The Best to Ever Do It: “Caps” secures 11th title after G2 LEC Summer Playoffs Win over Excel

The LEC has been home to some incredible League of Legends the last month, with incredible storylines teeing up as we approach Worlds 2023. Fnatic’s amazing recovery of form with new player “Noah,” Excel’s run in the Playoffs to take down teams like Mad Lions and Fnatic. G2’s untouched run through the Group Stage, culminating in a dominant upper bracket performance. However, last night, G2 secured a new record for themselves as the undisputed best team in Europe once more.

After a strong run through the LEC Summer Group Stage, G2 managed to take down Excel in the Grand Finals of the Summer Playoffs. Here is everything that happened in the last few weeks of European League of Legends!

Craps or Claps

Despite the perpetuating mythology of Claps or Craps showing as dualities of Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther, none can deny his status as the best to ever do it in the European circuit, with his now 11th title since going professional. 8 of those titles are with G2 Esports, cementing his status as an integral mainstay of the roster. Despite a consistent slew of roster changes and questionable performances in 2022, G2 have bounced back with an incredible roster and dominated the 2023 calendar year in Europe.

Whilst many fans were quick to point out that “Caps” has not looked as dominant in the midlane as he has in the past, it is undeniable that this finals series against Excel was a solid performance from the 23-year-old. After solidifying leads against his opponent, he created excellent pressure for his team and was a slippery adversary to pin down on mobile champions like Ahri, LeBlanc, and Kai’Sa. In the end, G2 dominated the Grand Finals, despite Excel’s historic run to it. The series ended in 3-0 fashion.

The Legacy of G2

G2 Esports has solidified themselves as the most successful EMEA roster at this point. Their slew of trophies includes 7 1st place regular season finishes, 11 Playoffs wins, and 6 top 4 international tournament appearances. That does not even include the other 5 appearances internationally in which they finished 5th or less.

This year alone, G2 took home both the Winter and Summer Playoff trophies in the LEC. They made a fairly strong appearance at MSI 2023 despite coming in as the 2nd seed. Now, one more obstacle stands in between them and another Worlds appearance- the LEC Season Finals.

In their Grand Finals against Excel, G2 dominated for most of the series. Games 1 and 3 were sub 30 minutes, with every lane winning. Rookie Martin “Yike” Sundelin started the year with many question marks as to whether he could live up to the legacy of prior jungler and LEC legend Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski. Not only did he, but “Yike” ended up taking home the MVP awards this season for his performances.

Groups and Playoffs Recap

As reported earlier, the Group Stage included two groups, with G2 placed into Group A and Excel into Group B. Many expected fellow MSI competitor and Spring Split champions MAD Lions to make it out of Groups. However, MAD was soundly defeated by Excel in the first round, and faced an enraged Fnatic in the lower bracket, sending them home in swift fashion.

G2 meanwhile, had a clean performance that saw them take down both KOI and BDS to make it to Playoffs in undefeated style. Excel’s victory over MAD was further followed in their victory over SK in the following match, cementing their Playoffs ticket.

In the end, Fnatic managed to survive through the lower bracket, taking down SK as well to make it to Playoffs. On the other side, Heretics managed to survive in back-to-back elimination series to make Playoffs.

In Playoffs, thanks to their performances, G2 and Excel earned a pass straight to the double-elimination portion. Meanwhile, Heretics and Fnatic faced off in the R1 elimination series. Heretics ended up losing it, allowing Fnatic to progress. Despite that, Excel’s close series against G2 ended with the latter narrowly clutching up, meaning Fnatic was now facing a feral Excel in the lower bracket. Excel eviscerated Fnatic in 3-1 fashion, stunning Fnatic fans and the team alike as the series played out.

XL earned their rematch against G2, however, this time it was no close contest as G2 decimated them to secure their 11th title.

G2 will now join the top 6 of Europe in the LEC Season Finals. The tournament will determine the 4 teams to potentially head to Worlds. More information to come in the following days.

Credit: LEC // LoL Esports