Pro League of Legends teams may be eliminated from contention sooner than ever under the new LEC structure, with only a single round-robin standing in the way of the league's "group stage," where only the top eight teams from the first stage of each split will advance. Today, the final day of the Winter Split's round robin will conclude, with three teams still looking to fall into the back end of the advancement table.
Fnatic, one of Europe's most famous League teams, is on the verge of being eliminated from group stage contention, for the first time since 2013, they've made the playoffs in each LEC/EU LCS split. Should they lose today, they'll end a 10-year-long streak.
Fnatic have had a difficult time resurrending themselves this season, as they fell to a two-go-home record throughout the first eight games of the single-round robin. Here's how Fnatic may still advance to the Winter Split group stage.
Fnatic's chances at the LEC Winter Split group stage
Fnatic will remain in control of their own destiny heading into the final day of the Winter Split's first stage, and the second and third games on today's schedule—KOI vs. Astralis—will be crucial for playoff seeding, as it will guarantee a spot in the group stage, no questions asked.
Fnatic will win their third game today, against SK Gaming, which must inevitably result in a Fnatic victory. If Fnatic wins, they'll play a tiebreaker against the winner of KOI vs. Astralis. If they lose, they'll return home empty-handed, and the other team from the KOI/Astralis pairing will lock in the final seed.
After elimination, Odoamne and Excel desire for the LEC Spring Split to be renewed.
Regardless of who owns the head-to-head between the two teams, a tiebreaker game must be played for eighth place in the opening round robin of a split. Fnatic won against KOI in week one, but lost to Astralis yesterday.
Team Heretics and Team BDS will play another match with playoff implications starting at 11am CT today.