The EU Spring Split came to a close this weekend with G2 Esports facing Fnatic in the finals. Though the final score was 3-0, the series was much closer than the scoreline suggests. As is often the case with such closely matched games, the outcome can be traced back to a single factor that tipped the scales.
Game 1 – Team fight at Baron.
Blue Side: Fnatic
Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau – Sion
Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen – Sejuani
Rasmus “Caps” Winther – Karma
Martin “Rekkles” Larsson – Tristana
Zdravets “Hylissang” Iliev Galabov – Braum
Red Side: G2 Esports
Martin “Wunder” Hansen – Cho’Gath
Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski – Zac
Luka “Perkz” Perković – Ryze
Petter “Hjarnan” Freyschuss – Jinx
Kim “Wadid” Bae-in – Tahm Kench
The first game of the series started out in G2’s favor. Just after 4 minutes in, Jankos Ganked the rookie Bwipo who had pushed his Top Lane wave just a bit too far. Jankos walked in from the river, and was able to initiate with Stretching Strikes, saving Elastic Slingshot to prevent Bwipo’s escape. With Wunder’s help, he was able to secure First Blood and a small gold lead for G2.
Ten minutes later, G2 stretched this small lead into a considerable one. In a Bot Lane team fight that was originally initiated by Fnatic, G2 found themselves in a position to turn and overwhelm their opponents. Hjarnan took down Hylissang and Broxah, and Perkz was able to kill Bwipo as he tried to escape. Using this advantage, G2 executed the impressive macro play they are known for, and in the following 10 minutes extended their gold lead to nearly 6k as they took three towers, their second dragon, the Rift Herald and Baron Nashor.
The decisive fight
Unfortunately for G2, it was this Baron call that allowed Fnatic back into the game. After using Perkz’s Realm Warp to make Bwipo use Unstoppable Onslaught defensively on the bottom half of the map, G2 cleared a wave in the Mid Lane and made their way to the Baron. Despite a Fnatic Teleport coming in behind the pit, G2 decided to stay and finish the objective. As Broxah cast Glacial Prison and jumped into the enemy team, Caps and Rekkles put down significant damage on Wadid and Wunder. Bwipo landed a knockup from behind the wall, before flashing in and chunking Perkz, Hjarnan, and Jankos down with Soul Furnace. As G2 attempted to escape the Baron Pit, Rekkles melted their health bars one by one, using the resets on his Rocket Jump to follow their Flashes. Jankos was the only survivor for G2, and in the next few minutes Fnatic was able to secure several more objectives.
The next two team fights also went the way of Fnatic, and they nearly ended the game at 33 minutes before Hjarnan respawned and kept the G2 Nexus alive. Fnatic was finally able to end the game at 42 minutes following a clash in the Mid Lane that led to an unofficial Pentakill for Rekkles. Though this is the play captured in most highlight reels, Fnatic may not have made it this far without their victory at the Baron Pit.
Game 2 – The double carry
Blue Side: G2 Esports
Wunder – Gangplank
Jankos – Olaf
Perkz – Karma
Hjarnan – Varus
Wadid – Tahm Kench
Red Side: Fnatic
Bwipo – Sion
Broxah – Skarner
Caps – Zoe
Rekkles – Sivir
Hylissang – Braum
In Game 1, Fnatic built their comp around Rekkles being the lone carry. With three tanks to be the front line, and Caps playing Karma, Rekkles was able to stay alive while putting out 57.9k damage. Their success with this caused G2 to shift their focus going into Game 2. While for their first match, G2 banned three potential Mid Lane champions, they allocated only one ban for Mid Lane in the second. Instead, they focused Rekkles with 3 ADC bans, taking only Ryze away from Caps.
The second carry
This suited Fnatic just fine, as they were planning a new strategy for Game 2. They once again went with three tanks, but instead of a secondary support, Caps locked in the high-damage Zoe. Perkz was the aggressor early, and came close to killing Caps around the 5th minute. From there, they continued to farm, staying fairly close in CS. Caps was biding his time. By 10:45, he had enough to purchase Luden’s Echo, and by 11:51, Perkz was dead.
Not only did this solo kill establish a lead for Caps in the mid lane that he kept throughout the game. It also showed that Fnatic could rely on more than just Rekkles to carry them. This additional threat proved too much for G2, and they failed to shut down either one. Despite 6 Magic Resist items on the enemy team, Caps did the most damage in the game by nearly 10k. This focus on MR and Fnatic’s expert team fighting enabled Rekkles to record his second Pentakill of the series. Shorty after this, Fnatic closed out the game to go up 2-0 in the series.
Game 3 – Panic
Blue Side: Fnatic
Bwipo – Sion
Broxah – Skarner
Caps – Ryze
Rekkles – Tristana
Hylissang – Janna
Red Side: G2 Esports
Wunder – Ornn
Jankos – Zac
Perkz – Cassiopeia
Hjarnan – Sivir
Wadid – Karma
By the time Game 3 came around, it was do or die for G2. Not only had they lost two games in a row to Fnatic, but they had lost both of their head to head matches during the split as well. G2 had been so successful for so long by having superior discipline, macro strategy, and team fighting, but they had found a team that surpassed them in all of those categories.
Only one loss away from being swept in the finals, G2 was desperate, and they played like it. Adjusting their style, they started the game by invading Fnatics jungle. Though they come close to killing Hylissang, he survives, and it puts G2 a bit behind in laning. The early game also saw G2 playing a different game than they were used to. They chased into the river, hoping to catch Broxah, but failed to come close, and lost out on experience and gold in lane. They attempted tower dives and overextended for fights that were not in their favor, forcing them to retreat almost immediately. Though they got kills and took towers, something was off for G2. They were, understandably, shaken.
Panic sets in
Around the 22nd minute, G2 attempted to take Baron. They seemed indecisive, and were interrupted twice, ultimately wasting nearly two minutes dancing around the objective as Caps pushed the bottom lane into the base. Roughly four minutes later, they attempt Baron again, once again peeling off to fight the 4v5 as Caps split pushed. They managed to kill Hylissang, but then seemed to panic. As Caps chipped down the inhibitor turrets, G2 tried to back. Three members chose to do this inside the Baron Pit, including the flashless Hjarnan. As Fnatic looked to delay their return to base, they discovered the enemy ADC, trapped behind the Epic Monster. Allowing Nashor to do most of the work, Fnatic only had to wait as Hjarnan took giant chunks of damage.
With the enemy Carry out of the way, Fnatic was able to put G2 in an impossible position. Caps was nearly on the Nexus, and Bwipo, Broxah, and Rekkles started to take the Baron. Knowing that it would be nearly impossible to defend if Fnatic got Baron, Jankos waited, attempting a heroic Baron steal. Fnatic read the situation perfectly, and stalled. Unable to wait any longer, Jankos dove in, and Fnatic killed both the Baron and the enemy Jungler. Though they did their best, G2 could do nothing to hold off Fnatic at this point, and the series was over.
Looking forward
The finals were a hard fought battle between the former and reigning champions of Europe. Though both had their chances, the superior coaching, strategy, and skill of Fnatic won out in the end. If both teams learn from this intense series, their Summer Split games will be for the history books.
I want to extend a special thank you to fellow Hausmate Benjamin Schwartz for his input on this article!
Find the rest of my articles here. If you would like to contact me or keep up with things I like, find me on Twitter: @_mrdantes. For more of the best esports news, follow The Game Haus on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for reading!
Featured photo courtesy of LoL Esports