Fnatic beat G2 in a best-of-5 for first time in over 2 years

For the first time in more than two years, Fnatic defeated G2 Esports in a best-of-five series in League of Legends. With their victory, Fnatic reached the final of the 2024 LEC Summer Split.

Fnatic began July 22’s series with a defeat, with G2 taking the first game home. But they rose to the challenge with two swift wins in the following two matches, with Humanoid and Noah stealing the spotlight. G2 fought back in game four, and it all came down to the last match, with the renowned League song Silver Scrapes playing in the background.

In the fifth game, Razork was finally allowed to pick Nidalee. The jungler being banned in the four previous games. It was a crucial pick for his squad, since the Spanish jungler aided his teammates to secure early leads, especially in the top and mid lanes. After getting ahead, Fnatic didn’t leave the driving seat, with G2’s only real threat being Hans Sama. Their ADC, though, often got quickly taken down by Fnatic’s players.

The last time Fnatic won a BO5 series against G2 was in March 2022. They crushed them 3-1 in the opening game of the 2022 LEC Spring Playoffs. After losing to Rogue afterward, the two rivals clashed again, with G2 taking a 3-0 victory home.

Before that, Fnatic won a BO5 series against G2 in the 2021 LEC Summer Playoffs. That loss crushed G2’s chances of going to Worlds. Since that series, Caps’ team secured three swift BO5 wins against Fnatic, often defeating their nemesis in BO1 games as well. In fact, both squads went against each other 17 times since that Summer 2021 series, with Fnatic securing only six of them.

Now, with the win in the bag, Razork and his teammates advance to the final, while G2 drops to the lower bracket final. Caps and his crew will get to know their enemies on Friday, July 26, with four teams—Karmine Corp, SK Gaming, GIANTX, and Team BDS—still in competition in the lower bracket. Meanwhile, Fnatic await their potential rivals, whom they will face this Sunday, July 28.

This is all but the end of the season for LEC squads, with the Season Finals being on the horizon. The dates for the event aren’t confirmed yet, but it’s more than likely to take place in August since the 2024 World Championship begins on Sept. 25, and those who participate ought to have at least a few weeks to prepare.