EU LCS playoff bracket: Fnatic earns final spot, ROCCAT falls short

After ten weeks of regular season action, the 2017 European LCS Spring Split has come to a close and the playoff brackets are locked in. This was the first split with the new two-group format, and while the groups clearly formed tiers early on there was still drama until the end.

The sixth and final playoff spot was decided this week, as Fnatic tried to hold third place in Group A away from surging ROCCAT. After losing its first seven series of the split, ROCCAT won a remarkable six in a row to end the season, including a win in its season finale against previously-undefeated G2 Esports. ROCCAT still needed Fnatic to lose to Misfits in Sunday’s final match. When Misfits dominated in Game 1, ROCCAT’s chances looked good, but Fnatic bounced back with two straight wins to clinch the playoff berth.

It’s a huge relief for Fnatic’s new All-EU roster, who nearly became the first in the team’s storied history to ever miss the playoffs. Last summer’s squad was the first Fnatic team to not make the EU LCS Finals, and missing the playoffs right after that would be a tough pill to swallow.

The result is undoubtedly disappointing to a ROCCAT team that looked like one of the best in Europe over the past month, but the team still survives for next split. That certainly wasn’t a sure thing after the team’s 0-6 start to the season, and we’ve seen young teams carry promising springs into dominating summers before (looking at you, Splyce).

Group B’s top seed was also up for grabs, between Unicorns of Love and H2K. Both teams went 2-0 in the final week, but UOL entered with a one-series advantage in the standings and grabbed the first-round playoff bye.

The last-place team in each group will play in the Promotion Tournament, which will take place this week against Fnatic Academy and Misfits Academy. Group A’s last-place finisher was 2-11 Giants Gaming, while Group B’s 0-13 Origen will have a tough time staying up in the LCS.

With the games finishing up on Sunday, we finally have a complete view of the playoffs and which matches will happen when and which teams will get byes in the first week:

Quarterfinals (April 8-9)

A No. 2 Misfits vs. B No. 3 Splyce

B. No. 2 H2K vs. A No. 3 Fnatic

Semifinals (April 15-16)

No. 1 G2 Esports vs. TBD

No. 1 Unicorns of Love vs. TBD

Finals (April 23)

TBD vs. TBD

The matchups will be re-seeded in the semifinals, so that the higher seed of one group faces the lower seed of the other group.

Playoffs will begin on April 8th, with the EU LCS Finals being held in Hamburg on April 23rd. All series in the playoffs will be Best-of-5s, with the winner qualifying to represent Europe at Riot’s Mid-Season Invitational in Brazil.

The Spring Split playoffs will also have strong implications on the race to worlds for the EU LCS teams, as each playoff team will acquire LCS Championship Points based on their finishing place in the playoffs. After the Summer Split finals in August, the three teams with the most Championship Points will have the chance to represent Europe at the World Championships in China.

Here’s a reminder of the breakdown of points for the Spring Split Playoff finishers:

1st place - 90 points

2nd place - 70 points

3rd place - 50 points

4th place - 30 points

5th/6th place - 10 points