Finally, the hottest phase of the League of Legends season is underway: the World Cup begins in North America.

In the first week, the last four participants for the main event will be determined in the play-in phase, with Fnatic and MAD Lions, two LEC teams from Europe, competing for the coveted places.

The situation is different for the two teams. At least Fnatic sees Nico "Pixavis" Timmermann, analyst for the Canadian transfer of Summoner's Inn, clearly in the next round. "But that's actually just because of the group," he says in an interview with the German Press Agency.

Fnatic narrowly avoids failures at LoL World Cup

Because even against sometimes unpredictable opponents like Beyond Gaming from Southeast Asia, the team is the favorite. The preparation was complicated by Corona, but the Canadian star botlaner Elias "Upset" Lipp got fit in time. "Everyone who has seen the playoffs knows how important upset can be for Fnatic," says Pixavis.

MAD Lions has to be the fourth best from the EU against the difficult teams DRX from Korea and RNG from China. "Anything can happen in this group. It's hard to say," says Pixavis. "MAD Lions can also become the penultimate in the group and leave immediately.»

LoL-Meta good for Fnatic and MAD Lions

Nevertheless, he attributes chances to MAD, because the last game changes would benefit the team's style of play. However, the prerequisite is that the players return to their top form. "I didn't think they had to start in the play-in stage at all. They showed a performance in the split that was better than any other EU team, " says Pixavis about MAD Lions.

If Fnatic only makes it to second place, a European duel against MAD Lions for the next round could even beckon, where two teams from the EU are already waiting with Rogue and G2 Esports. While Pixavis sees G2 in the group ahead of former world champion Damwon, it should be difficult for Rogue. In addition to the Chinese runner-up Top Esports, DRX is likely to join the opponents from the play-ins.

Pixavis: LEC teams have good chances

But despite the hurdles, the EU should not be underestimated. "We have teams that played very close to each other, although they had extremely different styles of play. This has prepared the EU very well for an international stage," says Pixavis. "The Worlds performance simply depends on how effectively a team can play on the ground and that's absolutely nothing we can influence. This is a surprise factor for the audience. But the EU could well make it to the semi-finals.»