Originally posted at https://www.echofox.gg/news/na-lcs-2018-summer-split-preview
The sun sets in one half of the season and another rises this weekend in the NA LCS. Echo Fox is ready and recharged to show the rest of the teams in the NA LCS that the Spring Split was no fluke.
In the Spring Split, other teams were caught off guard by the sudden rise of Echo Fox in the standings. At one point in the Spring Split, the Foxes placed in 1st in the overall standings beating teams like Team Liquid, Cloud9, and Team SoloMid. Unfortunately, Echo Fox was unable to hold onto first place by the end of the split. Even though they were not in first place, they held strong enough to finish the regular season in second place and a trip to Miami. After losing in the semifinals to Team Liquid, Echo Fox was set to play Clutch Gaming in the third-place match.
The fight for third place was held in Miami for the Spring Split playoffs. Not only Echo Fox and Clutch Gaming were fighting for third place — they were also fighting for fifty championship points that will help for Worlds qualification and a spot at Rift Rivals. Despite the team’s struggles at the end of the split, Echo Fox pulled together and swept Clutch Gaming in three games to secure third place for the Spring Split.
The Summer Split presents new and different challenges for Echo Fox. In between splits, there was a huge shift in the metagame. For example, typical ADC champions like Caitlyn, Jhin, and Ashe were nerfed, leaving bruisers as a priority in the bot lane. The jungle was also nerfed, clearing the way for champions like Taliyah to become prevalent in the jungle. A large number of changes and viable champions in each position will be a great test for which teams can adapt quickly this summer.
By making no roster changes during the offseason, Echo Fox will be able to bring their existing synergy into the Summer Split. All eyes will be on superstar top laner Huni once again to be a carry for Echo Fox throughout the split. Dardoch will also look to return to his dominant form with the updated jungle. The bot lane duo of Altec and Adrian will also have plenty of options to become one of the strongest bot lanes in the league. Not only has Altec’s Kalista returned to the meta but the duo may also take on the new bot lane bruisers that have taken over the game.
In the first weekend of play, Echo Fox will play Clutch Gaming in a rematch of last split’s third-place match. This will be a great opportunity for Echo Fox to prove they are still one of the best teams in the league. The team’s next chance to prove themselves will be against Team Liquid on the first day of week three. Arguably the top two teams going into the summer, Echo Fox will not only want to show off their skill but get revenge for the Spring Split semi-finals. Finally, Echo Fox will compete in the organization’s first-ever international event by helping represent North America at Rift Rivals starting on July 5th.
All the action starts this Saturday when Echo Fox faces FlyQuest at 5 PM PST. Support the team on live.echofox.gg.
