Season Finals: BDS faces G2 to keep their worlds dream alive

The Season Finals are in full swing, with four teams still in the running for just two remaining spots at Worlds. The first spot has already been secured by the Summer Split champions, G2 Esports. The underdog of this group is undoubtedly Team BDS, the only team that must win their next two matches to have any hope of qualifying for the second Worlds in their history. Today, the first of their must-win matches pits them against the league's giants—G2 themselves.

One thing is certain: G2 enters this match as conquerors. Despite their surprising 3-2 defeat in the upper bracket against a well-prepared MAD Lions KOI, the samurais do not appear weakened, having just demolished GIANTX in the last round. They remain the clear favorites. The kings of Europe are still aiming for a perfect season by winning everything possible on the domestic stage.

This is the fourth best-of-five series between these two teams this year, and G2 holds a dominant record:

Including their best-of-three series during the Summer Split group stage and their best-of-one matches in regular season play this year, G2 has only lost three Nexuses to BDS while destroying 13 of theirs.

Moreover, the Swiss team enters this series in a do-or-die situation, as a loss would mean an early vacation. Previous high-pressure series have shown that stress can significantly affect their on-stage performances. Today's match will be a true test of how much this roster has grown over the season as they aim to make this their best year yet. BDS finished fourth in the 2023 Season Finals, but the key difference this year is that Europe only has three slots for Worlds. A victory by either team would mean qualification to play in Munich in front of 15,500 fans next week.

MDK and Fnatic will be closely watching this series, as they could secure their Worlds spots even before facing each other if BDS loses. The match is set to begin at 5 PM CET.