G2 HEL set to return with a revamped roster

Callum Mercer, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 21/04/2026

G2 HEL are set to return for the 2026 League of Legends season with a rebuilt roster, according to a Sheep Esports report by Armand Luque.

The report says the team, which was paused in December, has been reassembled around returning staff and players including coach Adam ‘Emtest’ Emtestam, jungler Marta ‘Shiina’ Mesas Garrido and mid laner turned role-swapped player Maya ‘Caltys’ Henckel. That matters because G2 are not simply restarting a paused project here; they are trying to re-enter the women’s League of Legends scene with a roster built to compete immediately rather than merely exist.

The reported rebuild brings back G2 HEL with a mix of continuity and new bets

According to Sheep Esports, G2 HEL’s new line-up is expected to include Shiina and Caltys alongside new arrivals Alice ‘Wiosna’ Mossé, Gina ‘Lumi’ Kircher and Isabella ‘Izzeeri’. According to the report, Emtest remains in place as head coach, while G2 are also in talks with Nicolai-Daniel ‘Chrislai’ Uwadia for an assistant coach role.

What is clear is that G2 HEL are targeting a return in time for the 2026 campaign after the team’s December pause, which the report links to sponsor shortages and unsustainable operating conditions. What is not clear yet is when G2 will formally announce the full roster and whether every verbal agreement referenced by Sheep has now been converted into signed deals.

According to Sheep Esports, the rebuild was largely assembled by early April before formal offers followed. That timing matters because it suggests this is not a last-minute revival but a planned reset with at least some runway before the next competitive checkpoints arrive.

This rebuild looks like a ceiling play rather than a simple restart

G2 HEL were one of the most visible names in Europe’s women’s League of Legends ecosystem after launching in 2022, and the return of the brand carries weight beyond one roster announcement. According to the reporting, this version of the team combines known quantities such as Shiina with less established upside picks such as Izzeeri, a player with limited pro experience but a fast-rising profile.

That matters because a restart built only around familiarity would have looked like maintenance. A restart built around veterans plus role flexibility plus development bets looks more like an attempt to solve the old problem of sustainability and the competitive problem of whether G2 HEL could still define the pace of the scene after months away.

Wiosna’s reported arrival from Galions Pearl also fits that logic. That matters here because top lane stability and wider team identity often decide whether rebuilt League rosters can actually translate promise into structure, especially in circuits where player movement and support systems can shift quickly.

The context matters because G2 have already shown in other titles that their women’s esports projects are active parts of the organisation, not side notes, as we covered when G2 Petra returned to the active VCT Game Changers roster. This is G2 trying to reassert competitive intent in LoL now.

The outgoing picture reflects a hard reset rather than a verdict on individual players

According to Sheep Esports, former G2 HEL top laner Mina ‘Zeniv’ has already joined Mental Rush alongside ex-HEL players Agnė ‘Karina’ Ivaškevičiūtė and Manon ‘Sha’ Legaignoux, while Rym ‘Rym’ Salloum has moved to Vitality. Those departures underline that the December pause did not just interrupt one roster cycle; it effectively ended the previous one.

That is not failure in any simple sense. Several of those players helped establish G2 HEL as a serious name in Europe’s women’s League of Legends scene, but the organisation’s choice to rebuild anyway tells you it made a ceiling call about what the next version of the team needed to look like.

That matters because rebuilds are usually less about what outgoing players lacked and more about what a team thinks the next tier of competition will demand. G2 are betting that a refreshed core and fresh investment give HEL a better chance of being relevant at the top of the circuit again.

G2 HEL’s return lands in a wider women’s esports push that is getting more competitive

This will not come as a surprise to those who have followed women’s esports closely. Organisations are still trying to work out how to build sustainable, competitive projects across titles, and the pressure to get that balance right has only increased as the ecosystem matures.

As our coverage of Beacon and the women’s pro Valorant pathway showed, development structures and long-term support now matter almost as much as headline signings. The same is true in League, especially after the structural concerns highlighted in our reporting on discrimination issues in EMEA LoL esports. Investment alone is not enough, but visible recommitment from major organisations still matters.

That matters because G2 HEL are returning to a scene that now expects more than branding. Teams need staffing, funding and a believable competitive plan.

The next milestones are roster confirmation and early competitive proof

The next things to watch are straightforward: formal contract announcements, confirmation on the assistant coach role, and the team’s first appearances in the 2026 women’s League of Legends calendar. According to Sheep Esports, the expectation is that G2 HEL will be back in place for the new season, with the early qualifiers and scrim period likely to offer the first real read on the rebuild.

For now, the key point is simple. G2 HEL are coming back with a different roster and a different operating model, and the success of that return will be judged by whether this reset produces a contender rather than just a comeback story.

Callum Mercer, Senior Editor

Callum “Cal” Mercer is a UK-based esports journalist covering competitive titles across the LEC, VCT, and global Counter-Strike circuits. With a background in broadcast production and data analysis, he specialises in tactical breakdowns, roster strategy, and the business dynamics shaping modern professional gaming.

All Posts By Callum Mercer