Astralis

Astralis is a well-known name among e-sports fans, but they will be stepping into the League of Legends scene for the first time this season. Astralis and Origen joined the Astralis Group, which announced that it is merging all activities and e-sports teams under the Astralis brand. However, although Astralis will debut in the tournament this year and take Origen's place, only the Mid position player Nukeduck remains from last year's Origen team.

Top – WhiteKnight;

Jungler – Zanzarah;

Mid – Nukeduck;

Bot – Jeskla;

Support – promisq

The game of this team will undoubtedly revolve around the team's veteran, Nukeduck, who has been considered one of the best individual players in the league for many years. This player has repeatedly proven that he can play practically all champions and do so at a high level. It will also be interesting to watch the game of LEC debutant, Jungler position player Zanzarah. A long-term contract was signed with this 24-year-old player, showing how much the organization trusts this newcomer. Zanzarah was undoubtedly the best-looking Jungler in the Polish league and one of the best in the EU Masters tournament, so it is hoped that he will be able to demonstrate the high level he showed there in the LEC tournament as well.

In summary, it is quite obvious that there are more questions than answers in this team. It is unclear how the team's newcomers will perform. Although they are all quite capable players individually, it may take some time to get used to the league's level, which is certainly higher than the EU Masters or local leagues. While WhiteKnight has LEC experience, Zanzarah has none at all, and Jeskla and promisq are probably among the weakest players in their positions in the league. This is the team's debut season, so expecting something impressive would be naive.

SK Gaming

SK Gaming is one of the oldest European e-sports organizations, unlike Astralis, fighting in the League of Legends scene since 2010. Although this organization has seen both good and bad times during its existence, this season will probably be one of the worse ones. The main player of the team and the face of the team, Crownshot, left, the Jungler position player Trick retired, and contracts with ZaZee and LIMIT were not extended.

TOP – Jenax;

Jungler – TynX;

Mid – Blue;

Bottom – Jezu;

Support – Treatz

The only player remaining from last season is the Top position player Jenax. It can be assured that this player, who has great potential, will get many opportunities to shine this season, as the team's game should be oriented towards the upper part of the map. Tynx, Blue, Jezu, Treatz – players who joined the team during the off-season but have no LEC experience at all. While Treatz has experience in NA LCS, Jezu, Tynx, and Blue have not played in major leagues, so it is a big question mark how they will perform.

SK Gaming could potentially be considered a mid-tier team in the league, but this season they will have to earn even that status, as the LEC strengthens every year. It would not be surprising at all if this SK Gaming lineup does not meet expectations and does not make it to the playoffs, ending the spring season after the group stage.

Prediction

This match is between two of this season's LEC underdogs, for whom reaching the playoffs is a tough goal. However, it can be agreed that Astralis team players have more experience in high-level battles, so they should have an advantage in the first match compared to one of the youngest teams in the league. Bookmakers slightly underestimate Astralis, giving them odds of 2.1 for a win, while SK Gaming is given only 1.75.