fans are unlikely to remember July 10, 2026, fondly. Just hours after suffering a humiliating 3-0 defeat to
in the
MSI semifinals, the European organization announced on X on Friday evening that Head Coach
Dylan Falco had been moved to the bench. Shortly afterwards, G2 confirmed that Luka "
Perkz" Perković will take over the role starting at the Esports World Cup.
The reason behind Dylan Falco’s benching
According to
Paul Arrivé, G2 Esports' decision to bench Dylan Falco had no connection to the EWC. Despite a positive working relationship between Falco and Perkz, the organization was faced with a choice between two different coaching philosophies, according to the French reporter. In the end, G2 chose to move forward with Perkz, viewing him as the better long-term fit.
The day after the announcement, G2 Esports General Manager Romain Bigeard explained on X that the organization had added Perkz to the coaching staff after the Winter Split because it felt the team needed a change to "break another ceiling." Confirming the claims of Paul Arrivé, Romain revealed that G2 ultimately decided it could not move forward with two different coaching visions and chose to fully back Perkz as Head Coach. Bigeard also emphasized that the decision was not a criticism of Falco, calling him "the GOAT western coach of League of Legends" and stating that Perkz was simply the better fit for the current roster.
The decision came as a major surprise given both its timing, only hours after G2's elimination, and Dylan Falco's longstanding reputation as one of Europe's most respected coaches. Some fans even wondered whether the announcement was yet another joke from G2's social media team, but that was not the case. After five years at the helm, the Canadian coach has officially stepped down as Head Coach.
A long period of glory
In the space of just a few days, Europe's most decorated
League of Legends organization has gone from dream to nightmare. On Wednesday, G2 produced one of their strongest performances of the season to eliminate none other than
and secure a place in the MSI top four. Facing LYON, the reigning LEC champions appeared to have the momentum and entered the series as favourites, but they looked unrecognisable. They were swept aside 3-0 without ever truly threatening their opponents, missing out on a top-three finish while also becoming the target of
's mocking trash talk.
Only a few hours later, while fans were still processing the defeat, another bombshell followed. After helping define one of the most successful eras in G2's history, Dylan Falco has stepped down as Head Coach. Being the most successful coach in LEC history, Dylan Falco claimed 11 LEC titles with G2 Esports. Under his leadership, the team reached the top 4 of MSI on three occasions and advanced to the First Stand Grand Final earlier this year after a remarkable victory over
. His best World Championship result with the organization remains a quarterfinal appearance in 2025.
Perkz as new Head Coach
Perkz has long been synonymous with G2 Esports. He joined the organization as its rookie mid laner when G2 earned promotion to the EU LCS, and together they won their first league title in their debut split in 2016. Over the following years, Perkz established himself as one of the greatest players in European League of Legends history while helping define G2's most successful era.
In 2019, Perkz made the unprecedented decision to role-swap from midlane to AD Carry so G2 could sign Fnatic star Rasmus "Caps" Borregaard Winther. The gamble paid off spectacularly: G2 dominated Europe, won MSI, reached the World Championship Final, and came within one series of completing the elusive Golden Road.
After returning to G2 as a coach earlier this Spring Split, Perkz reunited with Caps, who remains the team's franchise player. Following the coaching announcement, former G2 top laner and former teammate Martin "
Wunder" Hansen defended the organization's decision
on X:

"Why does everyone seem to think they know how good a coach is, including a bunch of circle jerking coaches that think just because they have been doing it for years that an ex pro player with no coaching experience cant come in and be 1000x more influencial to a teams success idgi"

Whether G2's bold gamble pays off remains to be seen, with Perkz set to make his debut as Head Coach at the Esports World Cup, which begins next Wednesday.