Week 8 of the 2018 EU LCS Summer Split begins on August 10! The competition is about to reach its culmination, as European teams are preparing for the final push for the playoffs. Let’s see if you can get in on this action by making some quality EU LCS bets!
FC Schalke 04 vs Team Vitality
FC Schalke 04 are about to face Team Vitality! Both of these teams are on the rise, so deciding who your EU LCS bet should go on might seem difficult. On paper, Schalke look like the clear-cut favorites—after all, they did win 7 out of 8 of their most recent games. Moreover, Nukeduck and Upset stepped up to the plate lately, and Schalke are making strides when it comes to macro and teamfighting.
But Vitality haven’t been standing still either. The addition of Kikis reinvigorated the lineup, and Vitality are now much more measured when it comes to navigating the early game. But the biggest changes happened in the macro department. In the past, Vitality’s only late game strategy was grouping as five and running it down the mid lane, but that’s no longer the case. Nowadays, this team has a good idea of how to move around the map and set up objectives. Combine that with the fact that Jiizuke and Atilla have the firepower to overwhelm Schalke’s carries, and Vitality are in a prime position to take this.
BETTING ADVICE: You can place an EU LCS bet on Team Vitality winning the match for odds of 2.10 at Betway.
Team ROCCAT vs Unicorns of Love
In spite of their recent losses, ROCCAT are far from a bad team. That’s not to say they don’t have flaws—they do. In fact, Blanc and Profit need to step up their game because they’re becoming way too reliant on their jungler. However, the sheer carry presence from Memento is oftentimes enough to make up for the shortcomings of ROCCAT’s solo laners. Then, there’s another player that flies under the radar—Norskeren. He may not be as flashy as some of the best European supports, but his map movement and vision control provide a rock-solid foundation for the rest of his team.
As for Unicorns of Love, they’re pretty much what ROCCAT would be if the latter forgot how to macro. They have similar pressure points in Kold and Totoro. And while Exileh can shine in the mid lane, he usually needs a lot of resources before he can start making his presence known. The worst thing about UOL is that they’re demonstrably unstable, and you can never count on them to close out their games.
BETTING ADVICE: Unfortunately, most bookmakers seem to agree with our assessment. With that, an EU LCS bet on Team ROCCAT’s victory will (at best) grant you odds of 1.61 at GG.bet. Still, that’s as close to a sure thing as you can get, so there’s definitely some value behind this wager.
G2 Esports vs Misfits
This is another clash between G2 Esports and Misfits Gaming, but the circumstances are different. Even though their record is formidable, G2 haven’t been doing that hot since they came back from Rift Rivals. Granted, Perkz is a monster in the mid lane, and Jankos is quickly regaining his jungling prowess, but the bot lane of Hjarnan and Wadid is still volatile in the laning phase. And when you combine that with G2’s tendency to face check in the enemy jungle, it’s hard to call them a solid team.
But Misfits are also down on their luck. The once-dominant powerhouse lost 4 out of 5 latest games. And while some of the losses could be attributed to ambitious drafts and unorthodox team comps, others came from blatant incompetence. The biggest culprit is Sencux who’s lost a lot of ground in the mid lane. But Hans Sama and Mikyx have also been struggling to manage their aggression on the bottom side of the map. With that, the ball is in G2’s court. The former kings of Europe are in a perfect spot to abuse the enemy mid lane weakness, but it’s unlikely that Misfits will be able to do the same in the bot lane.
BETTING ADVICE: You can make an EU LCS bet on G2 Esports defeating Misfits for odds of 1.719 at Pinnacle.
