Season Finals: The Lions can make The Samurai bleed

After Team BDS and Fnatic allowed everyone to take a nap in the opening match of the LEC Season Finals, the last EMEA elite competition of League of Legends this year, G2 and MAD Lions KOI took us to silver scrapes in a series many expected to heavily favor G2. The Spanish team has elevated its World Championship qualification hopes to new heights, as they are now one best-of-five away from earning their ticket to League’s final tournament of the year.

MDK's drafts may remind people of the fearless picks we’ve seen in the LPL or LCK CL, showcasing an unprecedented variety for the Spanish team. It’s no surprise that Alex "Myrwn" Pastor Villarejo has been at the helm of these unconventional drafts, featuring 5 different champion choices: Lulu, Corki, Zeri, Smolder, and Nidalee. Bartłomiej "Fresskowy" Przewoźnik also contributed with a very effective Vex pick in game 2, while Álvaro "Alvaro" Fernández del Amo had to take on the tank role alone (as Javier "Elyoya" Prades Batalla only picked Vi and Morgana after game 1).

Although everything started as expected in this match with an easy win for G2 in the first game, Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle put on a rampage against MDK's scaling draft, allowing G2 to secure a quick victory. However, things heated up when Myrwn and David "Supa" Martínez García delivered a 2v4 masterclass, undermining G2's chances despite consecutive teamfight victories by Rasmus "Caps" Borregaard Winther and his team in the second game.

When the dust settled and the score was evened to 1-1, MDK reverted to the MAD Lions/Movistar classic: throwing leads.

If Supa had earned 1 euro every time he lost a game where the enemy nexus was left without turrets throughout his career, he could certainly treat each of his teammates to a nice restaurant. After 49 minutes and 31 seconds, 4 Nashors slain, and 64 kills, MDK managed to give us another entertaining throw.

Contrary to the second game he carried, a huge positioning mistake by Myrwn cost MDK the game, while Steven "Hans Sama" Liv was the only one holding it together for a very erratic G2.

After two straight games on Morgana, which failed to be a true counterpick to Martin "Yike" Sundelin's Vi, Elyoya and MDK decided to prioritize the pick that became the deciding factor of the series. The veteran jungler's engage proved crucial to MDK's success in teamfights. Game 4 was indeed a quick setback for G2, as their Nocturne-Orianna combo didn't work against the clever lane assignments by Supa and Fresskowy.

Game 5, however, kept MDK and G2 fans on the edge of their seats with a toplane matchup à la TheShy: Nidalee versus Irelia.

Despite the flashiness of such a fight, Alvaro's Braum claimed the spotlight in game 5, greatly diminishing Hans Sama's impact on Draven despite him securing a quick lead over Supa's weakside'd Zeri. Surprisingly, Caps failed to show up in this game with an Azir performance that led caster Medic to say, "The emperor divides nothing", after a missed teamfight by the Danish superstar. Neither Yike's lost Zyra nor Sergen "BrokenBlade" Çelik's heavily focused Irelia could fill the damage gaps, allowing MDK to make an impressive turnaround after G2 had grabbed a Nashor, which led to the final nexus destruction after 33 minutes of play.