Fnatic defeat G2 in epic LEC clash for 1st time in 3 years

In an exhilarating series that took both teams to the limit, Fnatic finally conquer their demons and beat G2 in the LEC 2024 Summer Playoffs Upper Bracket Finals. 

The grueling loss sees G2 fall to the Lower Bracket of the LEC Summer Playoffs. There, they will have to face either Team BDS, GiantX, SK Gaming or Karmine Corp for a chance at revenge against Fnatic in the Grand Finals on Sunday, July 28th.

An electrifying series goes the distance

The last time Fnatic and G2 faced off in a best-of-5 series was 3 months ago, during the LEC Spring Season Grand Finals. G2, as had become habit for them, beat Fnatic with a convincing 3-1 scoreline.

G2 came into the series looking to continue their European domination, and immediately set off to do just that with a Game 1 that was won by G2 as early as the pick and ban phase.

Having been heavily out-drafted, Fnatic were left without answers in dealing with a G2 team composition (comp) which not only greatly out-ranged them, but also dominated the laning stage.

Following the tough loss, Fnatic decided to go back and simplify. Game 2 saw Fnatic put Marek "Humanoid" Brázda on his all-too-familiar Azir, with Spanish jungler Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz supporting him on Sejuani.

This time around, despite a great early-game setup from G2's Martin "Yike" Sundelin, Fnatic never looked defeated. The longer the game went, the clearer it became that Fnatic's comp, combining a sturdy frontline with good mixed damage, was simply too much for G2 to handle.

Moreover, G2 played with fire by going for Varus in the top lane, and the pick ultimately fell flat.

No backing down

Fnatic immediately ran back the Azir-Sejuani combination for Game 3. The intense and unrelenting back-and-forth game highlighted G2's remarkable ability to keep the gold close even as they fell far behind in kills.

Fnatic were ultimately able to take the win in what would end up being the longest game of the LEC Season yet. After nearly 48 minutes of play and a total of 3 elder dragons taken, Fnatic's team-fighting shone through in the end.

G2 looked down, but certainly not out. Despite the Game 2 loss, Sergen "BrokenBlade" Çelik opted to repeat his controversial Varus top pick. This time, however, he delivered in a game that was an absolute bloodbath from start to finish.

After a total 45 kills over 31 minutes of play, G2 claimed Game 4 of the series off the back of BrokenBlade's Varus and his game-high 11 kills.

All or nothing

To the tune of Silver Scrapes, G2 and Fnatic walked back onto the stage ready for one last bout to end the day.

Razork surprised everyone by picking Nidalee in the jungle. G2 had banned the champion all series long, but decided to leave it open, perhaps assuming Fnatic would opt for the also-open Sejuani instead. The decision proved costly in the end.

Fnatic knew that picking Nidalee meant allowing the game to hang from a knife's edge. If things went wrong in the early game and the Nidalee fell behind, the game may very well have been sentenced. Razork, however, never wavered.

Razork dominated the early game, securing all 6 voidgrubs and even claiming 2 quick kills for himself. Fnatic never looked to let on from there, constantly looking to extend their gold lead against a G2 team that fought a brave fight, but could not pull through in the end.

In the post-match interview Razork confessed that his "coach said pick Sejuani, and I said no, I want to go Nidalee."

Result: G2 2-3 Fnatic

An end to the domination

The Game 5 win meant that Fnatic finally put an end to G2's 849 day-long streak since the last time they lost a best-of-5 series against Fnatic.

Perhaps more importantly, G2 comes off of winning the Winter Season and the Spring Season in the LEC this year, having won every single playoff series they have played in Europe across all of 2024 in the process. That is, until today.

G2 will get a chance at redemption, however, if they manage to win one more series in the Lower Bracket to face Fnatic again in the Grand Finals.

The LEC Summer Playoffs are set to carry on Tuesday, July 23rd. Team BDS will face GiantX to start the day, followed by SK Gaming taking on Karmine Corp.

Image source: Michal Konkol // Riot Games

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