Gaming
G2 have safely secured their place at the LEC Spring Playoffs, where they'll get another chance to prove why they're Europe's top team. Here's how they got there.
G2 Esports have had an exciting spring in the League of Legends European Championship, filled with ups and downs after a daring new roster overhaul. Next up on their 2022 itinerary is the Playoffs, where they'll face long-time rivals Fnatic.
The first eight weeks of the 2022 season were filled with dramatic finishes and tense matches between European rivals, and G2 used the opportunity to show off their all-new roster.
The changes were brought in to ensure that G2 can take it all the way to the League of Legends World Championship this year, after unfortunately missing out in 2021. An ever-resilient team, they started Spring in full fighting form, with new toplaner Sergen 'Broken Blade' Çelik, botlaner Victor 'Flakked' Lirola and Raphaël 'Targamas' Crabbé in support, alongside returning heroes Marcin 'Jankos' Jankowski and Rasmus 'caPs' Winther.
Week 1's Superweek of three games started strong for G2, who quickly came together to take out Excel Esports and Astralis, losing out only to MAD Lions on the last day after a tight match. This put them in good stead for the rest of the competition ahead and showed a team that was already clearly working like a well-oiled machine. Their attacks were careful and calculated, especially in the game against Astralis on day two, where the opposing team took a risky swipe that could have won them the entire game. G2 spotted it, however, and swiftly knocked Astralis back with a last-minute Baron.
Going into their second week with their heads held high, G2 managed to turn around an exceptionally tight game with SK Gaming and fought valiantly in an unexpectedly spicy battle with Vitality. Although Vitality ultimately walked away on top, this was one of the closest matches so far, with both sides determined to take the other at any cost.
Week 3 was another belter from G2, who were first up against Misfits Gaming, who've put on a strong show to date. The 35-minute game featured some exceptional plays, including a brutal first blood in the mid lane and a 3k gold lead that appeared in just five minutes. Although there was a moment where Misfits appeared to have swung the lead, G2 swiftly regrouped, chasing the opposing team back out of their base and going for the attack.
As if that wasn't enough excitement, the next match was against long-time rivals Fnatic, who'd been playing well since the start of the season with their own revamped squad. Incredibly, despite an early lead to Fnatic, G2 came on strong, closing the gold gap and winning every one-on-one fight that came their way. This put G2 and Fnatic in equal positions going into Week 4.
G2 immediately showed their strength in a match against newcomers to the LEC, Team BDS, wiping toplaner Adam 'Adam' Maanane off the map twice before BDS could do any damage of their own. Towards the middle of the match, BDS looked to be making a comeback, but holding their own against the onslaught of G2 proved to be too much. Another win kept G2 nicely placed in the league tables for another week, despite a loss against leaders Rogue on the second day of Week 4.
Given a chance for revenge during Week 5, G2 took on MAD Lions yet again and secured the victory with an impressive performance during the mid-game, where the Baron was taken in their favour. The fight against Astralis was much the same, with a game that rewarded G2 with first blood and allowed them to keep their lead to a triumphant, two-Baron finish.
As Playoffs loomed in Week 6, the stakes were getting higher, and G2 struggled to keep the momentum going after weeks of solid performance. A loss to SK Gaming was compounded by a loss in a tight game against Fnatic, and then – despite a solid lead – Misfits also managed a win at the start of Week 7. G2 did manage to turn it around against Team BDS, with caPs contributing a dramatic quadra kill that knocked BDS out of the running for the Playoffs.
With the start of March came Week 8 – the final Superweek – where G2 picked up another early win against Excel, besting them at almost every opportunity during this brief 26-minute game. This momentum was skillfully transferred to the second day when the match against Vitality looked like it might not go in G2's favour. G2 piled on the pressure, claiming several Drakes and a Baron, and then rushed their opponent's base for the win. Although the final day of the Superweek may have been a difficult one for G2, who lost to Rogue in their final game before Playoffs, they still finished in fourth place and can go into the next round of the season with their heads held high.
With such dramatic roster changes and an intense training regimen, it's a testament to the hard work and dedication of G2 that their team works so well together. Their cooperative fluency during tense games is self-evident in how often they managed to pull the result around in their favour. G2 will go into the Playoffs with a lower ranking than they may have ideally wished for, but with a resilience and determination to take it all the way.
