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How G2 took down Suning in the most explosive game of Worlds 2020 so far
G2 are no stranger to epic games at the League of Legends World Championships and they played another classic for the history books in their opening match against Suning.
League of Legends fans usually have to wait until the knockout stages of the World Championships for the real barnstorming games, but we got one in G2 Esports' very first match at Worlds 2020. Going up against China's third seeded team, Suning, G2 were on a rollercoaster until finally coming away with a clutch victory to set themselves up well in Group A. Here's how it happened.
The game started out simply enough, with both teams feeling each other out, not wanting to overstep and make the first mistake. However, Suning came out of the early game with the initiative when Marcin 'Jankos' Jankowski strayed too far into the enemy jungle to try and steal away some camps. Xiang 'Angel' Tao had just hit the level six power spike on Syndra, roaming up to help out his jungler Lê 'SofM' Quang Duy and picking up First Blood in the process.
G2 Esports are in good shape so far at Worlds 2020
© Riot Games
Rift Herald was the next big flashpoint. Suning started it up, but G2 were quick to respond, trading Jankos's life for two kills and then finding Angel out of position a few moments later to start opening up a lead. G2 took the first tower of the game, but Suning were racking up Dragon kills to stay in the game. With the threat of Dragon Soul looming, G2 would have to push hard to convert their slight gold advantage into something positive.
At the third Dragon, G2 looked to have blown it. Jankos, toplaner Martin 'Wunder' Nordahl Hansen and botlaner Luka 'Perkz' Perkovic all died, giving Suning the opportunity to take the buff for free – at least, that's what they thought. With Rasmus 'Caps' Winther lying in wait, though, anything can happen and he threw out Twisted Fate's Wild Cards just at the right time to steal away the Dragon and give G2 some breathing room.
Caps then got a shutdown on Angel to pick up some much needed extra gold, thanks to some quick thinking from Mihael 'Mikyx' Mehle. Angel wanted to use the blast cone to fly away from the onrushing G2, but Mikyx went on a Magical Journey with Bard to intercept and place a Vision Ward down right on top of the cone, making it impossible for Angel to click it and escape.
Once again, all hell broke loose around Dragon when the fourth one spawned and, once again, G2 came out worse in the teamfight. Only Wunder survived with a sliver of health, as Suning suddenly found themselves with a significant gold lead and Dragon Soul point at 25 minutes.
More picks and trades five minutes later and G2 could only watch as Suning took their fourth dragon of the game uncontested, picking up the Ocean Soul. It's usually a potentially game-ending buff, but G2 remained steadfast in the defence of their base. The gold lead still wasn't insurmountable and they had enough items on their carries to put up a fight.
Knowing G2 still posed a threat, Suning were cagey about trying to take Baron and break open the base. They knew Elder Dragon would be spawning soon and positioned to take it before pushing for the win. However, G2 had clearly been practicing their teamplay around objectives and what followed was a masterclass in positioning and strategy.
They bided their time, luring Suning in before pouncing and getting a pick on Angel. With that huge damage dealer out of the fight, G2 continued to poke, kite, engage and disengage, with Perkz dealing an obscene amount of damage from the periphery before G2 took the Elder buff for themselves, followed by Baron.
G2 Esports doing battle with Suning at Worlds 2020
© Riot Games
But did they get too greedy? Elder and Baron often means the game is completely over, but G2 pushed too hard to get the quick win. Suning fought well underneath their Nexus turret, wiping G2 off the map with a clean ace. They then charged down the mid lane to try and end the game themselves, thanks to G2's huge death timers.
Three members of G2 spawned just in time for Suning's assault and a Bard ultimate saved the towers for a brief moment, giving the rest of the team just enough time to come up and fight-off the onslaught. G2's Nexus was bare, but Suning were on the retreat, with Super Minions knocking on their door in the top lane. G2 chased them down, picking up an extra kill and, crucially, stopping Suning from recalling to their own base. Meanwhile, a quick-thinking Perkz used his teleport to rush up top and help break down the Nexus, ending a 43-minute epic.
With Suning likely to be G2's most formidable opponent in Group A, they were extremely pleased with the victory, giving them an excellent platform to build on.
Thankfully, the game against Machi Esports the following day went a lot smoother, as they improved to 2–0. Next, they face Team Liquid and then on Thursday, October 8 it'll be crunch time, as they play three games in one day to see who'll qualify for the knockout stage of Worlds.
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