Consistency remained in the EU LCS from week eight into week nine. Many of the draft priorities stayed at the top. Gnar, Cho’Gath, Rumble and Camille were major picks for the top lane. Junglers included Zac, Elise, Maokai, Jarvan IV and Gragas. Zoning mages, such as Taliyah, Syndra and Orianna dominate the mid lane when Leblanc is banned. Bottom lane duos continue to ban Caitlyn and Kalista, while locking in supports who possess heavy engage.

The teams more-or-less performed as expected. All but one series ended in a 2-0 victory for the team higher in the standings. Ninjas in Pyjamas secured another game win. Game one between Unicorns of Love and Splyce had a gold swing over ten thousand. Roccat blew a 3,000 gold lead against Fnatic. Otherwise, the better teams took their leads and closed out the games.

Like every week, though, there are some elements of the game that are shifting. Trending in the EU LCS is back with your weekly dose of Europe’s ups and downs on the Rift.

TRENDING UP

These are the teams, players and gameplay factors that are on the upswing after week eight of the EU LCS. They may have won a key series against a tough opponent. A teammate may have put the team on their back to keep it together. Maybe a particular champion pick was able to shine.

Xayah

Caitlyn and Kalista have become pick or ban in Europe. Out of week nine’s thirteen games, these two marksmen were picked or banned in every single one. When they were both off the table, Xayah actually rose to priority. The Rebel was drafted in nine out of thirteen matches (69.2 percent), and she was banned in just one (7.7 percent). This 76.9 percent presence is even with Tristana’s, who was picked or banned in ten games.

Xayah has maintained an overall 50 percent presence in the EU LCS this Summer Split. Her ultimate, Featherstorm, is valuable in a tank-centric meta, due to her temporary invulnerability. In most cases, she is paired with a Rakan support. The tandem-released champions augment each other’s abilities, which makes them an attractive pair in the draft. In week nine, Xayah and Rakan were drafted together five times. However, EU LCS supports also chose Trundle once, Morgana twice and Thresh once with a Xayah AD carry.

Kayn

While the jungle has been dominated by tanks on patch 7.15, Kayn entered the mix more in week nine. Pridestalker had picked up The Shadow Reaper immediately after he was unlocked in competitive play. Caps tried him out in the mid lane in week eight. Kayn’s popularity continues to grow, as he was picked three times as a jungler, and banned three times last week. His presence in six out of thirteen matches equates to 46.2 percent.

Xerxe picked up a win against Splyce, while Shook went 1-1 against Misfits. Altogether, this brings Kayn’s jungle win rate to 50 percent in the EU LCS. His flexibility to choose between assassin and bruiser forms brings a level of unpredictability to the game. He can be feast or famine, though, demonstrated by an average game time of 29:32 when Kayn is in the jungle (compared to the league average of 34:10).

TRENDING DOWN

These are the teams, players and gameplay factors that are on the downswing after week eight of the EU LCS. They may have lost a series against an underdog. A teammate may have faltered over several games. Maybe the meta is shifting and a playstyle is being left in the past. These elements are downward trending in the EU LCS.

Splyce

Week nine’s 0-2 loss brings Splyce’s game record to 14-13. Of their 14 wins, only two were secured against teams above them in the standings (Unicorns of Love in week three). Game one against UOL went pretty well against last week, until Xerxe stole the Baron. Splyce had accrued up to 3,000 gold over the Unicorns by 17 minutes, but could not recover from the lost Baron.

Game two was a much more convincing loss. The team composition seemed straight-forward. Sejuani should provide the initial engage, along with a Braum ultimate, if needed. Cho’Gath layers his crowd control and nukes down a primary carry. Azir and Tristana output the damage from the back-line. However, when looking at UOL’s composition, there is not an ideal target to engage upon. Nidalee and Leblanc have dashes. Maokai and Trundle are too tanky to be popped. Xayah is briefly invulnerable with Featherstorm. The Unicorns closed it out in 34 minutes, and the kill score was only 7-2.

While they did decisively beat Mysterious Monkeys 2-0 in their series earlier in the weekend, Splyce should not be satisfied. Misfits has won three games against teams ranked above them. As of week nine, Roccat has won five games against the top four EU LCS teams. Of course, Splyce won their series against Misfits and Roccat this split. But, as far as their performance against Fnatic, G2, UOL and H2K, Splyce is on par with these teams. If Splyce want to qualify for Worlds, it will require them to play up to other top teams, particularly their Group B counterparts, UOL and H2K.

Misfits

Misfits fans are let down again, as they finish week nine with a 2-3 game score. They hardly put up a fight against a revitalized G2, then they dropped a game to Ninjas in Pyjamas later in the weekend. Misfits is put in a similar position to Splyce, as their game score this split is 14-16; they are solidly third place in their group, and only three of their game wins are off of the top four teams. With Fnatic being much more dominant in Group A this split, Misfits have slumped compared to their inauguration last spring.

As mentioned last week, Misfits’ problem is their mid-late game. Roccat have surpassed them in OraclesElixir.com’s mid-late game rating. They tend to lose leads off of poor decision-making while Baron is on the board. Only Ninjas in Pyjamas has a more dramatic falloff between comparing early game ratings and mid-late game ratings. This is particularly troubling when taking into account that UOL, Fnatic, H2K and G2 do best in the mid-late stages of the game. Just like Splyce, Misfits need to play up to the level of the top four teams if they want a shot at qualifying for Worlds.

Braum

It has been a little under the radar, but Braum has been picked much less frequently so far this patch. In patch 7.14, Braum had an 84 percent pick-ban rate. So far, Braum has only seen five picks and four bans, equal to 50 percent draft presence. His priority is below Thresh, Rakan and Alistar. Most teams are prioritizing jungle, AD carry and mid lane bans, so many support players are able to take the high priorities. The flexibility of building Ancient Coin is not as attractive on this champion, which may be one of the reasons he has fallen in priority. It is fully possible that this champion will bounce back into higher priority, but week nine was a low point for him.

Featured Image: LoL Esports Flickr

Other Images: LoL Esports Flickr

Champion Statistics: GamesofLegends.com, OraclesElixir.com

Looking for a podcast covering EU and NA LCS? Check out LCS Weekly on SoundCloud. You can ‘Like’ The Game Haus on Facebook and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Thomas!