G2 Esports vs MAD Lions

For our second LEC playoff Best of 5, we have a clash that's the epitome of hype and mind-blowing entertainment -- a match-up between two of the most creative, aggressive, and flexible teams that were ever assembled on LEC soil. These two behemoths deserve all the superlatives you could come up with, and they've earned such a privilege through an immense display of talent, resilience, grit, and a metric ton of mechanical prowess.

Boy are we in for a treat today!

And, here's the thing: this is only the second split that we've seen this MAD Lions line-up in action, and already they've won our hearts and are considered as a top-tier giant of competitive League. What lunacy! But they've done incredibly well in a staggeringly short amount of time. Heck, they even beat G2 Esports in their first Best of 5 in the playoffs last Spring Split -- thus becoming only the second team to accomplish such a thing, besides FunPlus Phoenix (the defending World Champions). How does a team go from having four rookies to challenging the best and most stacked line-up the LEC has to offer? Well, there's no obvious answer, and there's surely a lot of luck involved as well, but there are some significant and quite obvious factors: a ton of talent backed up with equal amounts of willingness to grind, the right players with the right mindset, and a stacked out coaching staff that's exceptional at what it does. On paper, this might seem like your run-of-the-mill requirements, something that's present in nearly every LEC organization, but that's far from the case. These virtues are exceptionally rare and the fact that they all coalesced in MAD Lions is not only sheer happenstance but also the result of a lot of calculation and a couple of educated guesses.

Still, it needs to be said: MAD Lions did regress quite a bit as the regular portion of the season came to a close. They're entering the playoffs with a 1W-3L record -- a horrendous result in every sense of the word. They simply looked out of sorts and out of sync, regardless of whom they were up against. They were making uncharacteristic mistakes, they were too aggressive but rarely did they set things up in advance, and their individual play left a lot to be desired as well. Losing so many games in such a short period of time is often a telling sign that something has gone terribly awry, and with MAD Lions being so new to this whole thing, no one's quite sure whether we're talking about a concrete problem and, if so, whether it's actually severe or not? Obviously, with such an incredible coaching staff and a proven track record when it comes to preparation, it stands to reason that they'll bounce back in quite emphatic fashion, but it's hard to fully give them the benefit of the doubt seeing how they'll now compete in a format that's merciless in every sense of the word.

They'll also face off against a team unlike any other. G2 Esports are incredible across the board and they have all the right tools to not only defeat MAD Lions but also defend their LEC throne. It's *their* throne after all, and they've been reigning supreme over the last year and a half for a reason. No matter how inconsistent or horrendous G2 might play during the regular season, they always prepare exceptionally well once Best of 5s come around. That's when they truly start to shine in the most incredible ways -- that's when their breadth of experience and trust in one another provides them with an insurmountable advantage. We've seen this time and time again, and it's pretty much a well-known and well-established fact. This split should be no different, especially seeing how G2 now has Rasmus "Caps" Winther in the mid lane -- arguably the most talented Western mid laner in history. They're far from perfect, but they're G2 Esports, and they're darn near close. Their name has become a synonym for success and there's a good reason why.

They might not be as clean or commanding as they were back in 2019 but they're getting there. Fortunately, MAD Lions have all the right tools to push G2 to the brink of defeat, which is precisely when the defending champions start to pull off what seems nigh impossible. They able to bend the rules of the game, and even though the current meta isn't as flexible or forgiving as they'd like, they can still capitalize through sheer talent and experience alone. And, frankly, they're favored here for a reason. This Best of 5 has the potential to become an absolute classic; these two line-ups are bound to skirmish from the moment they spawn on the Rift, and G2 Esports will have to go above and beyond to actually secure the win. Still, they know what they're up against and they're well-equipped for the task at hand. Hopefully they maximized their practice time and will enter this clash swinging for the fences. Either way, expect an absolute spectacle from start to finish!