Oh, what’s this? You didn’t think the duo of Clockwork and Megalodontus would be writing all the fancy guides only for the big teams and academy teams did you now? For those who were worried, here is our answer!

Fans of minor leagues… it’s about time. Now it’s time for these teams to stand under the spotlight and make themselves known to the adoring eyes of Europe and the world. Take your flags out and get your voices ready: your teams are finally playing and they need all your support and trust for the brutal dungeon known as the Group Stage. Placed with some of the finest and most powerful teams from the Major Regions, this will be a fight to the finish.

The Play-Ins were incredibly stacked and we’ve seen great performances from highly competitive teams that ultimately saw Excel UK, Berlin International Gaming and Rogue Esports Club triumph. With Italy, Portugal, Baltics, Benelux, Czech & Slovakia and Greece & Cyprus joining the Group Stage, their task of making it to the quarterfinals is looking as daunting as a solo, naked climb up Mt. Everest (please don’t attempt this). But in the era of ‘play your style’ and with the competition fiercer than before, these traditional underdogs have never been this hungry to prove their worth and it wouldn’t be European Masters without unlikely upsets!

Megalodontus: You just want Italy to do well Clockwork: Hey, don’t say that as if Italy WON’T do well!

This is the last installment of our EU Masters Summer 2019 guides; you can find guides about the other teams here:

Play-In teams: https://medium.com/@megalodon.clockwork/the-7-wonders-play-in-teams-of-eu-masters-summer-2019-f1537fc336d9

Favourites to win, part one: https://eu.lolesports.com/en/articles/meet-the-eu-masters-summer-2019-teams-part-1

Favourites to win, part two: https://eu.lolesports.com/en/articles/meet-more-contenders-and-dark-horses-for-eu-masters-summer-2019

Without further ado, onward to our six challengers! It’s time to step out of the shadows!

GREECE AND CYPRUS — GREEK LEGENDS LEAGUE: We Love Gaming (Greece)

A close, heartbreaking tiebreaker sent We Love Gaming out of the EU Masters last Spring, leaving them unable to live up to the incredible top 8 finish of Panathinaikos in EUM Summer 2018. But like the infamous spirit of the renowned Spartans of old, adversity only tempers theirs spears and shields. Once again, they bit down hard and eventually claimed the Greek crown. But their ambition lies beyond: to once again conquer Europe’s finest.

Comparing WLG to the infamous Spartan Phalanx might seem stereotypical, but as a unit they are redolent of the hoplites of old. As a team they play a slower, controlled game generally aimed at choking their opponents but they are not averse to showing their foes the old Balkan DNA. Even when they are corralled into a corner, just like the Spartans at Thermopylae, they never say die. Having three former players from the old PAO, WLG set up much like a traditional team relying very much on their strong mid/jungle duo to dictate the game, playing to their strengths with near full teamfight compositions. Returning back to EUM is midlaner Spartan (formerly ParisGRE), whose preference for teamfight and control mages like Orianna or Taliyah (even playing Malphite mid against Zed once), he has formed a formidable partnership with Spanish jungler DahVys. Returning members from PAO are toplaner Delitto, who was famous for being an extremely versatile, hard to abuse player and ADC Bananitoo, calm and controlled with the affinity of punishing even the smallest mistakes in lane or otherwise. Support Leodaras does his best to protect Bananitoo till the late game and roams as much as he is able to.

In their local circuit, WLG have shown great resilience within their team, even coming back to reverse sweep the finals. This is a trait that these brave Spartan warriors will desperately need, as faster and more coordinated teams have shown to take them apart before their wish to engage full on teamfights happen, making WLG desperate and reckless. Their laning prowess isn’t something they are extremely known for either unless they pick hard winning matchups, so bigger teams will absolutely exploit this aspect. The legacy of PAO’s top 8 finish still lingers over the Greek scene, and three returning players from that roster will aim to carry on that dream and immortalise their names in the Pantheon of legends.

Player to watch: DahVys. The Spanish jungler of WLG, the final piece they needed to bring the roster’s full strength and style to life. At his best we call him ‘El Loco’ for the relentless pressure he is capable of unleashing on enemy lanes and invades. This is in turn greatly lifts the pressure of his laners and he is the key to their continued success. While this style has somewhat shown to be somewhat reckless, underestimate him and WLG’s Phalanx will make short work on you.

