This year's LEC Summer is at the halfway stage with week four underway and this week's first batch of matches threw up a handful of shock results.
On Friday, there were defeats for highflying Excel Esports, Fnatic and G2 Esports, showing once again that nothing is a foregone conclusion in the LEC.
Astralis could continue theme of shocks
What | MAD Lions v Astralis, LEC Summer 2022 |
| Where | Germany (offline) |
| When | 17.00pm, 16th July |
How to watch | LEC Youtube & Twitch channels, bet365's Sports Live Streaming |
| Odds | MAD Lions 1/3, Astralis 9/4 |
MAD Lions are well-fancied to follow up their win over Team BDS on Friday with victory against Astralis but the difference between the teams is not as great as the prices may suggest.
With a 5-3 win-loss record, MAD Lions have claimed only one more win in the LEC Summer than Danish side Astralis, who are in the mix for the playoffs after a huge win over Excel Esports.
They survived several base attacks to pull off a big comeback win over one of the division's strongest sides and have generally looked in better shape since support player Lee "JeongHoon" was signed up in May.
The team's communication has since been better and they could be worth a bet to get the better of MAD Lions, who had lost two of their last three matches coming into week four.
BDS could be out of their depth against highflying Rogue
What | Team BDS v Rogue, LEC Summer 2022 |
| Where | Germany (offline) |
| When | 18.00pm, 16th July |
How to watch | LEC Youtube & Twitch channels, bet365's Sports Live Streaming |
| Odds | Team BDS 5/1, Rogue 1/9 |
Rogue reached the Grand Final of the LEC Spring playoffs earlier this year, falling at the final hurdle against G2 Esports, and they have started strongly in the LEC Summer.
They have won six of their opening eight matches in the LEC Summer and, incredibly, their only defeats of the Split came in week one.
Next up for them is Team BDS, who are competing remotely in this week of the Split and have already lost to MAD Lions in week four.
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That takes their tally of defeats to seven from eight matches and Rogue should assert their superiority in this clash. Back Rogue at -10.5 on the kill handicap on Map 1 at 5/6.
Out-of-sorts G2 could be vulnerable against Misfits
What | Misfits Gaming v G2 Esports, LEC Summer 2022 |
| Where | Germany (offline) |
| When | 19.00pm, 16th July |
How to watch | LEC Youtube & Twitch channels, bet365's Sports Live Streaming |
| Odds | Misfits Gaming 7/4, G2 Esports 2/5 |
Perhaps the biggest shock in the opening round of matches in week four of the LEC Summer was G2 Esport's defeat to lowly SK Gaming.
SK Gaming had a 1-6 win-loss record going into that contest and are in the lower echelons of the division, whereas G2 Esports are one of the biggest names in LEC and are in the mix for the playoffs.
But things have not been quite right for G2 Esports for some time and the SK defeat means they have lost three matches on the spin.
In each of those defeats they have lost the kill count 22-9 v SK Gaming, 16-2 v Fnatic and 22-10 v MAD Lions. With that in mind, a good bet in this one could be Misfits Gaming, who have a 4-4 record this term, at +6.5 on the kill handicap.
Fnatic can bounce back from Misfits defeat
What | Team Vitality v Fnatic, LEC Summer 2022 |
| Where | Germany (offline) |
| When | 20.00pm, 16th July |
How to watch | LEC Youtube & Twitch channels, bet365's Sports Live Streaming |
| Odds | Team Vitality 11/8, Fnatic 8/15 |
Fnatic were another of the big teams to fall to defeat in their week four opener in the LEC Summer but it was more a case of Misfits playing well in that contest rather than Fnatic flopping.
The crowd control from Misfits got them over the line against Fnatic, who only fell marginally short when it came to gold collected and towers captured.
Fnatic still have a 5-3 record in the LEC Summer this season and, given only SK Gaming and Team BDS have performed worse than Team Vitality in this Split, Fnatic are a decent bet in this one at 8/15.
