Photo: Michal Konkol/Riot Games

The Astralis League of Legends team has made it to the group stage of LEC for the second time in a row. This Saturday, April 8, at 20:00 CEST, we will play Fnatic as the group stage of the LEC Spring Spilt commences. The eight teams are split into two groups and will fight in a bo3 double-elimination format for four total playoff spots.

I'm confident that we will show up and make it through - Assistant Coach Jandro

The groups were drawn using a seed pool based on the standings from the regular season, which was concluded last week. We are in Group A, and as the highest-seeded team in the group, we may choose our first opponent from among the two lowest seeds in their group.

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An overview of the two groups:

Group A

• ‍‍Astralis (2nd seed)
• Vitality (4th seed)
• Fnatic (6th seed)
• MAD Lions (8th seed)
  

Group B

• ‍‍Team BDS (1st seed)
• G2 Esports (3rd seed)
• SK Gaming (5th seed)
• KOI (7th seed)
  

Our team has chosen to meet Fnatic, whom we played in the last game of the regular season on March 27.

We talked with Assistant Coach Jandro, who tells about the preparation for the Group Stage and explains the choice of opponent for our first match.

- We want to keep building upon the same things we have been doing during the split. Most of the difference in how we are working comes from having to plan a best-of-3 format and focusing mainly on Fnatic's champion pool and how we can have more depth in our drafts.

Fnatic seemed like the best rival for us - kobbe

- We continue to play to our strengths, looking for ways to unlock our midlaner and playing strong-side bot lanes. We are exploring different options in draft in order to have multiple strategies on both sides for the best-of-3.

- The team atmosphere and energy levels are also key, so we made sure they had some rest before jumping back into practice."

Our ADC, kobbe, also weighed in on their preparations for Groups

- It's mostly the same as the regular split, with the difference being that we have to figure out the new patch. Preparation still comes from scrims, solo queue, and a lot of talk about draft/picks.

- We are working on fixing our mistakes while adding new champions/strategies to our play. I think we have good chances of qualifying for playoffs, based on our regular split performance and our current level of play. Our group looks pretty strong, and I don't think there are any 'bad' teams left; they are all strong in their own way.

When asked about our group and chances to qualify for the playoffs, Jandro expressed optimism:

- I think we have a good group for our style, and I'm confident that we will show up and make it through.

- Fnatic seemed like the best rival for us; both their weaknesses and strengths align well both in draft and in the game. There is never an easy team, but we tried to be on the same page about our choice.

As for the decision to choose Fnatic as their first match and what they expect from the matchup, kobbe added,

- I think we have a good matchup against Fnatic and I expect us to win. Although it might be harder than anticipated because a lot of things can change in two weeks of practice/preparation.

A victory against Fnatic means we will play again on Monday, April 10. Match-ups will be determined after the first round is concluded. Here is the full schedule for this weekend:

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