’t guaranteed for Fnatic. Sitting at the same number of wins and one fewer losses than their chief competition Roccat — who play G2 this weekend — a win in this series for Fnatic would provide all but lock in a playoff place for Europe’s most storied franchise.