The first weekend of the European LCS Spring 2015 Playoffs finished with the rookie tandem (H2k-Gaming and Unicorns of Love) breaking their way through into the semifinals. Now, with only one week left until the EU LCS Spring Grand Finals in Madrid, Spain, the question is whether H2k's strong defense will win out, or if Fnatic's electrifying offense will lead them to a fifth straight EU LCS Grand Finals.

Fnatic: A Kingdom of Fire

Highest KDA (Regular Season): Steelback, 8.85

Most Kills: Febiven, 95

Most Assists: Yellowstar, 229

Record Past 10 Games: 7-3

Fnatic like to fight. A lot.

When the regular season first kicked off, they were a heavy skirmishing team that relied on hard engage and burst from their carries to win team fight after team fight. Sure, they would lose three people in the process but they would still come out on top with an ace. That style was fun and made this new Fnatic squad, pieced together by support Yellowstar, an interesting one to watch, but the question was whether or not it would stick.

With two Korean imports moving into the squad, most notably Reignover in the jungle who can communicate well in both languages, Fnatic's fiery play could have simply been due to the team coming together. The squad had four LCS rookies, three of them had never before played in a top flight professional league, and it could have been easier just to rely on the playmaking abilities of the five players in the early days instead of trying to force cohesive, smarter play that would have taken longer develop - especially considering the inexperience of the team and the slight language barrier with Huni's improving English.

Nope, 18 games later and they still like to fight.

Reignover and Huni still love going in and engaging in what inevitably turns into a bloodbath. At times, the team still has communication issues and can have situations where they lose games that they could have won if they slowed down just a bit, but they've always won a fair amount of games through the headstrong, offensive playstyle that has made them the most explosive team in both the NA or EU LCS.

Fnatic aren't a team that is going to surprise you. Huni, Yellowstar and especially Reignover enjoy picking champions that can get them into a scrum, allowing Steelback and Febiven to usually be the last two survivors in an all-out Fnatic brawl. Huni and Reignover rank in the top echelon of players at their position when it comes to kills, but they also have the designation of being two of the players who die the most in all of the European LCS. They don't fear death and will fight you even if they know they won't be making it out alive, but they're most likely going to take you down with them or give Steelback or Febiven enough time to get into position to pick up the gold.

The question is if this style — one that contradicts the old adage 'defense is what wins champions' — can bring Fnatic to their fourth European championship in five seasons. They have the pedigree of the best team in Europe's history, getting to every single final and winning three of them, yet this is an entirely new team that has battled through the regular season to get into the semifinals.

Instead of the old memories of Xpeke back-dooring SK Gaming, we now have a Fnatic team that is more about using brute force and mechanical skill instead of using their brains and teamwork to win games. The best example would be there most recent game against fellow semi-finalist Unicorns of Love. That was a game that Fnatic were in total control of and had ample opportunities to close out, but they were denied twice at their attempts to end the game at the foot of the Nexus and lost a heartbreaker that showed their lack of end-game poise.

Fnatic are a good team. They are extremely engaging and fun to watch — so much so that you never want to miss one of their team fights. They have the ability to beat any team in the European LCS, but they also have the inexperience and miscommunication of a team that can lead them to disastrous losses and placing out of the EU LCS Grand Finals for the first time in team history.

H2k-Gaming: An Empire of Ice

Highest KDA (Regular Season): Hjarnan, 5.9

Most Kills: Hjarnan, 78

Most Assists: Loulex, 139

Record Past 10 Games: 8-2

H2k and fighting? Eh, not a match made in heaven. They'd rather play chess and listen to classical music than punching people in the faces while listening to rock-and-roll .

A rookie team this season, the semifinals weren't a place that many saw H2k-Gaming ending up. Compared to their newcomer brothers Unicorns of Love who wowed the crowd during IEM San Jose and amazed fans all season long with their unique, unorthodox picks, H2k-Gaming weren't the most exciting team on the block.

"Did you see that game!? Kikis for UoL just picked Shaco in the playoffs! I love that team so much. They always fight and pick crazy things and they are, like, my favorite team to ever play League of Legends! Their name is also super funny and cool!"

For H2k-Gaming, who have been the best team in the second half of the season, going 13-2 in their past 15 games including their sweep of the Copenhagen Wolves in the first round, their response has mostly been:

"Oh, H2k won again? Are they the team that threatened to take their player's house or are they the ones from Spain?"

H2k doesn't always win in the sexiest way possible. Compare their wins to Fnatic games where they have Nexus rushes, fighting all over the map and action from the get-go, H2k Gaming are slogging along in their old reliable Buick while Fnatic speeds past them in a fancy new Ferrari.

The early game is not H2k's forte. They routinely fall behind in the early game through losing lanes or giving up a first blood, but they don't panic. Instead of surging for kills, skirmishes and trying to make the Pentakill highlight package on PrimeTime League, it's more about the mid-game and beating their opponents through smart map movements and well set-up team fights that can let them snowball a small victory into objectives.

Lately, H2k-Gaming's setup has been to get Ryu, their veteran Korean import formerly of the KT Bullets, a burst mage in the middle lane like Ahri, LeBlanc or even a Diana like he pulled out in the quarterfinals against the Wolves. Odoamne and Loulex fall back into the tank meta by picking up hulking brutes that can soak up damage, allowing to kaSing to take more of an engage role if needed through picking up a Thresh or a similar champion.

Their key player for the series could be Hjarnan. He was primarily a Sivir player through the regular season, living up to the five man unit mentality of H2k and giving his team utility along with wave clear to push towers. The Swedish AD Carry switched it up in the games against Copenhagen, playing Sivir only once and playing two hyper carries in Jinx and Kog'maw in the series' first two games.

On a team that have sacrificed personal glory for the majority of the season, the new patch has given Hjarnan the chance to be a hyper carry the team can play around. So far so good, with two blowout wins on Jinx and Kog'maw with a combined 15/2/13 stat line.

The Verdict:

You could argue that these two teams were the best overall squads in the second half of the EU LCS regular season, considering SK's stumbles after a perfect start. H2k had their first signs of weakness with the patch updates in the final weeks, the 'World of Tanks meta' it was being called not gelling with the team that was steamrolling teams left and right only a week before the change. They've recouped after those follies, showing their dominance in the quarter-finals with Hjarnan playing more of a hard carry role and the the team rolling over an outgunned Copenhagen Wolves.

If I was picking a team to win me Fantasy LCS, I would always pick Fnatic. If I was picking a team to get a friend into wanting to watch more League of Legends, I'd definitely pick a Fnatic game to show her over an H2k-Gaming one.

But, with a Grand Finals ticket to Madrid, Spain on the line for the winner, I go back to the old adage: defense is what wins championships.

I think the best summary to this series can be seen through the awards Riot has been giving away for the best and brightest this LCS season. They awarded Huni for being the Best Rookie of the Season, putting up big plays, being a huge crowd favorite and reappearing on highlight reels. H2k's regular season award was given to their coach Pr0lly, who was able to bring his team together and help them become one of the strongest, most well-put together teams in either LCS.

Fnatic for their flare and big play potential. H2k for their smart, calculated way of directing the game.

The boys in orange might be the ones who win all the personal awards and become the players you try to emulate in solo queue, but H2k-Gaming are the ones I think will be heading to Madrid as EU LCS Spring finalists.

Prediction: H2k-Gaming 3 - 1 Fnatic

Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger is a staff writer for The Score eSports, and he will be covering both the EU and NA LCS Playoffs. Yes, he knows that fire usually beats ice, but he doesn't care about your elemental effectiveness. You can follow and tell him your predictions on Twitter.