Fnatic vs G2 Esports

After nine weeks of competitive play (and one heck of a competitive and engaging Spring Split) we've finally come down to the two best teams in the region - Fnatic and G2 eSports.

Both teams had somewhat different trajectories during the regular season as Fnatic started off strong and looked like a top tier team throughout the split, while G2 took quite a long time before getting to top tier form - and that's perfectly understandable. Swapping out four players out of the original roster and still making it to the finals of the EU LCS is an incredible achievement and is worthy of the highest praise. That said, they have a tall task ahead - taking down the "former kings of Europe" while at the same time trying to win their fifth, consecutive LCS title as an organization.

Speaking of the former kings, they're looking as the team to beat right now. With just a single change to their roster during the off-season (and a change for the better) means they entered the Spring Split with the majority of their synergy intact and it showed from the very get go. Might seem strange but this will be the first time after two years that we've seen Fnatic in the finals and it just feels right in a way. They've dominated the region for such a long time that it only seems fitting to watch them square off with G2 who've took over the reigns two years ago.

Their semifinal series against Vitality was an exciting one, however they didn't have to fight too much for it. They didn't make many mistakes and when they accrued leads they didn't need a lot of time before closing out the game. Every single member of the roster was in top form - Hylissang with his aggressive playmaking Braum, Rekkles playing the "utility" role with Ezreal in all four games however the two guys that stood out the most were definitely Broxah and Caps. Their synergy was on full display throughout the four game series and it became evident that they've improved leaps and bounds from last year. With Rekkles receiving up to six ADC bans, it was up to Caps to hardcarry and he did so without breaking a sweat. While it was too early to crown him as the "baby Faker" last year, it's obvious that he's an incredibly talented midlaner and one of the best players Europe has to offer.

As for G2 eSports, they had a somewhat easy time against Splyce in their semifinal match-up, as they managed to completely and utterly outclass their opponent in 3-1 fashion. The first game didn't go according to plan as even though they had a lead from the very get go they didn't take the fights they should've and eventually let Splyce outscale them just enough so that they could close out the game. With that in mind, G2 made the right changes going into game two and they never really let go. The small advantages that they built were more than enough to snowball the game and they displayed an enviable ability to close out games rather quickly when ahead - something that was a serious issue during the Spring Split.

The thing that surprised everyone was just how much G2 didn't focus on Perkz - after weeks of relying on him to hardcarry. He took a back seat and wasn't even in consideration for player of the series! Everything hinged around Jankos' fantastic ganks, Wunder's carry picks in the top and last but definitely not least - Hjarnan. We know going into the match that he was their biggest liability, the biggest question mark. After getting banned out and focused throughout the last couple of weeks of the regular season, he failed to do much.

This time around though, not only were him and Wadid able to shut down Kobbe and Kasing, but they completely took over most games. No one expected his Jhin to be so clean and it was a fantastic sight to behold. Ultimately his clean play and pristine positioning resulted in a fantastic teamfight around Baron and a fantastic (albeit unofficial) quadrakill.

With G2's bottom lane performing above expectations this final match-up got that much more difficult to predict. Now Rekkles is without a doubt the most skilled ADC in the region right now but if G2 can keep up in the bottom lane then they could go for other avenues and win conditions - either through Perkz or Wunder.

Speaking of Wunder he was finally allowed to shine with his carry picks like Gankplank, Swain (twice for that matter) and finally Fiora. Going into this match-up we know how impactful he can be when given the resources and the right champion and with his deep champion pool he will surely play and integral part in G2's success. On the opposite side we have Bwipo who had a fairly impressive showing against Team Vitality - he wasn't really the main win condition but he didn't do anything wrong and played his role to perfection. (other than his unlucky game three when he was camped to infinity by Gilius)

G2 are entering the finals with a ton of confident and the majority of their players already played on the big stage or even went to Worlds (Wunder with Splyce in 2016, Hjarnan with H2K) so they're all veterans in a way and they're up to the task of fighting Fnatic for that number one spot - but are they strong enough?

This will be such an insane game of inches and it could by all means go the distance. That said, Fnatic are coming in with a bit more momentum and Caps also mentioned that they destroyed G2 in scrims over the last couple of weeks and while scrim results don't always translate over to stage it is still something to go by and we need these small advantages to decide on whom to bet on as things are incredibly close.

G2 did manage to outclass Splyce on all fronts but Fnatic is a completely different kind of beast. They've already beaten G2 twice during the regular season and they know what they're up against, and paired with the amount of support that Broxah and Caps will receive from their Danish hometown crowd means they should really have an edge in a Best of 5 series. That said, this is as close as it gets so be prepared for some insane, high level League of Legends.