BDS Reverse Swept, Fnatic and MDK Qualify for Worlds

Team BDS will not qualify for Worlds, marking the end of their season. The Swiss were yet to win more than 1 game in a BO5 against G2 Esports, but despite finally breaking this mark, it wasn't enough to take down G2. After winning the first two games, BDS got reverse swept and fell apart against a G2 team that once again gave themselves a scare. This may be the last time we see this 5-man roster play together as this marks the end of their 2024 season with a major disappointment.

In Game 1, BDS started strong with several early plays in the top lane, but G2 countered effectively across the map, maintaining a slight gold lead through superior macro play. The game was even until G2’s failed trap at 20 minutes, where Labros "Labrov" Papoutsakis’s Rakan outplayed them, allowing BDS to secure Baron and a 3k gold lead. G2 held on until a second Baron fight, where an overextended Ashe by Steven "Hans Sama" Liv was caught, giving BDS the advantage. They then closed out the game in 33 minutes, taking a surprising 1-0 lead in the series.

During Game 2, G2 shifted to a high-damage and team fight composition but were outplayed early on by BDS, who secured kills in all lanes within the first five minutes. Despite G2 keeping the gold deficit small, BDS’s superior map control and scaling eventually gave them the edge. After securing a key Ocean Soul and winning a critical team fight, BDS closed out the game at 40 minutes, taking a 2-0 lead in the series — the first time they’ve won two games against G2 in a best-of-five this year.

Facing elimination, G2 switched things up by putting Rasmus "Caps" Winther on Tristana — he played Zeri first two games — and revisiting their successful Game 1 draft with Ivern and Ashe. BDS on the other hand stuck to their scaling strategy with Corki, Sejuani, and Ezreal. G2’s surprise pick of Seraphine support for Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle paid off as they dominated early. A decisive 4v4 skirmish in the bot lane river gave Hans Sama’s Ashe a strong lead, which BDS couldn’t recover from. G2 controlled the game from start to finish, allowing only one kill and closing it out in 27 minutes, keeping their hopes of a reverse sweep alive.

During game 4, BDS stuck once more to their scaling strategy with Ilias "nuc" Bizrikenon Corki and Yoon "Ice" Sang-hoon on Ezreal, supported by Maokai and Alistar. G2 countered with Caps on Smolder, aiming for an even stronger late-game presence. The game pace was thus very slow, with only one kill and an even split of neutral objectives by 15 minutes. Both teams picked up a few kills, but the gold remained evenly distributed until the 34th minute, when Labrov’s Alistar was caught out of position. This mistake led to Nuc’s death as well, thanks to a great play by Sergen "BrokenBlade" Çelik’s Ksante. G2 then secured Hextech Soul and, with overwhelming team fight power, patiently took Baron and closed out the game four minutes later, pushing the series to a decisive Game 5.

BDS changes their draft rotation, switching to Rakan after Labrov’s two failed Alistar attempts, giving Dr. Mundo to Adam and Cassiopeia to Nuc. G2 opts for a double ADC composition with Tristana/Ashe supported by K’Sante and Nautilus. The first highlight comes from the bot lane, where Mykix makes a superb engage, allowing Hans Sama to secure the first blood. A few minutes later, he shoots an arrow at Cassiopeia, enabling Caps to take her down. Both carries lead their lanes, and G2 takes the lead in under 10 minutes, never relinquishing it. The game lasts less than 28 minutes, with BDS only securing one kill and eventually collapsing under the pressure.

This is the second time this year that BDS have been reverse swept, following the one against Fnatic in the Summer Split that prevented them from qualifying for MSI. This marks the end of the year for this roster, which ended in fourth place in Season Finals again. On the other hand, G2 have found redemption throughout the series. It took a wake-up from Mikyx starting in Game 3 and a brilliant Caps (who wasn't put on Zeri) to disrupt BDS's plans and turn the series around. They proved after their Game 5 loss to MDK that they are still capable of winning even in the face of strong adversity.

It is now certain: G2, Fnatic, and MDK will represent Europe at Worlds 2024. The three teams are also guaranteed to play in Munich next week. The final standings of the Season Finals will determine the seeding among the three teams. But first, all eyes are on tomorrow’s Upper Bracket match between Fnatic and MDK, which will decide who advances to the grand final to compete for the European championship title. Their match will take place at 17:00 CET.