MAD Lions and Excel Esports are set to clash in the opening round of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) 2023 Season Finals this Saturday. It’ll mark their second meeting since June and the first since the LEC 2023 Summer Groups, where Excel Esports won 2-0.

It is no surprised to see Excel priced as favourites with most LoL betting sites. Even though the teams had two weeks to prepare for this match, and we also got a huge patch (13.15), this likely won’t change the balance of power.

Ignoring the first two splits, Excel Esports have looked like one of the best teams in the region. They had their ups and downs during the regular season and weren’t dominant in the LEC 2023 Summer Groups. But in the playoffs, Excel stepped up, playing two good games against G2 Esports and humiliating Fnatic.

In contrast, MAD Lions barely made it into the LEC 2023 Summer Groups and were then swept by Fnatic and Excel Esports. The Lions were quite good in the first two splits, but in LEC 2023 Summer, their form has dropped significantly.

The gap between Excel Esports and MAD Lions is much more significant than the offered LoL betting odds suggest. Even though they are known to be a resilient team in best-of series, this version of MAD Lions doesn’t look nearly as scary as they did in winter or spring.

?More esports betting tips