LEC Finals Preview: G2, Fnatic, And Rogue Duke It Out
It’s that time of the year again when playoffs are ending, and teams are qualifying to Worlds. The hype is building, and despite the damper of COVID-19, Worlds 2020 is already shaping up to be even better than last year. Before we set our sights on Shanghai though, we need to finish up with the LEC - it’s time for the Summer Finals.
The Final Three
Owing to the absolute chaos that was this split, the Regular Season ended in unexpected fashion - Rogue took first, MAD took second, while the faltering G2 and Fnatic lagged behind. Filling the last two playoffs spots were SK Gaming and Schalke 04, who managed to claw back a spot after the greatest miracle run the region has ever seen. Every team fought tooth and nail to make playoffs, but only four could eventually progress to Worlds.
Despite rallying around Crownie, SK Gaming was the first to fall. Their valiant efforts amounted to nothing before Gilius, becoming yet another victim of the miracle run. The Schalke hype train rolled on, and as a reinvigorated G2 pushed the MAD Lions down to the lower bracket, they soon learnt who their next opponent would be.
G2 weren’t the only ones to have a return to form though. With their playoffs buff activated and a new lease on life, Fnatic made Rogue regret underestimating them. The star-studded squad ripped through the less experienced Rogue lineup, barely a warm-up before their rematch against G2.
With the two old kings of Europe left in the upper bracket, the new blood was left to battle through the gauntlet. The MAD Lions redeemed themselves momentarily, with Shad0w’s Lillia running circles around Gilius to secure a spot at Worlds. There was little time for celebration though, as a swift and almost humiliating defeat at the hands of Rogue soured an otherwise stellar season for the rookie team.
With MAD Lions, Schalke 04 and SK Gaming sent packing, just three teams remained standing - Fnatic, G2, and Rogue.
The Old Kings Face Off (Again)
We all know this narrative has been done to death, but there is simply no better rivalry in esports than Fnatic and G2. These two organisations are synonymous with Europe, and despite the influx of new talent split after split, they never fail to come out on top. With years of history between the two teams, the stakes on every G2 vs Fnatic series are multiplied exponentially - and the viewer counts follow suit.
Look no further than their series from last week, which delivered one of the most intense Game 5s of the year. The series peaked at just shy of 900,000 viewers, primarily thanks to the enormous buildup to the series. It had been 875 days since Fnatic’s last best-of-5 victory against G2, and so far in 2020, they hadn’t managed to take a single game off G2.
Their devastating 3-0 loss to G2 in Spring weighed heavily on the minds of Fnatic’s players and fans, to the point where this series could make or break their confidence for the rest of the season. Fnatic needed this win badly, both to secure top two seeding and to take back their broken pride.
While we didn’t see either team in peak form, the series was, as described by Perkz and Caps, ‘a banger’. Fnatic played their hearts out and despite G2’s helpful Game 3 throw, truly earned the 3-2 win. As a result, G2 must now face Rogue in the lower bracket finals, with the winner earning a rematch with Fnatic.
So who's going to win?
If history is anything to go by, G2 will beat Rogue and then inevitably 3-0 Fnatic in the Grand Finals, but this split has been anything but predictable so far.
Rogue have gone above and beyond expectations by topping the table in the regular season, and while Fnatic did rain on their parade slightly in Round 1, Rogue showed us a much more flexible and competitive version of themselves in their series against MAD. In Game 1 Larssen chose to pick Lucian instead of his usual mages, enabling Inspired to showcase his clean Evelynn. With a new threat in the duo's arsenal, Rogue just got a lot harder to predict and outplay. Since Lucian is so powerful in the midlane and also a priority pick for Nemesis, it will be interesting to see how it affects the draft in the upcoming series. If AP junglers like Evelynn, Gragas and Karthus become massively prioritised, we may even see some spicy new AD picks in the mid lane to compliment them (assassins please?).
At the end of the day though, G2 is still G2. Rogue is a team with three inexperienced players, and the world finalists at G2 are known for stepping up when it counts. You'd be hard-pressed to bet against them, and it would be a massive achievement for Rogue to take them to Game 5. Expect a clean 3-0 sweep for G2, or a 3-1 if they fumble the first game like usual.
In the Grand Finals, it's anyone's guess between G2 and Fnatic. In their last series, G2 was on the cusp of victory, but a few decision-making errors cost them the win. Their game-throwing push in Game 3 was obviously not thought through, and while they might have felt comfortable risking it in that upper bracket series, even the happy-go-lucky characters at G2 won't be messing around in a Grand Final. They won't make the same mistake twice. Assuming Rogue doesn't make a massive upset in the first series, G2 will likely rise to the challenge and beat Fnatic 3-2.
In reality though, all we want are two more great series to put a bookend on one of the most exciting splits in Europe's history, before heading to China to win Worlds again for the first time since Season 1. After reaching World Finals twice in a row and getting swept by the LPL twice in a row, surely it's time to bring it home? Third time's the charm right...
Images via Riot Games