Entering the LEC Spring 2020 playoffs as the top seed, G2 Esports managed to avoid two other strong contenders, Fnatic and Origen. They only had to face the fourth-placed team – MAD Lions.
Everyone thought it would be another easy victory for the reigning champions, even though they had suffered a loss against their opponent in the group stage. However, an earthquake occurred as MAD Lions repeated their feat of defeating G2 from the group stage, not in just one, but in three games, a result sufficient for the Mad Lions to dethrone the jesters, thus becoming the first team to reach the semifinals.
It must be acknowledged that MAD played extraordinarily well, adapting effectively to the diverse ban/pick strategies that G2 employed. However, the biggest blame for this loss still lies with Caps and the G2 players, as they played too carelessly and underestimated their opponents, allowing MAD to capitalize on numerous mistakes and secure the win.
A prime example of G2’s “reckless” play style was the backdoor situation in the 33rd minute of game 5. At this point, MAD was focused on taking Baron, while Bard from Mikyx took advantage of the space at the Bottom Lane, placing a ward to help Caps teleport to MAD’s Nexus tower and successfully push towards the Nexus stronghold.
A perfect call by G2, until, instead of utilizing one or two more auto-attacks to finish the game, Caps decided to play around with the opponent by entering Bard’s Magical Journey to… taunt them. By this time, the members of MAD had managed to return to defend, and Caps must surely regret that action, as he threw away the only opportunity to turn the tide for G2.
With an advantage of nearly 10k gold, MAD Lions had no trouble finishing game 5 with an overall victory of 3-2, amidst the helplessness of the G2 players.
Fortunately, the loss to MAD is not the end for G2; they still have a chance to redeem themselves in the lower bracket. One of the four opponents that Perkz and his teammates might have to face includes Fnatic, Origen, Misfits Gaming, and Rogue.
Theoretically, these are all opponents that G2 is capable of overcoming. The issue is that they need to rectify their attitude immediately, as Origen and Fnatic are both formidable names that can easily punish their opponents’ mistakes, just like MAD Lions did.
Although G2’s philosophy is to play with a relaxed spirit, the fun will no longer be enjoyable if they fail to defend their championship title and miss out on a ticket to MSI. Perhaps it’s time for G2 to switch to “serious mode” to showcase their destructive performance and prove the strength of the reigning king.