Breaking down FC Schalke 04's rise to fantasy elite

▲ Photo by Michal Konkol for Riot Games

 

FC Schalke 04's miracle run in the 2020 League of Legends European Championship Summer Split is arguably the greatest story in this season of LoL Esports. S04's mad dash of 7-0 at the end of the split punched its ticket to the 2020 LEC Summer Playoffs, and along the way, its players have put up some gaudy fantasy scores in Inven Global's Esports One Fantasy League of Legends League.

 

In Schalke's 2-0 Week 7 against Excel Esports and Origen, all 5 of its starters were the top scorers across all players in the LEC and LCS, and three  starters were also the biggest value booms.

 

In the final week of the LEC Summer Split, S04's 3-0 against Fnatic, Team Vitality, and MAD Lions featured three of its starters as top scorers and three starters as the biggest value booms. Let's take a look at what makes FC Schalke 04, a fringe post-season team, a fantasy scoring elite in the LEC.

 

Even before FC Schalke 04 became a post-season contender, it had the makings of a top fantasy performer due to game length. In League of Legends, a decisive, clean victory is usually the optimal route, but a longer game means more opportunities for players to rack up fantasy points. Schalke did not have one of the highest average game lengths in the 2020 LEC Summer Split at 34:25, but the boys in blue were far more aggressive in style than the teams that played the even longer game.

 

S04 Top Laner Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu has always been a team-oriented player, and while he is able to play the split-push carry champions like Camille to proficiency, his most impressive attribute is his ability to make magic in teamfights on little to no resources. Odoamne's efficiency has been a hallmark of his playstyle since his days on H2k, and his shotcalling only adds to his value when considering the way Schalke plays the game. 

 

Jungler Erberk "Gilius" Demir is known for his flair for the dramatic in the form of crucial objective steals in hail mary situations. When Gilius is able to steal a Baron Nashor or Elder Dragon — or both, on occasion — it not only creates an immediate opportunity for some type of fight, but also lengthens the game to allow for more fights.

 

In these situations, S04 plays impressively around AD Carry Matúš "Neon" Jakubčík, who is often left to scale into the primary carry in late-game teamfights while Support Han "Dreams" Min-kook prioritizes roaming and playmaking. 

 

S04's success, both on Summoner's Rift and in fantasy scoring, has been in large part to Mid Laner Felix "Abbedagge" Braun. In the second half of the LEC Summer Split, Abbedagge has been a monster. He holds both the highest and second-highest score for any individual fantasy starter in Europe and North America; 87.28 in Week 7 and 80.20 in Week 8. 

 

 

For every epic GodGilius Baron steal to tip the game back in FC Schalke 04's favor, Abbedagge deserves credit for keeping the team in the game until that point. Other pros in the LEC have taken notice in recent weeks, but Abbedagge remains the most underrated Mid Laner in the LEC and the king of fantasy this summer. 

 

If Schalke 04 can best SK Gaming in the first match of the 2020 LEC Summer Playoffs, expect a bloody, lengthy series with plenty of opportunities for S04 to rack up fantasy points as it has during its miracle run to the post-season. 

 


 

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