‘Defeats the purpose of matchups’: G2 BrokenBlade is done with lane-swapping after MSI beatdown

After a devasting 3-0 loss to T1, G2’s top laner BrokenBlade is asking the League of Legends developers to shake up the lane-swapping meta that has taken over the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational.

“I do hope [lane-swapping] gets removed because I don’t think it’s very enjoyable or entertaining to watch as a viewer, probably. Because there’s not much happening, usually. It really defeats the purpose of matchups and how drafting champions works,” BrokenBlade said in an interview with esports.gg after their elimination match against T1 at the 2024 MSI.

“Obviously, lane swaps, they’re not supposed to be in the game. [Riot Games] specifically tried to remove this from the game a couple of years back,” he said while reflecting upon the current hit-or-miss strategy. 

G2 Esports were the pioneers of lane-swapping in Europe, a strategy that involves players on the sidelines switching their lanes to avoid the early-game vulnerabilities of certain champions. When done right, this can shift matchups in their favor later down the line.

In a post-match interview with Laure Valée, BrokenBlade also focused on how T1’s adaptability played a key factor in their win and said, “Today was definitely disappointing. We didn’t come here thinking we’d get 3-0’d. They also did something new with the lane swaps, and that’s a version I didn’t see before. So, I have to give props to them.”

Seeing how Riot previously got rid of lane swap strategies in League, any potential adjustments they may make after MSI will likely involve this part of the metagame.