In a sensational streak, Mad Lions defeated Team BDS 3-2 to take the LEC split title. The Spanish team is traveling to the international Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) tournament as the second representative of the League of Legends league for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Mad managed a “reverse sweep”: After two clear victories by the opposing team from Switzerland, Mad won three games in a row and easily caught up the deficit.
“Even when it was 2-0, we all knew deep down that we were going to win, no matter what,” Mads midlaner Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer said on the LEC stream after the final. “Today I can finally say that I’m the best midlaner in Europe – without anyone complaining about it.”
LEC final with two pentakills
The two final opponents offered the fans in the LEC studio in Berlin-Adlershof a spectacular series. Not only did the game go the full distance of five games. Both botlaners managed a pentakill each: Juš “Crownie” Marušič in the second game of the series, Matyáš “Carzzy” Orság in the third game of the series.
The crucial fifth game started with a slight advantage for Mad Lions. The Spanish side secured key reinforcements early on on the map and a small gold advantage. Mad patiently and flawlessly extended this lead with an intermediate result of 10:0 eliminations in the 25th minute, which led to the perfect clean sheet victory a short time later.
LEC: Different paths to the final
BDS had previously played a dominant split. After taking first place in the regular season, the team went through the group stage undefeated with two 2-0 victories against SK Gaming and Koi. In the playoffs, BDS kept a clean record against Team Vitality (3-0) until the final against Mad.
The disappointment after the final was written all over the players’ faces. In the confetti rain, they packed their equipment together, while Mad stretched the trophy in the air.
The lions, on the other hand, only turned up in the playoffs. Finishing eighth in the regular season, they just barely made it into the group stage, where they first lost to Vitality and then beat Fnatic (2-1) and Astralis (2-0). A narrow win against G2 Esports (3:2) and revenge against Vitality (3:1) followed in the playoffs.
Mad Lions heads to the LoL MSI with G2 Esports
The winners of the final not only secured themselves a place in the season-ending tournament, in which the participants can qualify for the world championship. Mad Lions is also heading to the Mid-Season Invitational in London in May alongside G2 Esports, the Winter Split champions.