Misfits were on top of the world during the first half of the summer split. They were the only unbeaten team going into week 5 and they looked unstoppable.
Then came their second match of the Split against Fnatic. Misfits gave up a mid game lead and Fnatic snowballed things from there. A week later and Misfits handed a win to Splyce in the 38th minute. The next week they went 0-2, including a loss to Giants.
Misfits’ fall from glory has been swift and painful to watch. Once a favorite to win the summer split, they now face the real possibility of going 0-3 in the first round. And with Vitality and Roccat still on their schedule, things could get even worse before they get better.
The Misfits story has been a bleak one as of late
But as dismal as the collapse of Misfits has been, it’s been overshadowed by the incredible rise of Schalke. They’ve won their last five games in a row and are 9-1 since starting the season 2-4. That officially makes them the hottest team in the EU LCS. And it’s landed them tied for second place going into the final week of the regular season.
With only Splyce and H2K to go, Schalke will surely be looking to finish the season on a 7-0 run and earn themselves a bye going into playoffs.
So what’s changed for each team? The answer for Misfits is simple. The gold funnel strat that they found so much success with has disappeared. Now the meta is a bit more about a well rounded team who can split push or survive team fights. That being said, Misfits still should be performing better than they are and they still have two games left to change things around before playoffs.
For Schalke, there really isn’t one answer. Perhaps they’re just finally leaving up to their potential. Or it could be that they’ve simply adapted better than most of the league in a split where adaption has been the name of the game. Whatever it is, there’s no doubt that Schalke will be one of the favorites going into playoffs.