Over the last three seasons, G2 Esports have been the most dominant team in the EU LCS. They’ve won four championships and have beaten the best teams in clutch moments.
But the one thing they sometimes struggle with is lesser competition. Over a long split, their attention can sometimes waver against teams at the bottom of the league table. A year ago, it was an unexpected loss to ROCCAT that stopped the G2 train. Today, the same thing happened, this time against a Giants Gaming squad that had just one victory heading into the week.
Giants coach Kublai Barlas has been proclaimed the “Late Game King” for his prowess in directing macro after the laning phase. But for the first three weeks of the Summer Split, their late game has been a disaster.
Needing a change, Giants started picking for the early game in week four. Things still fell apart yesterday against FC Schalke 04, but against G2, it was exactly what they needed to keep things even. G2 mid laner Luka “Perkz” Perkovic got absolutely huge on reworked Aatrox, one of the strongest champions in the game.
But Giants’ jungler Charly “Djoko” Guillard also got fed on Nocturne, an early-game jungler that suits the current meta perfectly.
Giants used Djoko’s pressure to open up the side lanes for their Rumble and Lucian. And in those late-game fights, that combination proved too much for even Perkz to handle. Perkz and G2 pushed Giants all the way to their inhibitor turrets, but one pick on Perkz—through his Aatrox ult—was all Giants needed to take Baron and steal the game.
This is a huge win for Giants, but only one step in their journey. At 2-6, they have a lot of work left to climb back into playoff contention.
For G2, it’s back to the drawing board after a shocking 0-2 week. Their Friday game vs. Misfits was supposed to be tough, but this was a big upset for a team looking to bounce back. Notably, they didn’t have map control with jungler Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski on Trundle. Jankos is one of the best junglers in the region, but it seems like several weeks of playing support champions in the funnel comp has dulled his skills somewhat. G2 need him at his best if they want to win back their championship this split.
