Roses are reds, violets are blue, BDS got reverse swept ; FNC and G2 is the final BO5 of the LEC 2024 season. By far this head-to-head has been the most prominent in the history of the LEC, with 7 finals (new format finals included) over its history seeing G2 battling with Fnatic for the title, this one being the eighth.
G2 6, FNC 1
During these seven finals, one could have thought that the two teams were able to flourish a rivalry, but that hasn't quite been the case as G2 has consistently taken the better of FNC since 2018. The only final FNC ever won over G2 was actually the first one the two structures played one against the other in 2018 Spring. Since then, the British organization has struggled to even keep it up in terms of BO5 head-to-head versus G2, and hasn't won a title since their back-to-back in 2018.
In the middle of this one-sided rivalry, Rasmus "Caps" Winther has so far won all the finals between G2 and FNC, and most certainly intends on keeping his streak alive. The Danish midlaner's track record is therefore a source of concern for Fnatic big fans, especially for Ivan "Razork" Martin's dad : "Today's match is going to be a tough one, because Caps, or as I call him "El Bicho", is on the way. Hopefully he won't have a great day and it will end 3-1 for Fnatic."
Spring 2018, Copenhagen: the only time FNC have ever beaten G2 in a final
These finals won't shift the balance of power between G2 in FNC over the history of the LEC. It however has high stakes for the two organizations. For G2, it is to be the first team to win every event in a year with the new LEC format, a goal they were already close to reaching last year. For FNC, it goes much deeper than that : it has been six years since they haven't won a single trophy in
League of Legends. Long ago have the Black and Oranges, former European powerhouse, lost their status of winning organization alongside G2, who already beat FNC two times in final this year (Spring Split and Summer Split). Another year without a European title would be a major failure only a - barely reachable - World Championship trophy could compensate.
And for both teams, a 1st seed for Worlds is on the line, although less crucial than before with the new Swiss Stage, it is still a good bonus to have ahead of Worlds. Last (and least), teams will also fight to obtain the Lion's share of the cashprize : a whopping 65 thousand euros, which is only 15 000 more euros than what Fnatic earned in their first LEC title in Spring 2013, a cashprize that would allow the winning team to buy 325 copies of the last Garen Skin.
A balanced match on paper?
Last year, with Óscar "
Oscarinin" Muñoz Jiménez's absence and G2 on a dominating run, FNC were big outsiders, tasked to make a huge upset with a roster that had very little playtime so far. This year however, with G2 not looking as strong as before and FNC finding a little bit of consistency, the match is tougher to predict. Fnatic's record this year draws nonetheless a pessimistic outcome for the men of Oscarinin, the latter who recognizes the chokes FNC has had this season : "
I know what people think about us, about Fnatic as a team. We had a pretty bad EWC and MSI, and we could have played better in the finals. So, yes, I understand how people perceive us", Oscarinin said in
an interview with Sheep EsportsTL sent FNC packing in the MSI, punishing a european team that played far from its best shape this day
The Spanish toplaner still has full trust that his team has caught up to G2 and is able to bring home the trophy : "Regarding our team, we’re definitely catching up to G2, but I also think G2 hasn’t been playing at their best lately. They are still a very good team, but they’re not showing their top form right now."
Fnatic can indeed count on a very strong mid-jungle duo with Razork being on a masterful season so far while Marek "Humanoid" Brázda has reached his peak form recently. These two were the main contributors to FNC's initial win over G2 during the Summer Playoffs, where Humanoid was even able to outclass Caps - a form he even maintained during the Summer Finals that FNC lost 0-3.
Fnatic's macro game remains however a major question mark, with BDS matching them on that aspect in the first BO5 ; and a match against MDK that saw both teams smash their heads on a wall until it cracked. Fnatic's ability to create and use a map control hasn't been proven in the recent weeks. Yoon "Jun" Se-jun has notably been very inconsistent in that regard, struggling to be on the same tempo as Razork as well as letting Oh "Noah" Hyeon-taek in tough spots multiple times. G2, on the other hand, have cleaned some of their mistakes, allowing them to firmly dominate the midgame against MDK. Sergen "BrokenBlade" Çelik's sidelane activity has been in the middle of an efficient midgame structure for G2. Therefore, the toplane matchup after 15 minutes will be critical to the shapes of the games.
What kind of G2 should we expect?
As convincing as G2's win over MDK was, it was far from a League of Legends masterclass from them. G2's success on the map has been closely linked to Martin "Yike" Sundelin's possibilities of moving freely on the map and challenging the enemy jungler. Meanwhile, we are yet to see peak Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle, who still didn't fully adapt to the meta outside of Rakan and Leona. Additionally, Steven "Hans Sama" Liv's prowess on hypercarry ADCs and Ezreal hasn't shown in these season finals, although his performance on set-up champions has been of utmost solidity.
In the midlane, Caps has finally picked up the AD picks, showing a strong Corki against MDK, and previously strong Smolder and Tristana picks vs BDS. G2 also seem to have understood their optimal strategy in the jungle, systematically removing Vi (and Maokai after game 1) against MDK, giving Yike a priority on AP hypercarries and letting him become the center of G2's plans. A plan that looks tough to counter with the amount of strong AP jungler available in the meta. Since Razork has a similar champion pool as Elyoya, it is likely G2's strategy will remain close to what it was against MDK.
With Mikyx's struggles and Caps' more lane-focused style, Yike and BB have stepped up as the leaders of G2's strategy
Still, needing to use up to two bans for the jungle can be difficult during drafts, especially with Razork's Nidalee being a threat G2 will have to consider. Humanoid's Azir has also been so far respected by the teams FNC have faced, G2's behaviour is unpredictable on that regard. "In Europe, we are the team that defines how the game is played", said Hans Sama in an interview with Sheep Esports
What is almost certain is that G2 will be mostly offensive and will attempt to oblige FNC to their terms. Fnatic's reactions is however hard to estimate, as they have managed to adapt very well when asked to, especially against MDK, plus have they showed a very strong reaction gameplay against BDS. Nonetheless, FNC's first success over G2 was rooted in their ability to take G2 by the horns and force their style.
Will we see a meta adaptation?
The LCK and the LPL have shown us meta adaptations that are yet to see in Europe so far, with the one-week hiatus Fnatic and G2 were given, it is possible that new picks will arise during these finals. Although G2 didn't show anything particularly new against MDK (except Gwen jungle), the Spanish team allowed them to draft similar champions in the four games, meaning G2 were not required to dive into their champion pool.
Caps has made a name for himself partly with his ability to have an enormous champion pool, though it would be more stunning to see Humanoid on Nasus or Garen mid, these picks can be expected in the drafts today. The Kennen pick, a major priority in Asia, will also force G2 to answer, and since Yike is often placed on solo AP Carries, unless this changes, it is unlikely that G2 will put a priority over the Kennen pick. The LPL saw Ryze appear multiple times to deal with Kennen, Nasus was also pulled out by Chen "Breathe" Chen in the LPL against Tang "Zika" Hua-Yu's Kennen. G2 has also left Rumble open multiple times, and seem to accept dealing with it with K'sante, an option that didn't look that good in many Asian games.
Lastly, the botlane should see a clash of styles, while Noah has been put on a lot of Zeri and MF, G2 has privileged Ashe and Jhin over the rest to make room for a carry jungle for Yike and still have a double set-up in the draft. It is thus likely that the two teams will gladly trade the ADC, which would mean Razork would pick set up champions in the jungle like Sejuani or - why not - Amumu.
Header Photo Credit: Riot Games