BENELUX (BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS AND LUXEMBOURG) — BENELUX PREMIER LEAGUE: DEFUSEKIDS (NETHERLANDS)

The Netherlands continues to produce great cheese, an amazing viral video, and great players for LoL, but the EU Masters has been very much a sore spot for the best from the Benelux. Nevertheless, theirs is a nation that thrives upon hardship and Defusekids once again reign supreme. The superteam from the Benelux has not been deterred by their poor campaign in the last edition, and they march forth enter the belly of the beast, aiming to prove they are more sturdy than the stroopwafels their nation is so famous for.

No longer the new kids on the block, the Dutch powerhouse have retained the same team as last split and mostly kept their vicious playstyle. But for this edition, they’ve tightened up a lot of holes in their gameplay, playing less recklessly than before. A team that utilises calculated aggression to force mistakes and pressure their foes, Defusekids never say no to a good fight, favouring skirmishes throughout the game when they see an opportunity to collapse. Their usually solid and proactive early game is led by jungler Hades, who seems to perpetually fueled by Dutch Courage. His still aggressive style is match with his love for champions like Olaf, Elise and even a pocket Zac. Almost attached at his hip is support Kaasbaas who still roams very heavily with Hades to create mayhem and space for the carries. With his ADC Kitty they tend to favour a very safe botlane, many times allowing opponents to push onto them. The sololaners are still the highlight of this team: rock in the mid lane Chapapi armed with his champion ocean of picks like his aimbot Xerath, Kassadin and Ekko; toplaner Alois with his ever aggressive ‘alpha’ laning with carry champions, often capable of making mind boggling plays along with crushing his lane opponent.

Like last split, Defusekids completely dominated the Benelux and stood atop the pile of bodies undefeated in the BPL. Very few teams have pushed them to the absolute limit as they head on into the EU Masters. In some games they have shown to overextend a lot, gifting free kills to their opponents as well as tunnel visioning on kills sometimes with Hades and Alois being especially guilty of this. These mistakes made by not keeping tabs on opponent teleports for example might be heavily exploited by stronger opponents. As they enter the main stage once again, will the Dutch titans defuse every bomb, dive and curveball thrown at them, or will their attempts at another good campaign end with an unceremonious explosion?

Clockwork: Are you talking about mental booms? Megalodontus: They’re basically Team Rocket then if they go boom there too!

Player to watch: Alois. Once again we ask, “TheShy WHO???”. He’s had another immense season and with the current meta as it is, Alois’s carry champion pool and dominating mentality have never been more relevant: Camille, Qiyana, Irelia, Jax, Fiora and of course, his notoriously banned Riven. He is still capable on tanks like Sion and Cho’Gath but on his carry champions he can become an unstoppable force. Fail to stop him and he’ll have the whole enemy team pushing up tulips in the Dutch countryside.

BALTICS — BALTIC MASTERS: ENSURE (LITHUANIA)

The strongest team in Baltics, collecting the most experienced players in the region, a Lithuanian superteam ready to take on the world…That’s actually Zalgiris Esports. And eNsure, with their renewed roster, toppled them against all odds to represent the Baltic Masters for the second time in a row on the European stage. The defending Batltic ruler’s fine and controlled form gives hopes to their fans, but how did this all happen?

Aside from their famous name “On our way to EUM” with the previous team, no one expected a completely different roster to do that very same thing. eNsure developed a very solid identity that they couldn’t built in Spring: playing it patient. Late game being their forte, eNsure privileges scaling picks such as Azir, Corki, Sivir and Irelia, banking on their superior coordination and team unity to surpass their opponents. In other words, they are a team whose sum is greater than their parts. Jungler Jaunutis acts as a safeguard during the early game, specializing in protecting his lanes on pick such as Jarvan IV or Sejuani, with the occasional Kindred here and there. In turn, midlaner Domas and ADC Bushy reward his attention by being massive forces in teamfights. Domas, who was eNsure’s midlaner last split for a time, beyond the recent meta of Corki and Azir can bust out a niche Fizz that will surprise even the most experiend opponent. Experienced support Cospect, returning from his winning crusade on Italian team Sparks, brings coordination and stability with his tanks, Nautilus and Braum, and Pyke on the side.

As with all lategame teams, eNsure’s most evident crack lies in the early game: set them too far behind and they won’t be able to get the game to a point where their unique synergy can best their opponents. But with the same spirit they’ve shown in their finals against Zalgiris, eNsure will ensure they will not allow that to happen. Baltic fans are probably still incredulous at eNsure getting so far and repeating this chain of events at the EU Masters will be clutch to redeem the northeastern region in the eyes of many nonbelievers.

Player to watch: Bushy. The young Danish rookie wasn’t afraid to show up in his first championship ever, and even in LAN he didn’t get nervous at all. While he is reputed for his safe playstyle, don’t be surprised when he pops off out of nowhere. With a deep love for scaling ADCs like Kai’Sa, Xayah and Sivir, he is the ultimate insurance for eNsure, outputting insane damage numbers when the late game comes. Reaching EU Masters in his first split is something very few players can put in their resume and he will no doubt want to add ‘winning it’ there as well.

PORTUGAL — LPLOL: FOR THE WIN ESPORTS (PORTUGAL)

While their rivals K1cK Esports Club continue to flounder, For The Win Esports once again completely subjugated the Portuguese scene, only losing once in the whole split, proving they thoroughly deserve to once again fly the symbolic Portuguese Shield emblazoned upon the red and green flag. Last split, no one expected anything of them and yet they earned the small nation’s first ever victory at the EU Masters. This split, they aim to bring the might of their formidable warships and firepower down on Europe.

FTW literally go “for the win” with their plethora of quirky and innovative strategies, as well as the fearlesness to employ it. It all starts from the tactical mastermind that is Plasma, their veteran support: crafting the unlikeliest botlanes (remember OGB’s Shaco support? It’s Plasma’s doing!), he and botlaner AFM have carved their own niche meta: they are among the first teams to play Heimerdinger/Shaco, Veigar/Volibear and some Yasuo here and there. Other than mastering the champion rack of the game like no other team, FTW’s real prowess lies in their fast reactions to enemy aggression, which allows them to always hit twice. Once the early game domination is established, the team proceeds to abuse their enemies’ lack of vision to force teamfights and take objectives afterwards. Jungler Own3r relies on the botlane to play their wonky cards on their own, thus being free to set up the sololanes: Xaky and Frozen are a fearsome duo who can take over a game. Always preferring bruisers such as Sylas, Aatrox or Renekton, the two can swap lanes to adjust matchups and pull out unexpected picks.

But sometimes hubris takes over. Even in some of their most successful games, FTW stumble upon closing, picking fights they shouldn’t pick due to overestimating their lead. This is not their only display of arrogance, however: well aware that their draft can surprise most opponents, they happen to try too hard and pick themselves a composition which has a very narrow win condition or one that requires perfect execution, thus putting them in a very awkward spot if the game drags on. Will the enthusiastic and adoring fans be able to shout “PORTUGAL CARALHO” this split, or will they only be able to say “CARALHO” at FTW’s performances?

Player to watch: Plasma. And how could it be anyone else? Returning back to the EU Masters once again, the face of LPLOL for the last two years, this innovative support always has some gimmick up his sleeves for any unsuspecting opponent. With the most unreadable champion pool in the whole continent and the threat of his Zilean always looming, he can be a menace in champion select before being one on the Rift.

ITALY — PG NATIONALS: CAMPUS PARTY SPARKS (ITALY)

Campus Party Sparks fans and Italian League aficionados would rather forget their last EU Masters adventure, which ended rather unceremoniously. The proverbial ‘spark’ of hope they had hoped to inspire was swiftly extinguished. Among harsh critiques and skepticism along the whole Summer Split for this failure, Sparks managed to make an impressive playoff run and once again rule supreme in Italy. Europe watch out, the spark of the green, white and red is about to be set ablaze once more.

