Their first high-profile signing is of former Astralis top laner Matti “WhiteKnight” Sormunen. With the end of the 2022 LEC Spring Split, the Finnish player parted ways with Astralis, and the announcement was made by the team’s official Twitter page.
WhiteKnight’s addition to the team will undoubtedly be a big boost. The 26-year-old has been on the scene for a while and has made it to the last three splits, competing at the highest level in European LoL.
Meanwhile, this would be the first time WhiteKnight plays in the Super League, even though he has been around a lot. He has played for six different teams, including Ninjas in Pyjamas, BIG, Unicorns of Love, with the most recent being Astralis.
While having a solid roster is a great plan, having a better coach who can lead them will almost guarantee victories. To that effect, the organization has acquired the services of Danusch “Arvindir” Fischer. The German has been on the scene since 2014, with his longest spell coming at BIG (three and a half years).
He will be replacing Jesús “Falco” Pérez Rubio, who had a rather short run with the team. Falco joined KOI in December 2021 after its formation and did a decent job in helping them finish 4th in the LVP Superliga Orange after losing to BISOBS ECLUB in the Losers’ Round 2.
Arvindir will bring a lot of experience and a winning mentality to the Spanish League of Legends team. While he has had a great run as a head coach throughout his career, winning the European Masters championships in 2019 is perhaps his greatest accomplishment.
There have been reports that team owners Ibai Llanos and FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique wanted Arvindir to lead the team from inception, but they were unable to secure the deal.
Although the team is relatively new, they are looking to announce themselves in the Super League as quickly as possible. As at the time of writing, no further changes to the roster have been reported. However, they could still pull off one or two more acquisitions before the start of the summer split.
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Penguins vs. MAD Lions
In nature, a battle of lions and penguins would certainly end in a decisive victory for the lions. In League of Legends, well… Penguins at least have a chance. After a bloodshed against KIYF where they scored an astonishing 56 kills in two games ended in a victory, Spain’s most chaotic team surely won’t easily bow to the kings.
MAD Lions showed their versatility in the previous win against Dragons, where they comfortably stomped game 1 and used slow and patient sieging to take the next game. Crownshot is still having somewhat iffy performances and the Lions will have to think of a way to wake him up. Penguins’ “animal style” aggression will certainly make it harder for MAD, but the title holders are still expected to take this. A draw is probably the best outcome Penguins can hope for, as I don’t see them winning more than one game.
Chance of winning analysis: 65% MAD Lions, 25% draw, 10% Penguins
Betting prediction: Small bet on Penguins to win, paying $19.00 at GG Bet.
Dragons E.C. vs. Movistar Riders
A sad start to the campaign for Dragons is looking to turn into a sad mid-split, as they still haven’t won a single game. They don’t have a high chance of doing it against Movistar Riders, either, as the full-foreign heavyweights are looking as a top-tier contender for the #1 spot.
Dragons have slowly been getting used to losing, and their last game against MAD Lions shows it, as they had many opportunities to get a lead and simply failed to make use of them. Their starting ADC still isn’t on the roster, even though he was expected to play yesterday, and the top/jungle duo is looking very disconnected. Movistar, on the other hand, are playing decently, even if not having a lot of different strategies. Getting an early lead and snowballing the game is still their main go-to, and they should be able to succeed in this against a struggling bunch that is Dragons. A 2-0 for Movistar Riders is the most likely outcome.
Chance of winning analysis: 80% Movistar Riders, 10% draw, 10% Dragons
Betting prediction: Movistar Riders to win, paying $1.33 at GG Bet.
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ASUS ROG Army vs. eMonkeyz
Both ASUS and the Monkeyz can be happy with their performances from the last two days, as they gathered points by drawing matches they were generally expected to lose. A 2-0 win here would be greatly helpful to either team, as all the biggest playoff contenders have failed to get a significant lead over their competition, and each line-up still has a chance to fight for the title.
ASUS played two very close games against Movistar, where it was again their teamfighting that shone bright as they made a terrific comeback in game 1. eMonkeyz got outmacroed in the first game against Giants, but later confirmed that they can play quick snowball comps well and capitalize on good early game plays. If they do something similar against ASUS, they might take a game from them too. However, I don’t think they can do it twice against a well-meshing team like ASUS, so I can see this duel ending in a draw.
Chance of winning analysis: 50% ASUS, 30% draw, 20% eMonkeyz
Betting prediction: ASUS ROG Army to win, paying $1.90 at GG Bet.
KIYF eSports Club vs. Vodafone Giants
Giants have had a bit of an oopsie in their last match, after their passive late-game comp was fully exploited by eMonkeyz. The questionable drafts draw a bit of a shadow on an otherwise great start from them. KIYF have also started well, and their players have clicked together right off the bat, and this match should be the derby of the superweek.
