esports
Ahead of their encounter with SK Telecom T1, here's everything you need to know about G2 Esports and how they're gunning for glory.
Since exploding onto the competitive landscape in early 2016, G2 have been the team to beat, not just on the European stage but at the elite global level too, having qualified for the League of Legends World Championship every single year of their existence since rebranding.
After qualifying for the European League of Legends Championship Series in late 2015, the boys in black made the most confident debut of any team in any esport by winning their very first EU LCS split in spring 2016 – then doing so again not only that summer, but the spring and summer of the following year too.
Founded originally as Gamers2 in 2013 by Spanish former League legend Carlos ‘ocelote’ Rodríguez Santiago, G2 spent several years battling in the lower tier Challenger series before finally gaining promotion to the EU LCS at the end of 2015. While other teams arrived only to be immediately relegated, G2 Esports took to the top flight with unprecedented confidence, toppling former world champions Fnatic in the playoffs to clinch the 2016 Spring Split at the very first attempt.
Three more successful splits followed, setting a record for the most back-to-back EU LCS split victories by any team in League history. A resurgent Fnatic regained the upper hand in 2018, displacing G2 at the top for both splits that year and reaching the final of Worlds, but not to be outdone, ocelote and head coach Fabian ‘GrabbZ’ Lohmann secured the signing of the season, luring Fnatic star mid-laner Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther just weeks later. The signing, combined with a remarkable role switch for former mid-laner Luka ‘Perkz’ Perković to the bot lane, forged a formidable roster for the newly rebranded League of Legends European Championship (LEC).
The team dominated the division, winning both splits and gaining a reputation for bold and unexpected flex-picking, drafting champions who really shouldn’t work in a role, but somehow always did. Their momentum carried on to the world stage, with the team winning the Mid-Seasonal Invitational in May 2019, defeating the mighty Koreans of SK Telecom T1 along the way and sweeping aside North America’s Team Liquid in the finals.
G2 have already proved that – for at least one moment in 2019 – they were the best team in the world. Now the only thing that eludes them is the Worlds title itself. After failing to escape the group stage for two years running, the team made it all the way to the semi-finals in 2018, only falling to eventual winners Invictus Gaming.
Will this be the year they finally hoist the Summoner’s Cup? They're in a great position. Jankos didn't quite get his wish of a G2 v SKT final, but the two teams will find themselves going toe to toe in the Worlds semi-finals on 3 November – and you don't need us to tell you it will be absolutely blockbuster.
Wunder
After being plucked from the Splyce roster two years ago, top laner Martin ‘Wunder’ Hansen has played a key role in returning G2 Esports to winning ways. Denmark is a League powerhouse, so it speaks volumes when you can say Wunder is perhaps one of the finest players the country has produced.
The 21-year-old rose to prominence via a string of solid performances on SK Gaming’s academy team before breaking into the top flight EU LCS at the start of 2016 with the newly formed Splyce. Four splits there earned him a call up to the big time with G2 in late 2017, and he’s formed the backbone of the squad ever since.
Though perhaps not as high profile as team-mate Perkz or fellow Dane Caps, Wunder plays an essential role on the team and his confidence across an array of often surprising champions (Pyke in the top lane? Sure why not) has proven crucial in helping G2 gain an upper hand in the draft. Can he take them all the way to Worlds this time?
Jankos
There’s no safer pair of hands to have hiding in the shrubbery on the Rift than Marcin ‘Jankos’ Jankowski.
At 24, the Polish star is a veteran of professional European League of Legends, having played in the top flight EU LCS/LEC since the start of 2014. He’s won two splits, Rift Rivals and the Mid-Season Invitational. He was named 2019 LEC Summer MVP. He’s even reached the semi-finals of Worlds three times (and with two different teams no less), a feat matched only by two other European players in competitive League of Legends (xPeke and sOAZ).
He’s only the second player in European history to reach 1,000 kills after Martin ‘Rekkles’ Larsson. The jungler, known for his risky, aggressive play, first made his mark in the EU LCS with a freshly arrived ROCCAT squad in 2014, making the playoffs at the first attempt. A two year stint with H2k Gaming followed before he was scouted for the jungle berth on G2 at the end of 2017.
Signing for G2 at the same time as top-laner Martin ‘Wunder’ Hansen, the pair have for the last two years formed the core of a squad that, after 12 months playing second fiddle in Europe to Fnatic, were resurgent at the start of 2019, with successive Spring and Summer split wins as well as that MSI title. Is there any more space on the trophy shelf?
