G2 Esports 1 - Misfits 0

G2 Esports took its first victory of the European League of Legends Championship Series 2018 Spring Split, crushing Misfits Gaming Friday in Berlin, Germany. Editor's Picks The 2018 League of Legends Hub

The game showcased a massive difference in doctrine between the two teams. Misfits opted into an extraordinarily aggressive composition that was somewhat reminiscent of the compositions it played during its Worlds run, while G2 Esports went in the complete opposite direction with a set of scaling champions. The result was a game that went about as one might predict, as Mistfits had control of the map for the first 20 minutes, but some key mechanical errors -- most notably a pair of horribly flubbed tower dives on the bottom lane -- meant that G2 took control of the game sooner than Misfits would have liked. Even a jaw-dropping Baron steal by Misfit's jungler Nubar "Maxlore" Sarafian, on Lee Sin, who not only out-smited his opposite number but also somehow out-damaged Martin "Wunder" Hansen's Cho'Gath (Feast included), wasn't enough to save the game. Whenever the two teams would meet for a teamfight, it was G2 that came out ahead, and eventually Misfits simply weren't able to keep pace, especially considering the massive farm advantages that G2 had across the Rift.

It was not, however, a huge teamfight that would decide the game, but rather an outstanding rotation from G2, who took the Baron and used Ryze's Realm Warp to surprise Misfits with a push in the top lane, while Misfits themselves were busy taking the Elder Dragon. Once Misfits finally returned to base, it found there was no base left to return to, and G2's victory was merely a formality from there.

G2's next opponent will be ROCCAT, who it will face at 2:00 p.m on Saturday. Misfits Gaming, on the other hand, will look to pick up its first win against the rebuilt Schalke04 directly following G2's match at 3:00 p.m. ET.

-- James Bates

Vitality 1 - H2k 0

Despite multiple delays before and during the game, Vitality easily walked away with a dominating victory over H2k Gaming on the opening day of the EU LCS.

While Vitality had a bit of a rough end to the 2017 Summer Split, the team that showed up to open the 2018 Spring Split was renewed and rejuvenated. From the very start, Vitality was in complete control of the proceedings, starting with a dismantling of Lennart "SmittyJ" Warkus' Gnar in the top lane. That early lead in the top lane bled into the rest of the map as the game progressed, allowing Vitality to easily pick up objectives. Despite H2k claiming the Baron around the 25-minute mark, any potential rally was snuffed out by Vitality after a responding 4-for-0 teamfight. The remaining six minutes saw Vitality continue pouring salt into the wound before finishing up the win with one final ace in the closing moments.

While Vitality used a massive team effort from each member to get the win, mid laner Daniele "Jiizuké" di Mauro was the runaway MVP of the game. Finishing with a 9/0/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) in his first ever LCS contest, the rookie didn't look fazed by the big stage. He routinely won engagements, with a highlight coming in the form of a quadra kill that started out in a 1-vs-3 situation. Time will tell if he continues this level of play will continue, but this was an incredible performance to open the Split.

Vitality will look to build on its strong start against Giants Gaming at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, while H2k will hope to bounce back against Fnatic at 2 p.m. ET the same day.

-- Wyatt Donigan

Giants 1 - Unicorns of Love 0

With little opposition from the Unicorns of Love, Giants Gaming enjoyed a joyous re-entrance back into the European League of Legends Championship Series on Friday.

While this was Giants' first game back in the EU LCS after fighting in the EU Challenger Series during the 2017 Summer Split, the team looked completely unafraid of the new-look Unicorns of Love team. This was especially true of rookie top laner Kim "Ruin" Hyeong-min, who made a statement early with a kill onto UoL top laner Matti "WhiteKnight" Sormunen in a 1-vs-2 teamfight under his turret. That early fight ended up setting the tone for the match, as Giants played with an aggression and poise that seemed to keep UoL guessing from start to finish.

Ruin wasn't the only player to run rampant Friday, as Giants AD carry Pierre "Steeelback" Medjaldi enjoyed a similar level of success in the bottom lane, finishing with a 7/0/2 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). With the attack coming from all sides, UoL were simply unable to gain traction at any point during the 33-minute game. Giants picked up objectives left and right while ending with a massive 11-to-1 advantage in towers. Giants secured the only Baron of the game at 29 minutes, which ended up being the last piece of the puzzle needed to lock up the win.

Giants Gaming will hope to keep rolling in a matchup with Team Vitality at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, while Unicorns of Love will look to stabilize against Splyce in the very next game at 1 p.m. ET.

-- Wyatt Donigan

Schalke 04 1 - ROCCAT 0 - Recap coming soon

FC Schalke 04 made its triumphant return to the EU LCS series Friday with a lopsided victory over Team ROCCAT to start out the 2018 Spring Split.

Despite Schalke entering Friday's competition without nominal starting AD carry, Elias "Upset" Lipp, who missed the contest due to an unexpected medical issue, fill-in Oskar "VandeR" Bogdan, who normally plays support for Schalke, and the rest of the team seemed unfazed. Mid laner Erlend "Nukeduck" Våtevik Holm came out the gate looking to take all the attention off the bottom lane with two early kills with his Ryze. Those two kills quickly snowballed into five as he nearly single-handedly pushed Schalke to a sizeable 3,000 gold lead by the 15-minute mark, giving Schalke full control over the game.

Anytime ROCCAT tried to battle back during the remaining 15 minutes of the bout, Schalke were there to knock them back down a peg or two. This pattern came to a head in a pivotal fight around the Baron that started with ROCCAT finding two quick kills, seemingly taking advantage of the game. That was but a fleeting moment, however, as VandeR responded in kind with a massive triple kill that turned a 3-vs-5 engagement into a 4-for-0 teamfight win. That single fight seemingly broke the spirits of ROCCAT as Schalke secured the Baron immediately after and waltzed into the ROCCAT base, razing everything in sight to clean up the 30-minute victory.

Team ROCCAT will have the tough task of taking on a G2 Esports unit looking for its first win, at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, while FC Schalke 04 will close out the day against Misfits at 4 p.m. ET.

--Wyatt Donigan

Fnatic 1 - Splyce 0 - Recap coming soon

Fnatic started off the 2018 strong with a one-side thrashing of Splyce to close out Friday's slate in Berlin, Germany.

It was a game that highlighted the quintessential difference between a veteran team and what is fresh from the fire, as Splyce's map play had nearly no nuance to it, while Fnatic displayed spectacular control of the map and choked Splyce right out of the game. Splyce found the lead in kills thanks to a few clever engages -- a Realm Warp behind Fantic's bottom lane late into the game was unexpected enough to almost turn the game's course -- but their minor kill lead meant nothing when compared to the numerous turret kills and neutral objectives that Fnatic had under its belt. Every time that Splyce tried to make a play happen on one part of the map, Fnatic was stealing something away elsewhere, and the end result was a convincing victory for the long-slumbering former kings of Europe, one that shouldn't be overlooked considering the hyped nature of this new Splyce lineup.

While it certainly won't be a test like Fnatic's upcoming match against G2 Esports, it was still a good test for the veteran roster, which remains the most unchanged roster in the EU LCS. The one substitution over the offseason -- that of their support player, Jesse "Jesiz" Le, for the much-hyped former Unicorns of Love support, Zdravets "Hylissang" Iliev Galabov -- looks to have been a good one thus far, but only time can tell whether this latest incarnation of Fnatic has what it takes to finally bring home another EU LCS title.

Fnatic's next match falls on 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, where it will take on the completely revamped H2k Gaming. The match will be immediately preceded by Splyce's next match, as it take on the Unicorns of Love at 12 p.m. ET on that same day.