They were Europe's last hope to get a Worlds win in 2020, but even though it wasn't supposed to be, G2 Esports have had a stellar year.
They were a group constructed with winning Worlds 2021 in mind. They had the subject, the spirit-- and -- most importantly -- the ability to be successful on the World Stage and grab that prize for the very first time. But despite several totally knockout performances, G2 Esports are still with no Summoner's Cup. Now that among the team's main stars, Luka"Perkz" Perkovic, has departed Gnar Probuilds, what does the future look like to your team?
Gnar Probuilds action
Let us rewind the clock to January. G2's reputation preceded them going in the Spring Season having utterly dominated 2019, together with the squad making it in spitting distance of the World Championship trophy. Expectations for the team were sky-high, but that was not likely to stop G2 from continuing to try new things, as Rasmus"Caps" Winther and Perkz announced they were shifting places. Perkz would go back into the mid lane, while Caps attempted out bot lane to the first time in his professional career.
At the start of Spring, G2 were raring to go.
Despite this not-insignificant shift, G2 almost immediately took the lead from the Spring Season. With the group's star players settling in their new roles, it wasn't long before G2 were racking up wins against the likes of SK Gaming, Team Vitality, Origen, Rogue, and longstanding rivals Fnatic. Once again, Europe's top squad appeared unstoppable -- until an unexpected series of defeats hit the team. The group suffered losses in the hands of Misfits Gaming and FC Schalke 04, before the most surprising reduction of all -- a defeat at the hands of newbie team MAD Lions at the first round of their Spring Playoffs.
In the lower bracket of the playoffs, G2 pulled all the stops to clear a path to the top, since they got back into winning game after game. Shortly G2 found themselves grappling with their longstanding rivals in Fnatic, procuring a 3-0 sweep and lifting the Spring Season trophy.
A long probuilds summer
Summer was a simpler season for the reigning EU champions, even with Caps and Perkz swapped back in their initial positions. Rogue had started to realise that their potential, while newcomers MAD Lions were ripping through the leaderboard at a speed no one saw coming. Elsewhere, Schalke stunned pundits using a'miracle run' that saw them stand up no less than seven consecutive wins after a galling run of losses.
G2, despite a comparatively strong season, were not as dominant as fans had perhaps expected them to be, even against teams further down the ranks. They suffered defeats at the hands of Schalke and Origen and ended up with a third place finish in the regular season, providing them the third-seed at the Summer Playoffs. The pressure was on G2 not to fade in the background in this surprising season. Despite playing from home, Gnar Probuilds created their presence known in Summer.
Fortunately, you could always count on G2 to play some entertaining League of Legends. At the first round of the playoffs, G2 once more locked claws with MAD Lions, this time securing a 3-1 win. An unfortunate loss to Fnatic in the next round sent G2 to the Loser's Bracket semifinals, resulting in a tough bout against Rogue which ultimately ended 3-2 into G2. With one more victory under their belts, Gnar Pro Builds proceeded to the forefront for another clash with their old rivals Fnatic.
Things looked tense as the game started. Fnatic maintained first blood Game 1, putting G2 on the rear foot. But, G2 kept momentum and was able to push back strikes from Fnatic time after time. Eventually, Caps broke to the opponent's base -- albeit at the cost of his own life. G2 started to turn the map into their favor, taking Baron, Elder Dragon, and Fnatic's inhibitors, before securing an all-important kill on Oskar"Selfmade" Boderek which paved the way for success.
Fnatic changed tack in the second game, choosing to play patience, hoping to out-scale G2's champions. Fortunately for G2, Fnatic still could not match their group fighting abilities. G2 won the game, meaning just one more win stood between them and their fourth successive Probuilds title. Together with the decoration within achieve, G2 pulled all the stops. Thanks in large part to some sneaky assault on Fnatic's Nexus from Caps, G2 claimed success in the final match, heading into Worlds 2021 since the Probuilds Summer 2020 winners. As G2's eighth title, the group had finally surpassed Fnatic to become Europe's most decorated group .
"My first two titles felt kind of easy to get," Caps told us after the game . "The last two have been more fun, it feels like the EU is getting stronger slowly."
Worlds 2021 apart
G2 hit the ground running throughout the Worlds 2020 Group Stage.
"This team has been built with winning Worlds in mind," G2's trainer, Fabian"GrabbZ" Lohmann, told us in September. "We always want to compete for the title and every player fully buys into this outlook". And as Europe's first-seeded team, Gnar Pro Builds finally had the opportunity to put their training into the test and take that coveted trophy once and for all.
Their very first challenger was Suning, hailing from China -- a region that had awarded G2 difficulty before. G2 have even been known to play on Chinese servers because teams from the region are so powerful. Fortunately, G2's practice paid off, since they defeated Suning from the opening match.
Next on the chopping block was Machi 17, a Taiwanese staff who G2 handily discharged within their very first match. Not so straightforward was that their bout against NA celebrities Team Liquid, who defeated G2 within an upset even they did not see coming.
Determined not to let the Groups slide away from them, Gnar Probuilds went to their second match with Liquid seeking revenge. Right away, G2 looked just like the stronger team, particularly in the top lane where Martin"Wunder" Hansen dominated on Sylas. Meanwhile, G2 targeted Edward"Tactical" Ra from the bot lane, leading to a sharp shortage in gold for Team Liquid. G2 took Baron and proceeded to dominate Liquid, successfully earning their revenge.
It took one more triumph over Machi 17 to get Gnar Probuilds to secure their spot in the Knockouts. All eyes were on their final Group A matchup, that would see G2 and Suning battle once again for the first location.