Caps
Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther has earned the nickname ‘Baby Faker’ for good reason. Though still a teenager, the Danish League of Legends star has built a reputation as not only one of the best mid-laners in the world, but quite possibly the best player in the world, period. He’s an EU LCS MVP, an LEC MVP and an MSI MVP.
As part of Fnatic’s 2018 roster he took the former world champions all the way back to the grand finals once more, only falling at the final hurdle to Invictus Gaming. If anyone has earned the right to take over from triple crown Worlds winner Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok as the face of competitive League, it might just be him.
Since moving to Fnatic in late 2017, Caps has made clear that he belongs on the very best teams in the world. Though quiet by nature, there’s nothing he loves more than a deep dive and there are few players who can match his innate timing ability for doing so.
In fact since arriving in the EU LCS, he’s won every single split he has competed in, a feat no other active European player can lay claim to. Back-to-back wins with Fnatic in 2018 led to an incredible Worlds run in South Korea, all the way to the finals. Then, just weeks later, Caps rocked all of esports by leaving an ascendant Fnatic to sign with G2 Esports, perhaps the biggest transfer coup in all of esports.
This was Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain or LeBron to Miami. And the winning streak continued. Now Caps is back in the final stages of Worlds once more. Can he lift the Summoner’s Cup before his 20th birthday?
Perkz
Luka ‘Perkz’ Perković hardly needs an introduction. The prolific bot-laner is one of G2 Esports’ most longstanding members, having played under the EU side for the majority of his career and has helped G2 grab an incredible six EU/LEC titles during his tenure.
The 21-year-old has gone from strength-to-strength during his time in the EU LCS and LEC and has performed equally well on the international stage too, helping G2 secure their first – and only Europe’s second ever – international trophy with the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational, with solid wins over South Korea’s SK Telecom T1 and North America’s Team Liquid.
The 2019 season has been an interesting time for the Croatian pro, as with the addition of Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther to the line-up in the mid-lane, Perkz has had to swap positions and drop down to the bot-lane, a tricky task. Perkz, however, has taken it in his stride and has helped G2 to an incredible year with his AD Carry performances and been instrumental in leading G2 to both Spring and Summer LEC split triumphs.
He’s even hit 1,000 kills in the LEC, fulfilling that milestone during the Summer Finals in Athens, Greece, taking down Fnatic’s Tim ‘Nemesis’ Lipovšek with a cool and collected performance on Kai’Sa, making him the third person to achieve that milestone along with team-mate Marcin ‘Jankos’ Jankowski, and Martin ‘Rekkles’ Larsson.
His confident demeanour both on-stage and on the Rift has resulted in Perkz being one of the main faces of the G2 side and his champion pool is one that’s feared across all the competitive continents – and he’s in high gear during this year’s World Championship. With almost everything conquered over the past year, can he help G2 rise to international glory on the biggest stage of them all?
Mikyx
Wrist injuries aside, Mihael ‘Mikyx’ Mehle has proven to be G2’s star support.
The young 20-year-old Slovenian pro is a fresh face to this year’s G2 Esports line-up along with Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther, but with the performances he’s been putting in as the team’s solid support, it feels like he’s been with the team for even longer.
After tenures with Splyce and Misfits Gaming, where he cut his teeth in the EU LCS, Mikyx has proven to be the bedrock of the G2 line-up, pulling his weight – and more – as the lane partner of Luka ‘Perkz’ Perković.
His ability to help control the game, his excellence with the likes of Rakan, Pyke and Thresh, along with his composure on the Rift have all made him a force to be reckoned with in an already star-studded line-up. It’s not all been smooth sailing for the young support, however, as wrist injuries have plagued him throughout the current season, leading to the pro missing a few games and having fears of missing out on performing at the Mid-Season Invitational.
With rest and physical therapy, Mikyx made it to MSI and helped G2 push their way to Europe’s first MSI trophy, taking down titans like SK Telecom T1 and Team Liquid. Mikyx exudes an almost quiet confidence, but he’s been outspoken in the past about wanting to be the best team in the world – and with Europe and MSI already conquered, he has his eyes firmly set on the World Championship – and he’ll do anything on the Rift to make that happen.
G2 Esports' career history:
2019
Athens, Greece
Taipei, Taiwan
Rotterdam, Netherlands
2018
Gwangju, South Korea
2017
Paris, France
Hamburg, Germany
2016
Kraków, Poland
Rotterdam, Netherlands