Took Them Long Enough: G2 officially announces LEC roster for 2023 season

27 Nov

Foo Zen-Wen

As predicted

As of Dec 22nd, G2’s LEC roster has been officially unveiled, and it includes returning mid lane star Rasmus “caPs” Borregaard Winther and veteran top laner Sergen “BrokenBlade” Celik. The two are the last remaining pieces of the 2022 G2 roster who won the LEC Spring Playoffs and Summer Split. Joining them will be former Rogue and Team Liquid star AD Carry Steven “Hans Sama” Liv, as well as returning support Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle. The final piece is rising jungle rookie Martin “Yike” Sundelin, who sees his first debut in the big leagues.

[twitter url="https://twitter.com/G2League/status/1605992210234675200"]

The roster in its entirety has been leaked since November, and especially the addition of “Yike” as their new jungler, has been an open secret for weeks now. One of the smaller dramas to occur over last week was former G2 jungler Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski accidently leaking “Yike” as the new G2 addition. However, that came as little surprise to everyone. The humorous G2 announcement video included plenty of references, including former G2 "Flakked's" famous pet duck, Tet, the leak incident from Jankos, as well as reactions to their Valorant roster.

Two Returns

The first celebrated return has to be “Mikyx”, who left the team in early 2022 as part of the rebuild, to join Excel Esports. “Mikyx” spent 2 years on G2 before drastic rebuilds saw his departure. “Hans Sama” for his part, saw a departure from the LEC in late 2021, as an integral part of the failed Team Liquid ‘superteam’ project. When that imploded after the roster failed to qualify for Worlds, placing 4th at the LCS 2022 Championship, “Hans Sama” took his chance and returned to Europe.

The return of both coincidentally, has the potential to power a great botlane for G2 in 2023. The combined experience for both players provides a deadly combination for any opponent. Questions remain whether both players still have the sparks of brilliance the LEC team needs to return to the summit.

Young Gun, Heavy Legacy

The departure of “Jankos” left a great vacuum for G2 in terms of leadership and veteran experience. While the roster on a whole is now constructed more by experience than promising rookies, “Yike” especially will have to prove he belongs and is able to compete on the biggest stages, starting with the upcoming Winter Split. The changes to the LEC format were announced on Nov 18th.

Should the roster be confirmed, it will look as such: