Team Vitality vs Misfits

Next up, we have a match between two surprisingly solid challengers: Misfits Gaming and Team Vitality. Now, frankly speaking, neither team is expected to leave much of a mark in the grand scheme of things, but they'll no doubt fight their hearts out to prove otherwise. The odds are stacked against them, but they couldn't care less -- they're well aware of their underdog status and they don't mind much. Heck, they're used to it by this point.

Still, a new season is an opportunity to forget the past and start anew — an invaluable opportunity that is even more precious given how badly Misfits and Vitality looked by the end of 2020. They want success and they want it badly. Whether or not they've made the correct roster changes still remains to be seen, but there's reason for optimism. On paper, Misfits have a ton more hype and momentum after taking down Fnatic yesterday, but Vitality impressed in equal measure -- albeit against a much more flawed opponent in Schalke 04. Plus they failed to close things out so they're not exactly entering today's match as the favorite (as evidenced by the odds). Still, both teams have ample talent and will no doubt compete for every inch of the Summoner's Rift. Vitality's early games, in particular, have been quite impressive (this includes the second half of 2020 as well), and they haven't skipped a beat in that regard. Misfits, on the other hand, didn't make any mistakes against Fnatic, frankly, and even though they were far form perfect, they capitalized greatly on Fnatic's mistakes and executed to a tee. Perhaps most importantly, their new top laner, jungler, and mid all delivered big time. Heck, they performed head and shoulders above what anyone expected, which is a promising sign of what's to come. The fact that they looked so darn good against a team of Fnatic's caliber (not to mention experience and talent), makes their feat all the more impressive and hype-inducing.

Of course, we're still talking about a single game (a meager sample size) so we can't predict anything with too much confidence. But a great start nonetheless.

In the end, we'll side with Misfits on this one as it's the only logical option. Still, it will not come easy, especially if Vitality come out the gates swinging, much like they did yesterday. They have all the right tools to challenge Misfits across the board and will no doubt look to make this as competitive as humanly possible. Heck, they might even upset, but the odds of it happening aren't all that great.