It’s hard to think that it’s been over 10 years since competitive League of Legends began, but for as long as many people can remember, G2 Esports has been synonymous with success. This legacy organization etched its logo on the Wall of Champions in the LEC Studio multiple times over, and it has always been a name anyone can count on to be a contender—both in Europe and at international events.
And yet, over these past couple of years, the kings of Europe were forcibly removed from the throne by the wolves at the gate. The hungry packs of young, talented stars are no longer willing to stand by while the household names of the LEC soak up the spotlight. They’ve now risen to snatch the pen and paper from the old guard to start writing their own chapters in the annals of their region’s history.
These stories are exciting and explosive, but they don’t leave much room for G2, a team that has quickly become a footnote made of side characters in a universe where they were once heroes. No longer are they the unstoppable force ruling with an iron fist, after finishing the summer regular season with a 12-6 record. They aren’t obliterating their opponents in this postseason like in the past, especially after their 3-1 series loss to MAD Lions earlier in the 2021 LEC Summer Playoffs bracket.
There’s only one more spot for Europe at this year’s World Championship. For G2’s current iteration, their place in the future of Europe depends on them winning the LEC and making this tournament again. But they now find themselves treading water in the 안전놀이터 deep end, trying to determine whether they’ll be able to join the cast of this wonderful tale or if they’ll become another story people look back on fondly as the league moves forward.
A humbling experience
The death of Europe’s former rulers might have been exaggerated by some people, but their sudden fall from grace is something that not many fans saw coming. Two years ago, G2’s League team could be compared to a mythological creature, or an old wives’ tale of an unbeatable roster that had some of the most creative drafts we’ve seen with some of the most flexible and talented players in the world.
They were MSI champions and finalists at the 2019 World Championship. People still remember the fear that this roster brought to every opponent they faced—even if they were at a deficit—because they could find openings you didn’t even know you had, and they had strategies that teams didn’t even know existed.
Even in 2020, G2 still had some of that mystique around their roster, with two sweeps against Fnatic to win their third and fourth LEC championships in a row. They even returned to Worlds and reached the tournament’s semifinals before being eliminated by eventual champions, DAMWON Gaming. They could be proud to know they were one of three teams to take a game from one of the most dominant teams in Worlds history, and they could still call themselves the best in Europe.
