Ten teams have been cut to six, and the 2015 European Spring Playoffs will crown a new champion in Madrid, Spain in three weeks. The reigning kings, Elements, were not able to complete their last-ditch effort to make the postseason and will now have to watch from home as six teams fight to become Europe's new champion.

To kick things off, we have the surprising rookies, H2k-Gaming going up against the carry-oriented Copenhagen Wolves.

Top Lane: Odoamne (H2k) vs. Youngbuck (CW)

In what is statistically the biggest positional mismatch, the top lane will see Odoamne go up against Youngbuck. H2k's Romanian top-laner has been dependable all season long, no matter what situation he has been thrown into.

The same can't be said for his counterpart on the Wolves, as Youngbuck is seen more as a utility and tank that helps CW's main carries propel the rest of the team to victory. Although the kills for the two players are similar, Odoamne has only died 41 times compared to Youngbuck's 80 deaths and he's been more of a factor when it comes to playing a tank and helping his squad win.

Contested Picks: Maokai, Gnar

Maokai and Gnar are the two most closely linked champions for these two players. Odoamne has had little trouble playing the front-line tank champions, going 5-0 on Maokai and 4-2 on Gnar. Those two champions, alongside Kennen, are also in Youngbuck's most played, but with less than stellar results on Maokai: 1-4 and a 1.0 KDA.

Advantage: H2k-Gaming

In a meta that is shifting towards tanks, it's hard to pick against the player that has done a better job at that role on Maokai.

Jungle: Loulex (H2k) vs. Airwaks (CW)

It would be in H2k's best interest to ban Jarvan IV from Airwaks in this series. Neither player is afraid to dip into their large champion pools and play something new, but Airwaks has played eight of his 18 games this season on Jarvan. Outside of that champion, he's played eight different champions once and gave Sejuani a second date by playing her twice.

Loulex also likes Jarvan (4-0 with a 7.52 KDA) but has shown the ability to perform just as well on Rek'sai or Lee Sin if given the chance. His seven champions played on the season can't reach Airwaks' 10, but he also hasn't had to put all his eggs in the Jarvan basket.

Airwaks may have played eight different champions once, but he has only won with two of those one-hit wonders while losing on the other six.

Contested Picks: Jarvan IV

Jarvan should not see the light of day in this series. Loulex and Airwaks are both proficient on the champion and it will almost surely be the first-pick for either side if available.

Just ban the Jarvan, you two.

Advantage: H2k-Gaming

More of the same from the top lane: both do similar jobs in taking utility roles to help their team succeed, but Loulex dies a lot less and is more successful on a larger amount of champions.

Mid Lane: Ryu (H2k) vs. Soren (CW)

Now this is where things get interesting.

H2k are a group that put the team before their personal gain. Instead of having a designated carry or two to lead the team to victory, the entire team will share the wealth and play more of an objective-focused game to win. The team doesn't die a lot and this has resulted in a third place seed, but none of their players are rolling in kills and swimming in gold.

On the flip side, the Wolves rely heavily on Soren and Freeze to win games for them while the other three players do their best to get their two stars in the best position to win. If one or, if they're lucky, both go off and win their lane, the Wolves can snowball that into a win with their aces riding high.

Ryu can have a bad series, even a terrible one, and H2k can still win 3-0. The team will hoist up their teammate if needed and fill in the gaps if he doesn't play up to his potential.

Soren? He doesn't have that luxury. Sure, Freeze could carry three games on Draven and win the series on his back, but Soren will most likely have to play a big role if the Wolves want to pull of the upset. He's been on the cusp of entering the top echelon of mid lane players all season, and this could be the series where Soren finally fills the shoes Bjergsen left almost two years ago.

Contested Picks: Ahri

Soren has played the fox six times this season, finishing the regular season at a sub-par record of 2-4. Ahri was also Ryu's most played champion, but his record flipped with a 5-2 standing. But you can't always trust a player's performance purely on records and Soren has actually had more success in KDA with a 3.6 ratio over Ryu's 3.5.

I'd also watch out for Soren's Cassiopeia, which sits at a perfect 3-0 record at the end of the regular season while amassing 29 kills in those three games.

Advantage: H2k-Gaming

This one is close, but to me it comes down to experience. There aren't many players in League of Legends who know the pain that Ryu has felt in his career. From losing the Champions Korea Summer 2013 Grand Final to his rival Faker and SK Telecom or looking like he was at the end of his career after failing to qualify this EU LCS season with Millennium, Ryu has always persevered.

I know that Ryu can take the pressure. It'll be another question if Soren can step up and play the best series of his life.

AD Carry: Hjarnan (H2k) vs. Freeze (CW)

Freeze, it's your time.

