Schalke has done the impossible, and the next target is Worlds.
Credit: Riot Games/Michal Konkol
FC Schalke 04 has completed an unthinkable miracle run to qualify for the LEC League of Legends tournament playoffs in sixth place after having a 1-10 win-loss record just a matter of weeks ago.
Heading into week six of the eight week Summer Split Schalke were dead last in the competition, with a 1-10 record and while there was a mathematical chance of making playoffs, no one believed they would actually do it. Then, for the first time this split they went 2-0 in week six, taking down reigning champions G2 Esports and Misfits. People were surprised, but a playoff run still seemed unlikely.
Then in week seven, they beat Excel, a team that was also looking to qualify for playoffs, and some people started to believe. Mathematically they could still reach the playoffs, and with a three-game win streak they had momentum on their side. Another win, this time over Origen really set up the possibility of a miracle run.
The amount of permutations heading into the final week of the LEC Summer Split, where each team would play three matches were pretty crazy, and the chances of Schalke making it into playoffs still seemed slim. Even if they won all three of their matches they would still need other results to go their way to make it in.
But Schalke did just that, beating Fnatic, Team Vitality and Mad Lions, the team that had topped the table for most of the split. From their end the miracle run was complete. From a 1-10 record, they went on a miracle run of seven wins a row to end 8-10, an unheard-of turnaround mid split, and had done everything they could to make playoffs. But they still needed results to go their way.
Excel Esports, who also had eight wins on the board, faced up against G2 Esports in the game that would decide Schalke’s fate. A G2 win would eliminate Excel and give Schalke a playoff spot, an Excel win would mean Schalke would have to wait for the next game between Fnatic and SK Gaming to know their fate.
But unfortunately for Excel, they could not take down G2, meaning they missed out on playoffs while Schalke and Fnatic qualified. The miracle run was complete, and Schalke had made it to playoffs, somehow.
Now we know that Rouge, who have already qualified for Worlds, Mad Lions, G2 Esports, SK Gaming, Fnatic and FC Schalke 04 will make up the playoff field for the LEC. While there will only be one winner, the top four teams will make it to the World Championship later this year, meaning the Schalke miracle run might extend to the biggest stage in League of Legends. It may seem unlikely, but they were 1-10 just a few weeks ago, now they have a chance to make Worlds.
