by The League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) 2023 season kicks off on Friday, January 21, with the newly introduced LEC 2023 Winter Split, and www.behindzioncurtain.com is here with LoL betting predictions for the first round of play. Check out our selections for G2 Esports vs Excel Esports, SK Gaming vs MAD Lions, and Fnatic vs Team Vitality.
G2 ESPORTS vs EXCEL ESPORTS LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | G2 -200 at BetOnline | XL +150 at BetOnline |
| When: | January 21, 2023 | 18:00 CET |
| Watch Live: | Lolesports, Twitch |
?G2 Esports added ADC Steven “Hans sama” Liv and support Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle this offseason, forming one of the best bottom lanes in the West, but we don’t know how well the former teammates will gel with the rest of the squad. Likewise, there are questions about jungler Martin “Yike” Sundelin and how well he’ll do in his debut year in the LEC.
Excel Esports made several roster changes following the team’s most successful season in the LEC, keeping only ADC Patrik “Patrik” Jír?. The Czech ADC will team up with G2’s former support Rapha?l “Targamas” Crabbé and a veteran top side of Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu, Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir, and mid laner Vincent “Vetheo” Berrié.
Excel Esports might struggle internationally due to the limited upside of Xerxe, but they could very likely play for the bottom side, which should be the team’s plan. Vetheo is an excellent mid laner, while Patrik and Targamas can easily compete with any bottom lane in the LEC.
If we don’t put any weight on the brand value and player recognition, G2 Esports and Excel look evenly matched across all positions, so we’ll gladly take Excel at +150 with BetOnline.
Excel Esports to win
SK GAMING vs MAD LIONS LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | SK +175 at BetOnline | MAD -250 at BetOnline |
| When: | January 21, 2023 | 21:00 CET |
| Watch Live: | Lolesports, Twitch |
SK Gaming put together a very underwhelming roster that will struggle to compete for a playoff spot, let alone the LEC trophy. Top laner Joel “Irrelevant” Scharoll is the only noteworthy player of SK Gaming, yet even he has much more to prove before we can consider him one of the best in his position.
MAD Lions re-signed ADC Matyá? “Carzzy” Orság from Vitality, who’ll team up with veteran support Zdravets “Hylissang” Galabov and top laner Kim “Chasy” Dong-hyeon, forming a solid core. But while MAD field a competitive roster, this squad also comes with a lot of volatility, especially in the bottom lane.
We will consider fading MAD when faced with weaker teams, but the skill gap in this match is too large for us to take SK Gaming. Still, this should be a bloody game.
Over 23.5 total kills
FNATIC vs TEAM VITALITY LoL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS |
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| Best Odds: | Fnatic -125 at BetOnline | Vitality -111.11 at BetOnline |
| When: | January 21, 2023 | 22:00 CET |
| Watch Live: | Lolesports, Twitch |
?The Bees had a disastrous 2022 campaign, struggling to live up to the name of Europe’s superteam; however, most of that was due to poor synergy. For 2023, Team Vitality replaced four members and kept only Luka “Perkz” Perkovi?, which just might be the right call.
It’s hard to say how Zhou “Bo” Yangbo and Kyeong “Photon” Gyu-tae will do in the LEC, but they’re very talented players who are slept on by the community. Fnatic also have some solid pieces, and the re-signing of Martin “Rekkles” Larsson makes them an exciting team to watch. But Rekkles’ return after an iffy season in the LFL raises plenty of questions.
Both teams have a high ceiling, but Fnatic might need a bit more time to ramp up, and it doesn’t help that the Black & Orange were very inconsistent last season. At -111.11, Vitality are a solid choice.
