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Major League of Legends is back on our screens. It returns with the group stage matches of LEC Winter 2024.
The LEC Winter 2024 tournament is the first major tournament of the new year. One of the four top leagues offers its participants battles for 80,000 euros and a place in the first major international championship of the season - the Mid-Season Invitational 2024. In addition, the best team of the winter season will earn a place at the LEC Finals 2024.
There will be 10 teams from Europe competing for worthy prizes. Among them are: Vitality and GIANTX, who will face each other on the first game day.
Let's try to find out which of the teams will be stronger and win in a rather difficult Bo1 match, and who will have to start their way through LEC Winter 2024 with an upsetting defeat.
Watch.
Vitality Form
We open our match analysis with an analysis of Vitality's form. In their debut match, the Bees will play the number one, and the odds for their victory are at around 1.6.
Vitality is a rather dubious team. They showed a rather unstable game throughout last year. Globally speaking, they failed in their 13th season, and seriously.
They started last season by participating in LEC Winter 2023. In the regular season, Vitality went over the heads of their opponents: they played it 7-2 and then went to play the group stage, where they had much less luck. So much so that Vitality failed to get out of their basket, Ledgeiv SK Gaming and KOI. As a result - the top 5.
Next up was an appearance at LEC Spring 2024. This was Vitality's best split where they managed to make it to the top 3. However, that was enough for exactly nothing: just Top 3.
The last tournament last season for Vitality was LEC Summer 2023. And it was a total fiasco: Vitality had their worst performance of the year, going 1-8 in the regular season and finishing the split in the top 10.
- Vitality roster: Photon, Daglas, Vetheo, Carzzy, Hylissang .
The team has a pretty strong roster, but the realisation is Vitality's kryptonite.
Vitality's most popular champions
The most frequent guest on the top line is Jax (2 matches, 100% wins). Also picked were KSante, Gnar, Gwen and Ornn, Renekton and Gragas. Ornn and Renekton, who didn't quite hit the season 13 meta, lost their matches.
Bo predominantly played as Vi. One of the most meta characters of the season appeared in spades 4 times and won all his games. There was also Sejuani and Maokai (2 games and 1 win each).
On the centre line, Azir was the favourite character (3 games, 100% wins). The Croatian also played Ryze, Syndra, Cassiopeia, Tristana, LeBlanc and Taliyah. Only Tristana and LeBlanc lost.
Of the shooters, Zeri (3 games, 66% wins), Ezreal (2 matches, 100% wins), Varus (2 games, 100% wins) appeared most often. Caitlyn and Sivir peaked once each: the former won her game and the latter lost.
Of the supporting characters, Yummi (3 games, 33% wins), Ashe (2 games, 100% wins) played three times. Leona, Braum, Nami and Lux won once each.
GIANTX uniforms
We continue with the analysis of GIANTX form. In this match, they will play as an underdog, with odds to win at around 2.2.
GIANTX is the new name for the LEC league. The LEC 2024 Winter Split is the debut match for the club, which has absorbed the GIANTXEsports slot. Incidentally, GIANTX themselves are the fruit of a merger between British club GIANTX and Spanish club Giants.
Last season was a very difficult one for GIANTX. At LEC Winter 2023, the team completely failed, finishing in the top 10.
The spring split, however, did not show anything new. GIANTX again failed in the split and were last again.
- EXCEL line-up: Odoamne, Peach, Abbedagge, Patrik, LIMIT .
After two disgusting splits, GIANTX changed their forester and replaced Targamas with South Korean legionnaire Peach. The change was a good thing, because there is no other way to explain the miracle-run at LEC Summer 2023.
GIANTX not only finished in the top 3, but also made it to the split grand final, thus guaranteeing themselves a spot in the LEC Finals. Ledge and G2 Esports are in the finals, but there is no shame in that, you have to understand.
The achievements of LEC Summer 2023 are at risk of being reversed given the experience of the first match of LEC Finals 2023. In the match against MAD Lions, GIANTX looked more like what we saw during LEC Winter and Spring, but not at the summer split.
In the next match, then EXCEL faced Fnatic. That match was more like something worthwhile and ended in a full-fledged bo5, but in Fnatic's favour. For ex-Excel, LEC Finals 2024 ended with a top-5 finish.
Most Popular GIANTX Champions
On the top line the most frequent picks are KSante (4 matches, 50% wins), Gnar (3 matches, 100% wins).
Foresters picks are Wukong (4 matches, 50% wins), Vi (2 matches, 50% wins), Nocturne (2 matches, 50% wins), Viego (2 matches, 0% wins).
On the centre line Gragas (4 matches, 50% wins), Annie (4 matches, 50% wins).
Aphelios (6 matches, 33% wins), Jinx (3 matches, 66% wins), Zeri (2 matches, 100% wins).
The other stable players are Lulu (3 matches, 66% wins), Rakan (3 games, 0% wins), Nautilus (2 matches, 50% wins).
History of head-to-head meetings
Nominally, the teams have not played each other in head-to-head matches.
Predicted result of Vitality vs GIANTX at LEC Winter 2024
I have more faith in Excel in this match. They have retained the core of their capable roster from last season and have already shown that they can play in the League of Legends. Vitality, on the other hand, are so unstable that I have no faith in them, even despite their very high-profile roster.
Bottom line: victory for GIANTX.
