G2's journey to represent EU at MSI

As the Spring Split draws to a close and our champions are crowned, League fans are looking ahead to the next challenge. That next challenge is the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational, and at stake is the title for best region in the world.

The top teams from North America, Europe, Korea, China, LMS, and Turkey, will meet in Shanghai to throw down. Now that Europe has crowned its champion, let’s take a look at the team fighting king for EU on the international stage: G2 Esports.

Change... Is Good

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At the start of the 2016 Spring Split, Europe had just undergone a great period of upheaval. Many legends of the European region -- including Huni, Reignover, Froggen, and Svenskeren -- had all left to test their mettle in North America, leaving room for new faces on the European stage: The serpents of Splyce, the bees of Vitality, and the promising lineup of G2 Esports. One of the only teams that seemed to hold steady against the tide of change was Worlds Semifinalist Origen, adjusting their roster to become a 6 man squad by adding PowerOfEvil to the mid lane.

When the Split began, everyone expected Origen to climb to the top of the pile. Instead, the region continued to yield surprises: OG were lackluster, Fnatic’s new talent wasn’t enough to return the former Champions to the top, and teams like Unicorns of Love, which were predicted to be middling at best, stepped up to take games off higher-ranked opponents.

In the most tumultuous split yet for Europe as a region, it was impossible to tell who would come out on the top. Six teams qualified for the Playoffs, and all six teams had a legitimate shot at the title. Would it be the young up-and-comers of G2? Would Fnatic’s reformed roster carry on their winning tradition? H2K and Vitality both had strong rosters and the potential to win. Any EU fans knows that you can never count the Unicorns out, and Origen always perform when backed into a corner.

All six teams entered the fray, but in the end, only one could emerge as the European champion. It all came down to a battle between the old guard of Origen and the new squad of G2. While many people expected a close match, G2 were ravenous for their shot at the big time -- and they took the team of veterans down in a convincing 3-1 bout.

Europe won the very first World Championship, and the win ignited a fire in their veins that has never gone out. Home to legendary mid laners, unflappable captains, unshakable supports, and rock solid carries, Europe has continued to fight on the international stage -- and take games off the top teams of the world. Fnatic has been the face of the region since their Season One World Championship win, carrying the legacy forward through to their undefeated, 18-0 run through the 2015 Summer Split. Now, new blood is surging up to try to inherit this incredible legacy, but the old guard are matching them blow for blow.

The Road to Number One

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G2 Esports have had one hell of a first season. The team had to fight their way through the Promotion Tournament to enter the European LCS, and in the process, knocked out veteran organization SK Gaming to earn their spot in the league. Any new team faces doubts and questions, but G2 took more than their fair share of criticism before they earned the chance to play. People were all too eager to judge the young players by the reputation of their president and founder, ocelote (who, it should be noted, earned his reputation as the flashy mid laner for SK Gaming). The team's current lineup stands as:

• TOP: Mateusz "Kikis" Szkudlarek
• JUNGLE: Kim "Trick" Kang Yoon
• MID: Luka "Perkz" Perković
• ADC: Kim "Emperor" Jin-hyun
• SUPPORT: Glenn "Hybrid" Doornenbal

G2 refused to be intimidated by the doubts -- they moved into their first gaming house, put their heads down, and got to work.

They soon earned a new reputation -- an un-tiltable team with a ton of talent. With the exodus of European mid lane talent, rookie Perkz had big shoes to fill, but he has more than stepped up to the plate with convincing performances on both assassins and control mages. The rest of the team had already earned their stripes: Emperor has played professionally since 2014, in Korea, Brazil, and North America; Kikis helped the Unicorns reach an LCS final from the jungle; Hybrid has paid his dues on the Challenger Circuit; and Trick was a substitute for Korean team CJ Entus.

None of the names drew major attention on their own, but their teamwork forced people to sit up and watch. They boast a convincing record of 15-3 during the regular season, only dropped 2 games in the Playoffs, and their hard work and flashy style have won them many fans.

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

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G2's rise to glory is just getting started; let's take a closer look at the roster that'll compete against the other champions from around the globe.

We’ll start with their strengths: Perkz is an incredibly confident mid laner. The 17-year-old thrives on play-making picks like LeBlanc and Zed, and he also seems to be immune to stage nerves. While some rookies choke under pressure, in Game 4 of the EU LCS Finals, Perkz turned a 0-3 start on Zed into an astonishing 7-3 by game's end and pushed his team to its first championship.

Trick is another mechanically skilled player on G2, earning MVP in Europe, thanks in part to his prowess on carry junglers like Kindred and Graves. He was a lynchpin to G2’s success during the Spring Split thanks to his early aggression and objective control. Coupled with Perkz’s confident style, G2's mid-jungle synergy allows the team to control the game.

The bot lane have a lot of experience under their belt -- Emperor’s a veteran who’s been playing in multiple regions since 2014, and Hybrid has stepped up to support alongside him (even if he occasionally helps himself to a few of his carry’s kills).

But we can’t forget the rock of the team: one-time jungler and converted top laner Kikis. Kikis is thriving in the tank meta, and he’s able to stand firm and create conditions for G2’s carries to run wild. In particular, Kikis's tank Ekko continually exasperated Origen, dishing out significant damage while drawing massive pressure to his lane. Kikis also has hard-earned experience from his time on the Unicorns, often showcasing off meta pocket picks. We’ll likely see even more from the versatile LCS mainstay.

That being said, G2's aggressive playstyle opens them up to some serious punishment. They rely significantly on Perkz and Trick getting a snowball rolling in the early game, with the games they've lost in the past typically involving Perkz playing poorly. But if they can protect their bot lane and let them get started, and if Kikis is able to stick to his tank playstyle, G2 may just thrive in the pressure cooker of Shanghai.

Onto the Next Battle

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G2 have accomplished so much in their first Split -- but the real test lies ahead. After overcoming all of Europe, they’re moving onto the global stage to face off against the best teams in the world. Any team who underestimates them at MSI is in for a rude surprise -- just ask Origen whether the young squad is ravenous for victory.

G2 may just go down in history for not only winning their first EU LCS split, but also for turning up huge for Europe at their first Mid-Season Invitational.