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G2 Esports' incredible League of Legends World Championship run in review
G2 Esports had an incredible Worlds run this year and while they didn't win the trophy, they played well and held their heads high all the way until the last game.
G2 Esports' League of Legends World Championship has come to an end. Unfortunately, they weren't able to go all the way and win it all against Chinese team FunPlus Phoenix in the final match, but they've proven that they're undeniably one of the best teams that Europe has ever produced.
Filled to the brim with individual talent and incredible team play, G2 Esports will surely make giant waves in the next international tournament. At Worlds 2019, they showed that they can play against the best teams in the world and go head-to-head with them. Join us, as we look back at G2 Esports' Worlds run.
To get to the finals, G2 Esports had to make their way through three Korean teams. They went 1–2 against Griffin, but destroyed both Damwon Gaming and SK Telecom T1 with a 3–1 victory in the playoffs. It's safe to say that as a team, G2 Esports was better than the Korean region this year. They also looked different; more composed and playing slower than against their European counterparts. Yet, they played the style like they've been playing for the entire year. This is what made G2 Esports such a strong team – the ability to adapt to their opponents on a team-by-team basis and adjust their strategy accordingly.
In the final, they finally found their match in FunPlus Phoenix. While they lost 0–3 against the Chinese powerhouse, the scoreline didn't reflect the level of gameplay.
G2 kept it extremely close in games one and three, but made a few too many mistakes in game two to keep it even. However, in game one we saw the G2 that we all hoped we would. With great individual skill they kept escaping from FPX's roams. The most remarkable play was Rasmus 'Caps' Winther's flash into realm warp, which saved his life and extended the game.
Team Coach, Grabbz, explained afterwards that the Pyke pick was something that they decided beforehand and tried in scrims. "FPX, in general, has a clear and defined playing style. We kind of underestimated how much pressure he has from mid and from the jungler. This made it hard for Pyke to facecheck. That game was winnable afterwards, we tried matching their roams, but it didn't work out."
Between games two and three, Jankos said that the atmosphere was still good. "We were still making jokes and laughing, even though we were getting smacked. It didn't feel like we were choking, or being scared of them," he explained.
In the third game, G2 lost two early towers and a lot of plating, but kept their mid-lane turret intact. Caps stood his ground and even managed to pick-up a couple of kills, which slowly started turning the tides. Unfortunately, due to some insane teamfighting from FPX's side, it wasn't enough to start a comeback and the European superstars ultimately lost the series after a Baron-winning teamfight.
It should also be noted that this was Perkz's first-ever Worlds in the bot lane. Before this, he won both LEC splits, MSI and made it all the way to the finals of Worlds. This is astonishing considering he's still so new to the role and other players have been playing the same role for a lot longer. It was impossible to see the difference between him and other bot laners at the tournament however. He's shown that he can play and win against the best, so give him another year and he'll surely show that he can be the best.
Reflecting on the season, Michael 'Mikyx' Mehle thinks it was a good year for G2. Of course he would have liked to win the entire thing, but he's still happy. "We basically won everything else," Mikyx offered. "Right now it feels bad, but in a few days I'll look back at the entire year and I'm sure I'll feel happy. Hopefully we can go back next year and win the entire thing."
Even after such a tough loss, the G2 Esports squad kept their heads high. They gave each other a group hug and congratulated their opponents on their victory. G2 Esports is not only an incredible team, with insane skills, they're also friends. They'll come back stronger next year and once again show the World that Europe isn't a region to be taken lightly.
Fnatic's finals run last year showed that European teams were contenders once again and G2 have confirmed it. Roll on next season, we say.