Much to the dismay of EU fans, Suning pulled off a surprisingly fast win in their second Worlds game against Gnar Probuilds, beating the group in only 22 minutes. This unexpected result meant that Team Liquid and Machi 17 would be removed from the contest and forced a tiebreaker for the Group A first seed, even by which G2 would once again have to carry on Suning. Understandably shaken by the reduction, G2 were unable to turn things around from the next match and finally were defeated once again, scratching to the quarterfinals as the second seed.
Despite this slight disappointment, Jankos was not discouraged when he talked to us following Groups. "I don't think any of the games in Group Stage were particularly challenging," he explained. "I just feel like we had to improve slowly."
"We just have to focus on the mistakes we made against Suning, and have a strong draft and a strong gameplan for Gen.G," he said. "We are very knowledgeable, and I feel like as long as we can make it through the early game, which is our weakness, we can play good League of Legends."
The final Gnar Pro Builds
Gen.G felt that the complete power of G2.
With their defeat at the hands of Suning fresh in their minds, G2 went to their match against Gen.G with something to prove. It was time for Gnar Pro Builds to demonstrate that EU was a competition for the Worlds trophy, and they were determined to at least make it as far as the semis.
It was not immediately apparent that G2 would take the win in this all-important series. Game 1 started with Gen.G peacefully building up their power, quickly taking the Rift Herald and three Dragons. G2 kept their heads above water with some kills here and there, but the gold totals were close.
It was only when their opponents targeted at the Infernal Soul that G2 showed precisely how they had made it this way. G2 put the kibosh on this attempt, grouping up for a massive team fight in the top lane. G2 scored three kills and also the Baron enthusiast, forcing Gen.G to a defensive posture. Attempts at a comeback out of Gen.G were masterfully blocked, allowing Gnar to push towards their enemies' base and destroy their Nexus.
Game 2 once again looked to start in Gen.G's favour, with the team scoring several kills in the opening minutes. But it wasn't long before Gnar Probuilds struck back, giving up a smattering of neutral objectives in order to tear through Gen.G with some ruthless kills. Caps shined particularly brightly in this game, casually demonstrating his prowess in the mid lane.
By all accounts, it seemed that G2 were back on form and poised to secure another win. Caps stood out once again in the third game -- now playing Sylas Probuilds -- calmly dispatching any opponents that dared step in his path. It wasn't long before G2 were taking Infernal Soul and storming towards Gen.G's base to claim victory.
The Gnar Probuilds problem
Gnar's next match was never going to be easy. DAMWON Gaming had undergone a huge transformation in the previous 12 months, rising up through the ranks of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) with an incredible record of 37 wins and just five losses. DAMWON's players, particularly Heo "ShowMaker" Su, Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu, and Jang "Ghost" Yong-jun, were quickly rising to superstar status, earning reputations as some of the most talented players in the region.
Although first blood went to Gnar, DWG countered by piling up bodies in the bot lane. G2's focus turned to pushing back this bot lane assault but to no avail, as DWG punished their aggression with several more kills. While Gnar Probuilds flailed, DWG spread across the map, securing objective after objective and making it near impossible for G2 to catch up. By 25 minutes in, DWG had an 11k gold lead, at which point a comeback for G2 was off the cards.
Game 2 was a close contest, but thanks to some aggressive plays, G2 were able to cinch victory. In Game 3, DWG picked up the pace, claiming Mountain Soul, and before long, the Baron and Elder Dragon buffs that gave them the boost they needed to end the game.
Unfortunately, Game 4 proved to be G2's downfall. Caps died in a 1v1, before DWG picked off Wunder in the top lane and proceeded to pick up the first Dragon. By 11 minutes in, DWG had a 5k gold lead. In no time at all, DWG had taken control of almost the entire map, while G2 hadn't managed to get a single kill. DAMWON's lead looked insurmountable, and in a matter of minutes, the South Korean team were breaking into G2's base. Before they knew what had hit them, G2 were going home after the fastest loss in Worlds history.
Perkz of the job
So what had gone wrong for G2? Many will argue that DAMWON simply outpaced them. G2 are famous for playing the long game to their advantage, but faced with a team as aggressive and adaptable as DWG they struggled, unable to build themselves up to a dominant position.
However, despite this disappointment, it's important to remember that G2 still had an amazing run this year, both on and off the Worlds stage. As caster Trevor "Quickshot" Henry noted, nothing really went wrong for G2. It just wasn't their time, and expectations were astronomical.
"We've come to anticipate domination out of G2 Esports," Quickshot told us. "But I don't think a massive amount of individuals would have actually bet money and said that this is the team that will allow it into Finals after seeing strong DAMWON Gaming and Top Esports appeared going in the World Championship. What would they have done better? That is a matter for the ages."
It's also worth remembering that G2 trained for Worlds amid the COVID-19 crisis, much of which was spent in lockdown, something which would have had a much reduced effect on their South Korean counterparts (South Korea's coronavirus cases have been low since early April).
"Quarantine hasn't been the best for us," GrabbZ admitted in September. "Generally we'd amp up our practice time by a good deal, but the quarantine restrictions have made it quite difficult to do so."
So, amid a global crisis, two European titles and a final four position at Worlds is not a bad result. In fact, Gnar have proved once again that they are the best Europe has to offer and, barring a huge upset, we fully expect them to make good on this promise at next years' World Championships.
And the group has just made a huge signing, bringing Martin"Rekkles" Larsson over from Fnatic to fill the not insignificant gap left by long-serving player Perkz. Together with Caps and Rekkles reunited once more, and Perkz departing the Gnar Probuilds for American pastures at Cloud9, the route is clear for G2 to dominate yet again. Maybe a Worlds win is not out of the question after all in 2021.