G2 went two for two in July 30’s grand finals of Riot Games’ esports competitions. The Samurais triumphed in the Summer Split of the League of Legends EMEA Championship and the VALORANT Game Changers EMEA Series 2 alike.
Both best-of-five series kicked off at 12pm CT, with the League team facing EXCEL and the VALORANT Gozen team going up against FUT Female. G2 started the matches with a strong win over their opponents, with the Gozen team struggling to close off off a dominant start on Fracture, but still clutching the win in overtime.
On the other side of Berlin, the League team almost seemed unkillable during their match against the latest team who challenged them for the title. Again and again, the five League players escaped risky situations with less than 50hp on their health bar while shutting down their opponents who chased them for a kill. In less than three hours, G2 claimed their 11th LEC title by crushing EXCEL’s hope of winning their first with a decisive 3-0.
Alban Dechelotte, G2 Esports’ CEO, told Dot Esports that the win as the result of a “good mental” and the innovative way the team approaches the LEC competition. He continued describing how the construction of the new G2 facility together with the introduction of Ismael Pedraza’s, G2 Performance Coach, and his methods elevated the team’s performance to a new level. The LEC title is “validation of a work well done,” but still “just a step” towards a bigger goal which is the Worlds’ qualification.
While the League team was already celebrating, the Gozen were still fighting for their fifth Game Changers title against the FUT Female team, another new challenger to their dominion in European competitions. FUT did succeed in making the Gozen kneel on Pearl, but were defeated with a swift 13-3 in game 4, losing their chance to become the EMEA Game Changers champions.
With a cohesive combination of individual talent and great teamwork, the Gozen have kept their crown as queens of the region. Similarly to the League team, they are now aiming at qualifying for the Game Changers Champions of 2023, looking to confirm their reign on the international stage too. “Gozen have demonstrated over the years an incredible capacity to reverse sweep and, and win again and again and again,” commented Dechelotte. “Some players change, but the spirit of Gozen, this mix of like wittiness and high performance, stays with this roster as well,” concluded the G2 Esports’ CEO.
Both G2 Esports’ teams are considered the best EMEA has to offer in their respective fields, but they still have a long road ahead before reaching the top of the world this year.
