Before the match day on October 28, G2 Esports (G2) was considered a team with a great chance to qualify for the quarter-finals. The reason was that they only had to face a representative from LCS named NRG in the 2-1 matchup. Previously, the LEC representative had performed quite well at the 2023 World Championship (CKTG) by defeating Dplus KIA (DK) and Weibo Gaming (WBG).
However, G2 entered the match against NRG with an unbelievably low performance across most positions. Moreover, the team seemed to be taken by surprise by NRG’s Senna – Tahm Kench strategy. As a result, the LEC representative suffered an embarrassing 0-2 defeat against NRG and fell into the group of teams with a 2-2 record in the Swiss phase of the 2023 World Championship.
After this defeat, G2’s Twitter (now called X) posted a justification saying: “We just want to meet Gen.G again.” Perhaps G2 meant to imply that they still had the strength to progress to the quarter-finals. The reason is that teams with a 3-2 record are likely to face an opponent with a 3-0 record (in this case, Gen.G). Almost immediately, Gen.G responded that G2 would not have a “rematch” with them after this loss.
Of course, in order to meet Gen.G again, G2 must first get through the Swiss round. However, G2 will face a strong opponent named BLG in the upcoming decisive match if they want a ticket to the quarter-finals. Clearly, the fact that this team just lost to NRG shows that G2 is facing many significant issues and not many people believe they can defeat BLG. Perhaps Gen.G thinks the same, which is why they responded to G2 so harshly.
Essentially, G2 has made things difficult for themselves by suffering a complete defeat against NRG in the previous match. Losing to a representative from a region with many “entanglements” like LCS will certainly have a significant impact on the G2 players. If they continue to play at a low level as they did against NRG, it would not be surprising at all to see G2 eliminated after the Swiss round concludes.