It started as a tough experience: some of their mistakes from the European stage echoed into the first weeks of the split, to the point of superstar ADC Endz leaving the team in week 6. In dire need of a substitute, they summoned the Lithuanian marksman Optimas — and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise! Deemed without a win condition, Sparks was set to be eliminated in the quarterfinals; yet Optimas’ uncommon champion pool, ranging from Ashe to Vayne to Heimerdinger rivaling Hjarnan’s, proved to be complementary to midlaner Librid’s style: holding the midlane with steady waveclear champions such as Lux, Azir and his feared Corki. Jungler Rawbin and support Efias provide coverage for their midlaner, always setting up roams and nullifying enemy ganks, while Acidy steadily holds the toplane on his trademark Ornn and Gangplank. But this all collapses if their midlane setup doesn’t work: due to his champion pool, Librid’s laning phases are often exploited and this puts Sparks in a tough spot when trying to set up rotations without the midlane towers up.

What was seen as an untimely mishap turned out to be the key to their second consecutive title, trumping the very favourites of OutPlayed. But what is their prime strength will also be their biggest obstacle: longer series are the true reason why Sparks managed to triumph once again. Coach Cristo excels at preparing for specific opponents, but EU Masters’ group stage only offers him three games: it’s do or die for the Italian Stars, and their aim is to regain the trust that they couldn’t meet in Spring.

Megalodontus: How do you say “It’s coming home!” in Italian? Clockwork: https://youtu.be/0J2QdDbelmY

Player to watch: Optimas, or as we like to call him, “Optimas Prime”. The Lithuanian ADC completely shifted the team dynamics: if Endz required a large amount of resources to perform, he shines as a low-econ carry, playing the safest possible and allowing his teammates to be more relevant. This, however, doesn’t stop him from playing his pocket pick Vayne, without requiring resources but just acting as a lategame threat. His sidelane knowledge propelled the team to newer heights while boldly leading his team forth and yelling, “Campus Sparks, roll out!”.

CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA — HITPOINT MASTERS: ESUBA (SLOVAKIA)

When people utter the phrase “No king rules forever”, they forgot to add “except eSuba”. Last split they surrendered their crown to newcomers AS Trencin. This split, eSuba rose from the ashes and once again seized the Hitpoint Masters with an iron fist (6–0 in playoffs!), reminding everyone why they are the pride of the Czech and Slovakian scene. The famous blue and black star traditionally has not done much in the EU Masters, but now rebuilt with a hungry team that could all change.

Despite being a minor region team, which everyone would expect to play in simpler way due to less competition, but eSuba are a very cerebral team if not slightly unusual. Early game is jungler Jejky’s prime time, when the veteran Czech jungler carefully lands just the right ganks on picks like Lee Sin or jarvan IV to make his laners feel comfortable. He’s helped in this endeavour by the two sololaners: toplaner Wondro is still the aggressive mechanical talent that shone in last year’s AS Trencin and midlaner Random is a consistent midlaner with plenty of pop-off instances. Once the lanes are ahead, the team rotates by banking on their lead and superior wave setup, focusing on taking turrets and objectives more than on kills. Their #1 plan is to deploy their scary 1–4 asset: use 4 players to force the enemy team to react while Wondro takes your towers, your money, your mum, and eventually even your nexus. In this blueprint, the botlane of PiOk and Vasked is just what anyone would ask for by being a solid, reliable duo that never gets exploited and always provides a safety net for the team in case the sololane carries get shut down.

But there’s a reason eSuba resort to this crafty playstyle: they do not feel comfortable in big, constant teamfights. Be it because of their drafts, which doesn’t really leave space for true tanks, or their tendency to open the map as much as possible or even because of poor synergy, teamfights are a no-go zone for the Czech veterans. They are yet to be fully tested since they nonchalantly swept the Hitpoint Masters under their iron crown. It has been a full year since eSuba has last participated in the EU Masters, can their legion of fans continue to sing “Long live the king!” as the march towards Katowice, or will they ultimately sing “The king is dead!”?

Player to watch: Wondro. Fans disagreed when last split we hailed Wondro as the next could-be LEC “wondro-boy”, but nevertheless we’re saying it again: keep an eye on him. His carry champion pool ranges from Akali to Vladimir, from Camille to Ryze, without forgetting some Karma, Mordekaiser and even Cassiopeia (who can be flexed with PiOk in the botlane). With the proper setup, every game with this toplaner in it will become a Wondro game, and be prepared to see him represent Hitpoint Masters until he moves on to greener pastures.