Origen beat Fnatic on Day 1

What better way to kick off the new LCS season than having two of the top four teams in the world last year compete against each other? After impressive outings last split, Fnatic and Origen will face off on Thursday and it promises to be a great match. In the Summer Split last year Fnatic managed to beat Origen twice fairly comfortably and were generally considered the better team. This time however, Fnatic have a new, unproven roster, while Origen are largely unchanged, which may give them the advantage. Origen go into this as favourites and it would probably be a bit of a surprise if Fnatic come out on top – when they meet later in the split however it’ll be anyone's game.

Vitality are the surprise of the split

Out of all the teams in the EU LCS, Vitality are the ones that seem to be slipping by almost unnoticed, despite receiving a lot of attention when the organisation announced it had taken Gambit Gaming’s spot in the LCS. Few are predicting them to be near the top of the table at the end of the split, but thanks to their solid roster they could easily make the playoffs if things go their way. And then, who knows?

Elements get relegated

EU hasn't exactly come out of this off-season in the best shape, but out of all the teams it is perhaps Elements that have had the worst time. Owner Jacob "Maelk" Toft-Andersen failed to sell the team's spot in the LCS before the deadline, so was forced to sign back on as the team owner. He then had to find a squad in just a few weeks and, while he has signed some good players, the chances of Elements doing well this split seem slim. While they have never exactly set the world alight, finishing seventh in both splits last year, this year will most likely see them place lower and face relegation to the Challenger Series.

Splyce will outperform Dignitas

Outside of player moves, the big story at the start of the off-season was the sale of one of the Team Dignitas squads. After their EU Challenger team got promoted, Riot’s rules dictated that one team must be sold and a bidding war kicked off. A few months later and the spot in the LCS was sold to Splyce, and they look set to have a good debut season. Dignitas’ NA squad on the other hand doesn't look quite so hot compared to the wealth of new talent in the American division, so it wouldn't be at all surprising to see Splyce place higher in the EU LCS than Dignitas do over in the NA LCS.

Fnatic have a weak start but finish top three

It’s fair to say that after a difficult off-season, which has seen the organisation lose its top talent, Fnatic have been dealt a stinker of a hand with the start to their season. Not only is their first game of the split against rivals, and favourites, Origen, but they also play H2K and Unicorns of Love, both strong squads on paper, within the first two weeks. They may not walk away with too many wins from the first couple of weeks, but after that their strong squad should find their feet and have a decent split.

Origen come out on top

EU may have been raided for talent by NA, but Origen has remained almost unchanged. Enrique "xPeke" Cedeño Martínez is now a sub with Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage taking his place, but other than that it’s the same roster that placed top four at Worlds last year. Compared to the other top teams that are coming in with totally new rosters, Origen have a clear advantage and their talent is unquestionable. A perfect split à la Fnatic is probably a bit of a stretch, but first place in the spring split should easily be within their reach, providing the loss of xPeke doesn't hit them too hard.

NA dominates EU in international competition

Okay, so this isn't strictly about the EU LCS but hear us out. This off-season has been one of the most important in the history of the NA LCS. The new wave of cash that has been injected into the American side of the scene has enticed many of Europe’s most talented players to make the jump across the pond, and as a result some of the strongest squads in the world (on paper, at least) are currently in the States. Whereas 2015 saw NA overpowered at Worlds and in most international competitions by Europe and Asia, 2016 could well see the top NA teams taking down their European counterparts at any of the international events in the first half of the year. Let’s hope we see the Old World fight back and prove it still has what it takes.