Falkol will look to claim their third consecutive win over Havan Liberty Gaming when the two sides clash this Monday in the final week of League of Legends Brazilian Challenger Circuit (BRCC) Split 1.
Havan Liberty Gaming enter the seventh week of BRCC 2020 Split 1 with a 7-6 record next to their name, which sits them in a three-way tie for third place with RED Canids and Falkol. Havan have won only two of their last five matches, beating Team oNe eSports and Intergalaxy Tigers Gaming but losing to Falkol, RED Canids and Santos e-Sports.
The results Havan put up in April fail to inspire much optimism ahead of what could be their most important fixture of the split. Their scratchy performance against Intergalaxy Tigers is a huge concern, as the bottom side have managed only one win in 13 outings this split.
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Still, Havan showcased enough quality in the mid-late game to get the job done against ITG. Jungler Marcos “Cariok” Oliveira on Khartus and ADC Luiz “flare” Lobo on Miss Fortune were the two main actors for Havan, although they were aided by the disappointing performance of Intergalaxy’s André “Erdan” Silva on Sett in the top lane.
While Havan Liberty Gaming’s recent showings have left much to be desired, it’s hard to say Falkol are in a much better spot ahead of Week 7. Their last fortnight of BRCC fixtures produced wins over Havan and Intergalaxy Tigers, but they fell flat against RED Canids, Santos and Team oNe eSports.
In their clash with Team oNe last Thursday, Falkol struggled to keep up with their adversaries from the get-go. We could cut them some slack for their slow start since oNe drafted a more early-mid game team composition, but it’s also fair to say it was Falkol’s own fault for deciding on a suboptimal draft strategy.
The current League of Legends meta relies heavily on strong drafts. Most games are won or lost before the players enter the Rift and if Falkol can’t learn from their mistakes, they will struggle to make an impact in the playoffs.
Since Falkol have already defeated Havan Liberty Gaming twice this season, it is no surprise to see them enter Monday’s clash as favourites. That said, the odds on the outsiders are perhaps a little looser than they should be.
The problem with Pedro “Matsukaze” Gama and his crew is that they rely heavily on getting an early lead. Although Falkol can use their early advantage to roll over their opponents, more often than not they tend to fall apart once they lag behind. This makes them a very volatile team, so the $1.59 about Falkol at GG Bet looks quite tight.
Havan’s ADC, flare, and his support, Eidi “esA” Yanagimachi, have been performing well of late and hold 6.94 and 6.29 KDAs respectively, which are two of the highest marks in the league. Flare rarely prioritises meta ADCs, making it incredibly difficult to draft against him, whereas esA’s deep champion pool allows him to adapt to any role his team needs him to play.
This match will come down to the bottom lane, where Havan field the strongest duo in the league. Indeed, with the sole exception of Leonardo “Hidan” Borré dos Santos, all of Havan’s players have been putting up significantly better numbers than their Falkol counterparts, which is why we are backing the underdogs.