<
>

G2 Esports takes decisive win in finals

G2 Esports wins the EU LCS 2016 summer championship. As a result of their 2016 championship point total, they were given first seed in the 2017 group draft. Provided by Riot Games

G2 Esports triumphed over Splyce in the European League of Legends Championship Series (EU LCS) finals, 3-1. With the victory, G2 Esports became the back-to-back EU LCS split champions in rather decisive fashion. The team will represent Europe at the World Championship as the first seed from the region.

Splyce's lone win was not the team's only highlight during this series. They entered the finals as a massive underdog, but showed plenty of fight during the matchup. And it was through the teamfighting element of the game that Splyce proved to be worth its salt. Kasper "Kobbe" Kobberup and Martin "Wunder" Hansen were absolutely essential damage dealers in the first three games of the series. The duo kept the team afloat and nearly forced the late game victory multiple times throughout the set purely through positioning and stellar initiation. But, the team seemingly ran out of steam halfway through game three. If it wasn't Kobbe or Wunder making plays, Splyce didn't have any other option. In game four, despite the near insurmountable deficit, Splyce still forced fights and made it entertaining. The underdogs simply couldn't match the power of G2 Esports, and with only two players showing up, it was a wash after that.

G2 Esports did it again. The team rolled over Splyce once it figured out how to stunt the damage and item progression of both Wunder and Kobbe. Luka "PerkZ" Perkovic was especially great, with ban-worthy play on Vladimir; whether it was the champion's strengths in controlling both the teamfight and the lane, PerkZ' individual mechanical skill or both, G2 Esports dominated whenever it drafted the pick. PerkZ was the flash that G2 Esports needed and provided plenty of fireworks for the fans while wrapping up the series. The backbone of the team, Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen, also made his presence felt. Ever-consistent Zven was solid and unwavering throughout the matchup, whether a game was won or lost. However, the surprising third option in damage came from top laner Dae-han "Expect" Ki. His play on Gangplank and Gnar was disruptive and forcefully drove the teamfight advantage toward G2 Esports in several key moments throughout the matchup.

Overall, G2 Esports played as expected: authoritatively. The team controlled the early game for the majority of the set, managed to control neutral objectives and mostly tempered the snowball potential of the opposition.