In the final weekend of the LEC playoffs, G2 Esports once again came through the lower bracket to win it all. After a contested five-game series with Rogue, the 2019 world finalists had their rematch with Fnatic. There, G2 swept their rivals to win their eighth trophy!
G2 Defeat Rogue in a 5-game series
The first game of the weekend was the conclusion of the playoff’s lower bracket, featuring the reigning champions G2 Esports and the best team of the regular split, Rogue. Both teams were defeated by Fnatic, Rogue in a 3-0 sweep, and G2 in a five-game slugfest where G2 was inches away from winning. Yet while both had secured their spot in the group stage of the World Championship, but only one would go to the finals for a rematch with Fnatic and a chance to go down in LEC history. Only four teams have ever won the European championship and this was Rogue's chance to get on that exclusive list. For G2 - a chance to win a record-setting eighth title.
The series itself did not disappoint. Rogue took the first blood with an impressive mid-game team-fighting tactic that wore down G2's defense, eventually ending the game from an ace 35 minutes in. However, G2’s reply was quick and decisive as they took game two despite an early deficit. After a misplayed tower dive by their opponents, G2 proceeded to smash them in games two and three. However, Rogue did not give up. Game four saw Rogue get an early advantage in the mid lane, and with both Emil "Larssen" Larsson and Steven "Hans Sama" Liv showing up, the relative rookies never lost control and brought the series to game five. However, despite Hans Sama picking up the Draven he has long been famous for, G2 had the lead for most of the game after amassing a huge advantage from the top lane.
Rogue equalized the game but was unable to prevent G2 from securing the Mountain Soul and the Baron. With these powerful buffs, the spring champions got too far ahead and eventually closed the game, securing their spot in the finals. While this series did not show either team at their best, since both made several large mistakes, Rogue left no doubt that they can play with the big boys in Europe and deserve their spot at Worlds.
A Repeat Final
The grand final was played on Sunday, it saw the spring finalists square off against each other again. Fnatic versus G2 Esports is a final LEC fans are quite familiar with since 2018 the teams have battled it out four different times. This year, G2 had faired much better against their rivals, defeating them in all regular split games and sweeping them in the spring finals. They have had a perfect record so far until Fnatic won a 3:2 series in the semifinals to shake off their jinx. With G2 going through another five-game series versus Rogue, they seemed vulnerable. Both teams were far ahead of anyone else in Europe, boasting seven titles each - and this match would be the tiebreaker.
Fnatic started game 1 strong, but G2 eventually equalized and came out ahead as the mid-game began. Rasmus "Caps" Winther dominated the mid-game, eventually getting a Mejai’s Soulstealer and amassing nine kills before his first death. Fnatic defended themselves tenaciously and won several fights to extend the game. However, it was never enough to push back and after 49 grueling minutes, G2 got the first game.
The champions had to sweat it out in game two as well. After an even early game, Fnatic had a far better mid-game, slowly growing their lead due to having better late-game scaling Champions on their side.
However, it all went wrong for them when Fnatic contested a mountain drake, only to lose 4 Champions and give G2 a clean Baron. The spring champions took over the map and gave Fnatic no chance to get back into the game, winning the second game to get to match point.
Fnatic had to pick themselves up for game three and at first, they looked okay. However, several fights around the 18-minute mark went in the favor of G2 and opened them up to take a 3K gold lead that kept growing throughout the mid-game. A last-ditch effort saw them get a 3:0 against a baroned up G2 34 minutes in, but when they tried to get the Elder drake, Caps went for the base. Meanwhile, the rest of G2 was strong enough to beat them near the drake, ending the game and the series.
G2, are once more the LEC champions and they beat Fnatic 3-0 after going all the way through the lower bracket. With this win, Luka "Perkz" Perkovićz and his teammates secure the eighth title for their organization, beating Fnatic’s records and once more going to Worlds as the best team in Europe. Fnatic had their own impressive run - barely making playoffs before sweeping Rogue and winning a hard-fought series against G2 to make it to the final - but on Sunday, the team still fell short. That is all from us for the LEC finals. For more European League of Legends, follow the EU Masters as it continues on September 9th!
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