It might not be fair to say that Freeze must win this game for his entire team, but he's definitely going to have to be an ace if the Wolves want to make the semifinals. All season, the Wolves have been at their when Freeze has been able to showcase the skills that rank him right up there with Forgiven as the best AD carry in Europe. Simply put, CW needs that Freeze to show up in this first round match-up.

But that doesn't mean his opponent is a pushover. Hjarnan hasn't had to do as much as Freeze due to H2k's makeup, but he's had an excellent rookie campaign. The Swedish rookie's signature champion has been Sivir, as he's compiled a 7-1 record with a KDA over 11 on the champion. It's the perfect champion for H2k, who utilize Sivir's speed-up ultimate and wave clearing kit to grab objectives and make moves as a team around the map.

Contested Picks: None

Freeze has Draven.

Hjarnan has Sivir.

Could their respective signature champions say more about how their teams play around them? Copenhagen Wolves go all-in with Freeze, putting their hopes on cashing in big and holding their Golden Sniper can carry them to victory. For H2k, Hjarnan doesn't need to be perfect or be the main carry, and he can help in other ways through the utility that Sivir can bring to the team's different compositions.

The players have differing champion pools and styles, making this the match-up to watch out for. If Hjarnan can outplay and keep Freeze down , any opportunity the Wolves have at an upset would seemingly be wiped off the board.

Advantage: Copenhagen Wolves

This is the series that could make Freeze a legend.

...or, it could also be the series where the Wolves go 0-3 and everyone goes, 'Oh well, at least they didn't have to go through promotions.'

Support: kaSing (H2k) vs. Unlimited (CW)

The support warfare has to be focused on kaSing. Unlimited had a good season with his partner Freeze, but it would be hard to talk about the MVP for EU LCS without mentioning kaSing.

That might sound silly at first as kaSing's not a big or flashy name like Yellowstar or Forgiven, but you have to remember that H2k was on the downturn before kaSing took over as the team's support and shot-caller. They were 2-4, coming off a 0-2 week and making what looked to be a desperate move by switching out starter Voidle for kaSing.

H2k won their first game with kaSing. Then the second. Then the third. And then the fourth. The rookie team reeled off eight straight wins in a row before finally being knocked off, making them as one of the hottest teams the EU LCS had ever seen during their winning streak.

Contested Picks: Annie

Both players like their hard Tibbers-enaging, fire throwing, teddy bear-wielding Annie, but kaSing has had better success on the champions through wins and overall statistics. Although Unlimited has played Annie seven times, he's only won two of those times compared to kaSing's 3-1 record on the champion.

Besides Annie, watch out for kaSing's other play-making champion in Thresh, and Unlimited has found his best success season on the heavy-poke and utility-oriented Lulu.

Advantage: H2k-Gaming

kaSing is 10-2 in the games he has played this season. He has helped transform H2k into a legit contender for a EU LCS title in their first season

The Verdict:

Picture it: A team of scrappy underdogs, trying their best to topple the cold, methodical newcomer team that has taken their league by storm. Their star player, Freeze, steps up and with the help of his friends is able to summon enough power from Draven's spinning blades to win the series and make the semifinals.

Nice sounding, but unlikely. It's easy to let your imagination go wild and see the Wolves taking down H2k. The rookie team isn't the most exciting; instead of winning through big plays and insane team fighting, a lot of their games can be grinds that are more outsmarting their opponent than brute forcing through them with their mechanical prowess.

This is where I think the Wolves will have trouble. H2k know that Freeze and Soren to an extent will be the keys to this game, and I don't think they'll let either play get their snowball rolling early. If the Wolves had drawn Gambit, UoL or even Fnatic, you could maybe see it; all three of those teams play with high firepower, love to skirmish and aren't afraid to fight. Maybe Freeze gets an early double-kill, gets rolling on Draven or Kalista and the rest is history.

H2k are a cool, calm and, most importantly, calculated machine that is coached by the winner of the Coach of the Season award in Pr0lly. kaSing has led them to a 10-2 record since he's taken over as support, Ryu has settled in after a bumpy start to his European career, and the rest of the team is buying into the system H2k is putting forth.

You could argue the Wolves have the two most dangerous players in the series, but H2k are a five-man unit equipped at neutralizing the other team's top weapons.

Calculate. Seek. Destroy.

Prediction: H2k-Gaming 3 - 1 Copenhagen Wolves

Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger is a staff writer for The Score eSports, and he will be covering both the EU and NA LCS Playoffs. Who do you think will win between H2k-Gaming and the Copenhagen Wolves? You can follow and tell him your predictions on Twitter.