(Photo by Liu YiCun/Riot Games)
Yesterday, G2 Esports were knocked out of League of Legends MSI 2024 by current world champions T1 in a 3-0 lower bracket final.
T1 were then defeated by BLG 3-2 today – but let’s look back on Europe at MSI 2024.
The LEC 2024 Spring Split Champions, G2, and the current World Champions, Korean org T1, faced off for the second time at MSI 2024, a week after their previous meeting.
During the latter series, G2 Esports opted for strong drafts that aimed to showcase many of their pocket picks in an attempt to mechanically outplay their opponents, including champions such as Han Sama’s Draven and Mikyx’s Poppy in game one, Caps’ Aurelion Sol in game two and BrokenBlade’s Jax in games one and three. Nevertheless, T1 also brought some of their best champions in response, such as Faker’s Orianna and Azir, Gumayusi’s Varus, or Keria’s Nautilus.
Game one offered a masterclass in teamfighting and macro from T1, who managed to destroy the enemy nexus in just under 27 minutes, but G2 managed to recover from their defeat and played better in the next two games. The momentum kept swinging from one team to another in these matches, and G2 lost after a series of individual plays that managed to destroy Europe’s hopes for this tournament – a TP backdoor by Faker and a Baron Steal from Oner.
Overall, it was a 3-0 win for T1 who advanced to the Lower Bracket final to face BLG, who they lost 3-2 to.
After dropping to the lower bracket, G2 faced Top Esports, the second seed from LPL and the team who was considered to have the strongest bot lane in the tournament – former world champions JackeyLove and Meiko. Although G2 were not considered to be favourite to win the series, they did eventually showcase why they were Europe’s top seed and the team who represented its region for so many years internationally at the greatest League of Legends tournaments.
After three excellent drafts from their coaching team and a great mechanical display from all members, G2 dominated the series with a clean 3-0, before eventually being knocked out by T1.
Fnatic at MSI 2024
Alongside G2, Europe was also represented by Fnatic, another team that have also played in many major tournaments over the years.
After defeating Gam Esports twice with a 2-0 score and after showing a solid display against LPL’s Top Esports, Fnatic eventually qualified for the main tournament and claimed their place amongst the current best eight teams in the world.
Unfortunately for them, Fnatic had to face LCK’s first seed Gen.G in the quarterfinals, where they lost 3-0, and they were eventually eliminated only three days after by Team Liquid (NA’s 1st seed) after a weaker series that ended in a 1-3 defeat for them.
Overall, Europe’s journey at MSI 2024 was full of ups and downs.
The next step for Fnatic and G2 will of course be in the LEC Summer Split, which begins on June 8th. There, they will go up against the likes of Mad Lions Koi, Rogue and more as they fight for a chance to represent Europe at Worlds 2024 (the final of which will take place at the O2 in London).
Opinion from the author, Constantin-Iulian Chita
This was Fnatic’s first appearance at an international event with the current roster composition. Although Razork and Humanoid’s synergy was on point most of the time, with each of them showcasing good individual mechanics and adaptive thinking in key moments, Oscarinnin and Noah’s performances were very unpredictable, with them either dominating their lanes and converting their leads into further objectives for the team,or either misplaying early trades and getting into large gold deficits. The only consistency came from Jun, who was able to provide utility and attempt to control the entire map in all games.
G2 Esports showed up at the tournament as Europe’s main hope after defeating Fnatic 3-1 in the LEC Spring Split Finals. Their previous tactical strategy of lane swapping based on draft identity initially surprised everyone regionally, but it provided plenty of reasons for the Eastern teams to better study their drafts and game adaptations, perhaps allowing them to figure out G2’s playstyle with a lot more thoroughness.
In my opinion, G2 had a great tournament despite being defeated by T1 twice and being eliminated in the lower bracket semifinals. It is clear to me that this team has fully developed their synergy and that everyone’s thought process in-game is very well bonded together. Every team member excelled at times throughout the tournament either through individual playmaking or ability to set their team up for game-winning plays, solidifying my belief that most of G2’s players are the best in their region at their respective roles, and that whenever they win or lose, they do so as a team instead of individually.
Although this was a good time to get some practice in against the best teams in the world, before the beginning of the summer split, G2 and Fnatic will definitely have to improve if they want to have a chance at contesting top four at Worlds. They will most likely still dominate the LEC, but we can clearly see how the lack of practice against stronger teams at the moment is impacting them negatively. Nevertheless, I do believe that if small adjustments are being made, Europe could produce a very pleasant surprise at the Worlds Championship, and I am really looking forward to it!