KIYF’s clever play and focus on Carzzy as their main carry has helped them a lot, with the young ADC having some terrific performances. Giants have good macro and teamfighting, but their reliance on split-pushing could be an issue if they decide to go with the strategy yet again. They will need to focus on their bot lane more than usual if they want to stay afloat, and their opponents should look to punish any mistakes. Giants are a good team, though, and I expect them to bounce back even if they lose the first game.
Chance of winning analysis: 30% KIYF, 50% draw, 20% Giants
Betting prediction: KIYF eSports Club to win, paying $8.00 at GG Bet.
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KIYF eSports Club vs. Penguins
KIYF’s new roster has been a pleasant surprise at the start of the season, being one of the three teams to share the top spot. Penguins, on the other side, still face the same problems from Spring, and it will be crucial for them to solve these issues before their competition gets too far ahead.
It looks like KIYF were particularly careful when picking their players for the new season, as all of them have been playing well right off the bat. Their macro is on point, and they can comfortably capitalise on single picks as they showed against MAD Lions. Their teamfighting is also good, with the young Czech bot lane showing very promising performances in this aspect. Penguins are as chaotic as they always were, but seem to focus on their ADC Javaaa now as their main carry. Still, they don’t look very convincing, and KIYF probably have a better chance of taking the 2-0.
Chance of winning analysis: 65% KIYF, 25% draw, 10% Penguins
Betting prediction: KIYF eSports Club to win, paying $1.80 at GG Bet.
Dragons E.C. vs. MAD Lions E.C.
Both teams have disappointed in this early stage compared to the expectations. While MAD are yet to pick up a series win after drawing twice, Dragons are glued to the bottom of the table with a worrying 0-4 record and an even less reassuring playstyle.
MAD Lions seem to have taken a break after the EU Masters, as they look less coherent and make more individual mistakes than we’re used to seeing from them. Crownshot wasn’t very impactful in the first two weeks, leaving the carry duty to his mid-jungle duo, but his opponent Nixerino hasn’t even been on the team for the past matches and will be playing his first games this season. Even if their starting ADC shows up big time, Dragons will still have to fix a lot of their individual and teamplay issues: everyone is still waiting for a good performance from Sacre, and the team’s problems with mid game teamfighting seem catastrophic when they’re facing quality opponents. MAD Lions are a big favourite here, and unless Dragons do something extraordinary, they should be collecting their first 2-0. (85% MAD, 10% draw, 5% Dragons)
Chance of winning analysis: 85% MAD, 10% draw, 5% Dragons
Betting prediction: MAD Lions E.C. Club to win, paying $1.36 at GG Bet.
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eMonkeyz vs. Vodafone Giants
The Monkeyz haven’t really had the best of starts in their first two matches, with a draw against Penguins and a convincing loss to Movistar Riders. Still without a series win in 2018, they will be looking to surprise Giants, who are currently sharing the pole position with a draw and a win.
Giants’ top laner Yoppa is in terrific form, having carried hard against Dragons E.C. last week, and so is their jungler Razork. The synergy between the players is looking crisp, and this is still their greatest strength: clean macro play and good teamfighting enable them to quickly finish games after getting a lead in the early game. They’re not as good when playing from behind, and that’s where eMonkeyz should look for an opportunity – their rookie mid laner Czekolad is proving to be a very talented player, capable of winning lane and playing well as the main carry of the team. However, the rest of eMz needs to step up substantially to be able to stand up to Giants, and they still haven’t shown that they’re good enough to take games off the top teams.
Betting prediction: Vodafone Giants to win, paying $1.18 at GG Bet.
ASUS ROG Army vs. Movistar Riders
Movistar Riders have started the season well after drawing against MAD Lions and smashing eMonkeyz in their previous games, and on paper, ASUS shouldn’t be a tough opponent for them. Interestingly enough, the Army has performed much better than expected, and their presumably “washed up” players have shown that they still have a lot to offer.
Movistar have seemingly dropped the strategy of using substitutes more than any other team, and their current 5-man unit is repaying the trust from the management by playing great. Both Jeskla and Hatrixx have had terrific carry performances, and the rest of the team was able to back them up with solid gameplay of their own. The versatile Norwegian mid laner is the Riders’ main strong point as he is able to play both carries and support-oriented champions, enabling the team to prepare multiple strategies. ASUS’s veterans are on a decent run with two draws with their ADC Sedrion playing particularly well, and an early game advantage means a lot for them. I don’t think Movistar are shaky enough to lose lanes against them, though, and they should take this series.
Betting prediction: Movistar Riders to win, paying $1.38 at GG Bet.