Schalke 04 held off Roccat’s late game surge today to jump into third place in the European LCS.
Roccat came into the game only one win behind Schalke and were looking to solidify their chances at making the playoffs. Roccat split from their main identity, however, drafting a late game teamfight composition instead of their normal early game domination.
Schalke jungler Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneider was able to capitalize off Roccat’s early passivity and dominated the first few minutes of the game. From there, the team snowballed their lead despite a few missteps in the mid game.
It seemed like the game would be over quickly in favor of Schalke, but a massive Command: Shockwave by Roccat’s Jin “Blanc” Seong-min onto five members turned the tide of the game. Roccat slowly clawed their way back to even footing with Schalke, but an Elder Dragon steal by Amazing sealed the deal.
Schalke are now sitting pretty at third place in the EU LCS and have a shot at making waves in the playoffs despite missing out on the postseason entirely in the spring. Proactive play by Amazing and mid laner Erlend “Nukeduck” VÃ¥tevik Holm have led the team in wins, but they have a habit of throwing leads in the mid and late game.
On the other side of the spectrum, Roccat now sit in seventh place, just one spot out of playoff contention. While it was good to see them try a new style, Roccat must quickly rediscover their early game magic. Currently, they are undefeated with a gold lead at 15 minutes and winless when at a deficit in the same timeframe.
Roccat will take on Giants Gaming at 10am CT tomorrow, while Schalke will continue on the warpath against Splyce at 11am CT.
