In their first meeting since last split’s LEC Grand Finals, MAD Lions and Rogue played at the level that many fans expected today. The hard-fought 41-minute game between the arguably two best squads in Europe this season ended with Rogue sneaking out a victory in the late game, reversing the narrative surrounding last split’s results and giving Rogue a much-needed boost at the top of the LEC standings.
Despite the immense length of the game (the 41:52 finish time was just 20 seconds short of the longest game of the Summer Split), Rogue held the advantage throughout the majority of the contest. After gaining the gold lead 12 minutes into the game, Rogue wouldn’t let their foot off the gas until the MAD Lions Nexus was destroyed.
For Rogue, the standout performance of the day came from their jungler Inspired. The veteran jungler was outmatched by MAD Lions’ rookie sensation Elyoya on several occasions this season, but with a final scoreline of 3/0/14 on the day, Inspired played a pivotal role in not only delivering Rogue to victory, but outperforming his biggest positional rival of the 2021 season. By the time today’s game ended, Inspired played a part in 17 of Rogue’s 21 kills, good enough for a Kill Participation mark of 81 percent.
With this win, Rogue now sits in a tie for first place alongside Misfits, who would have relinquished first place to Rogue altogether if not for a stunning victory over G2 Esports earlier in the day. Still, Rogue does hold the head-to-head advantage over Misfits, considering it beat Misfits earlier in the Summer Split by a convincing margin.
As for MAD Lions, the team will be forced to settle with a 1-1 record over its games this weekend against Misfits and Rogue. A record of 5-4 after the first round-robin of the Summer Split isn’t what the defending LEC champions expected, but with relatively straightforward matchups against Schalke 04 and Excel next weekend, MAD Lions could look to get back on track quickly.
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