LEC Spring Match of the Week: G2 Esports vs. Fnatic

The seventh week of the LEC Spring split is upon us this weekend and with it comes a multitude of exciting matchups that could determine where the teams finish at the end of the split.

Origen faces off against G2 Esports in the last game of the day on March 6, and on March 7, Rogue is out for revenge against the increasingly impressive rookies of MAD Lions, followed by another top of the table clash for Origen against Misfits Gaming.

Finally, in the most important match of week seven and Level Push’s Match of the Week, Fnatic takes on G2 Esports to decide who will take home all the marbles and undoubtedly be named Europe’s best team until the end of the split.

G2 Esports vs. Fnatic

What is now known as the new age European derby never fails to deliver.

In 2019, Christmas came early not once, but twice for LEC fans, as G2 Esports and Fnatic boxed it out ten times in two best-of-five series’ in Summer.

We cannot forget the regular-season matches as well that still appear in highlight reels across the globe. In one of the most dramatic endings to a G2 Esports vs Fnatic derby, the 2019 LEC Spring split match featured an ending that definitely hurt Carlos “ocelote” Rodríguez Santiago the most as Fnatic love pulling off a backdoor against ocelote.

The story for G2 Esports and Fnatic this year, however, differs from many of their historic, solo-dominance years as the LEC has undisputedly leveled up towards the top half of the League as every team is capable of beating each other.

Fnatic is currently on a four-game win streak and looking like the best team in the league, beating Origen, Misfits, and Rogue in three of their four last games. G2, on the other hand, is sitting on a two-win streak after a shock defeat to Schalke 04 and getting stomped by Misfits in week four. It’s safe to say that based on current form, Fnatic is looking like the better team heading in the Match of the Week, but considering all three of Fnatic’s loses are to teams at the top of the table (G2 Esports, Origen, and MAD Lions), G2 Esports can also be considered the favorite to win the match of the week.

Fnatic has showcased throughout the split so far that they can win through all three lanes as no member has a damage share percentage over 26%, a trait that no other team possesses in the LEC.

Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau amounts of 25.7% of his team’s damage, Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek racks up 24.5%, and Martin “Rekkles” Larsson sits every so slightly behind Bwipo at 25.6%. Rivaling Fnatic’s equal damage share, G2 Esports is also one of the best team fighting teams in the LEC and are by far the most bloody team in the league, pumping out 2268 damage per minute, bagging 17.8 kills per game, and have got first blood in 75% of their games.

One thing you’re guaranteed to see with G2 Esports vs. Fnatic is a lot of fighting, both teams thrive off non-stop action, favorable for both of Europe’s best teams but also for every viewer as the LEC derby never fails to deliver in terms of entertainment.

In the first matchup of G2 Esports vs. Fnatic in the 2020 LEC Spring split, G2 came up trumps. Both teams drafted their comfort picks with Nemesis taking his signature Veigar into Luka “Perkz” Perković’s Ryze, a champion for Perkz that has had mixed results for him over the years.

Meanwhile, both Bwipo and Martin “Wunder” Hansen got meta picks in the top lane, Aatrox for Wunder and Gangplank for Bwipo. Bwipo was heavily punished during the early game due to Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski’s pressure on Elise, threatening constant tower dives and denying Bwipo from excessive amounts of farm.

G2 capitalized on Fnatic’s early game mistakes as Hylissang engaged for a two versus two fight in the bot lane despite G2 possessing the teleport advantage in the top lane, resulting in G2 kickstarting their snowball with two kills in the bot lane before the five-minute mark.

An uncharacteristically bad game for Rekkles and a not so uncharacteristically bad game for Zdravets “Hylissang” Iliev Galabov seemed to be the deal-breaker for Fnatic in the first battle of the giants. Although, since the first matchup, Fnatic’s bot lane has picked up the slack on all accounts and have proven they’re still one of the best, if not the best bot lane in the LEC as Rekkles picked up a pentakill on Ezreal versus Rogue in week five.

One thing is for sure when G2 match off against Fnatic, things can get really wacky in the draft, with both teams innovating new picks for European League of Legends, week in, week out. Most notably, top lane Zac made a return to the LEC in the hands Bwipo, the first player to take the secret weapon into the top lane since Fnatic’s former top laner, Noh “Gamsu” Yeong-jin did in 2016.

Wunder is also known for his high level of creativity and innovation, taking support champions into the top lane with varying degrees of success as his Soraka sits on a 100% win rate over three games, whereas his Sona versus Misfits Gaming is something that should remain forgotten. Regardless of what draft Fnatic and G2 head into this weekend’s game with, both teams are capable of winning with the smallest of margins, they can turn a molehill into a mountain within a matter of minutes which is why the two greatest organizations to exist in European League of Legends consistently sit atop of the LEC.

G2 Esports and Fnatic take to the rift to claim sole possession of first seed in the LEC on March 7 in the last game of the day. Wherever you are, you don’t want to miss this derby.