The closing weeks of the Summer Splits across all regions are always interesting since teams bring out their A-game and pull out all the stops to represent their respective regions at Worlds. The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) is all set to kick off its Week 8 of Summer Split on 12th August and is treating fans to a three-day super week with intense League of Legends action. At the moment, anything is possible with top teams like Fnatic having a very real chance of not making it to the playoffs. The LEC 2022 Summer Split on Week 8 is gearing up for an exciting array of matches with only MAD Lions locked in for playoffs and Team BDS dropping out of contention.

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the most heated and important week of regular play, let us look at the current standings in the LEC 2022 Summer Split.

For those who are unfamiliar with how teams make it to the next stage of the tournament, it is fairly simple. The top six teams make it to the LEC Summer Playoffs and secure crucial Championship Points, which could make or break teams’ chances of qualifying for the League of Legends World Championships 2022.

After the 2022 LEC Spring playoffs, the following are the Championship points that teams have racked up this year so far.

Each team will be awarded points again after the conclusion of the Summer Playoffs and the top four teams will be seeded into Worlds 2022.

[All the playoff scenario percentages have been sourced from the LEC]

It's time to address the elephant in the room: Fnatic is at risk of missing the playoffs. Currently, Fnatic is 7-8 in the standings and is placed 8th in the LEC, with only a 30.5% chance of locking in a playoff spot. Fnatic has to win all three matches this week and is entering the matches after a tough blow that was dealt by G2 Esports last week. Making playoffs will be crucial for the orange-and-black squad to keep its Worlds dreams alive since the Summer standings decide the Championship points. If it ends up placing between 7-10 in the Summer standings, it will essentially gain 0 Championship points and could miss out on Worlds. Notably, the team had a sub-par performance at Worlds last year after its attack damage carry (ADC) Elias "Upset" Lipp flew back home due to an emergency.

Astralis has defied the expectations of viewers by putting up a great show this split. Though not very convincing, the team has had some good performances on the LEC stage and has kept its playoffs run alive. Astralis was placed 9th and 7th in the 2021 LEC Spring and Summer split, respectively and even at the start of this year, in the 2022 Spring split, the team was 10th in the league. Things have finally started to fall into place for the team after it rebuilt its roster and brought in Kiss "Vizicsacsi" Tamás and Andrei "Xerxe" Dragomir. Astralis is currently placed 6th alongside Excel Esports (XL) and Fnatic and is staring at a 39.2% odds of making playoffs. Notably, on 12th August, Fnatic and Astralis are going head-to-head and this game will decide the fate of the two teams heading into the playoffs.

In the LEC 2022 Spring Split, MAD Lions missed out on making the playoffs and took its time to rebuild its roster and brought in star player Yasin "Nisqy" Dinçer. This move has paid off multifold as MAD Lions was the first team to officially qualify for the Summer Playoffs. Despite losing a few matches, the team showed great resilience on the Rift and earned its ticket to the next stage of the tournament.

Rogue is notoriously known for making the top spot in the LEC and has done it time and again. It placed first in the 2022 Spring split and also the 2021 Summer split. This time around the team looks a bit shaky after dropping games to SK Gaming, Astralis, G2 Esports, Misfits Gaming, and Fnatic. It is currently 9-6 in the regular season and has to play Excel Esports, Team BDS, and Vitality.

If you have been following the LEC scene, you would have come across the news of Team Heretics buying Misfits’ LEC spot. This is the final season Misfits Gaming will play in the League of Legends esports scene and it hopes to make it to Worlds and play on the international stage one last time. With a 92.7% chance of making the playoffs after the super week, this is not out of reach for the team. However, crucial matchups against storied LEC teams like G2 Esports and Fnatic that are formidable rivals could prove to be quite the hurdle for Misfits.

Misfits are the dark horse of the league, let's be honest. In the 2022 Spring split, the squad of Misfits turned what looked like a horrifying start into one of the best comeback wins that LEC has ever seen in its history and it was against G2. A win against these two teams will not only solidify its playoff dreams but also rain down on Fnatic’s parade.

Additionally, there are multiple tie-breaker scenarios that could emerge after the conclusion of this week’s play. Team BDS might be officially out of the playoff run but it is still very much in it to spoil the chances of other teams making the playoffs. Likewise, over the last couple of weeks, Team Vitality has lived up to its “super team” name in the league with its stellar performances, and Week 8 could really cement the team’s position in the LEC standings.

Tune into the LEC for spicy storylines, heartbreaks, upsets, and top-class, mechanical League of Legends this weekend. Or you could simply watch Jankos miss his Nidalee spears or spam Gnarmut in chat.

RELATED:  LEC 2022 Summer Split: Schedule, Results, Standings & More

Sadakshi is the newest addition to AFK Gaming. As a passionate gamer and an ardent League of Legends fan, she brings her journalism experience to the esports scenes of LoL and Valorant