G2 Esports just can’t get out of its own way on social media this year.
The organization posted a relatively tasteless meme on its Twitter page earlier today, drawing the ire of members of the League of Legends community. The meme shows what prison cells look like in different European countries, with examples of Italian jails, French jails, and English jails all shown off. The final image in the meme shows off what a “contract jail” looks like, and G2’s logo is shown in its place.
This self-targeted joke comes at a time when the organization is at the center of a very public contract negotiation with one of its star League players, jungler Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski.
Earlier this week, it was revealed by Jankos that he is at the center of a bidding war between G2 and other LEC organizations in need of a jungler.
The meme posted by G2 is not only a reference to Jankos but the organization’s history of asking other teams for an exorbitant amount of money when selling off its players’ contracts. Jankos’ situation this season closely mirrors a situation G2 put one of its former players, Martin “Rekkles” Larsson, in last season when it set his asking price at 1.5 million euros before eventually having to lower it.
“My agent was negotiating with five different teams, but most of these teams pulled out when they had a buyout,” Jankos said during a livestream on Nov. 5. “I think there are potentially one or two teams left right now, and they are still not very happy with the buyout, so we’ll see.”
Since that point, though, it appears as though Jankos’ outlook on his future has changed since the longtime G2 jungler expects to be without a team in time for the start of the 2023 season. Earlier today, during another livestream, Jankos alluded to the idea of him not being able to secure a deal with another LEC team due to the high buyout price G2 placed on his contract.
“It seems like my buyout was too high so I think there’s a high chance I won’t be able to find a team for next year,” Jankos said today. “I think it’s too late, honestly. I think there’s still some hope but the hope is rather slim and it depends on teams breaking verbal agreements with players, so I think I’m probably teamless.”
According to a report from Alejandro Gomis of Blix.gg, Jankos’ asking price was initially placed at “well over 1 million euros,” but has been reportedly lowered to a price of 600,000 euros as of Nov. 7. The team is reportedly set to sign LFL jungler Martin “Yike” Sundelin to replace Jankos for the 2023 season. Jankos’ buyout price was only lowered after all 10 LEC teams had come to agreements with their junglers for next season.
G2 has a reputation for posting self-deprecating memes on social media, especially after the organization’s esports teams lose. This meme, though, crossed a line with many League personalities. LCS analyst Barento “Raz” Mohammed dryly replied, “yea who thought this one was funny,” while LEC casters Marc “Caedrel” Lamonth and Andy “Vedius” Day each hit G2 with a simple question mark in response.
Also in the replies to the tweet was Jankos himself, who didn’t reply with any words but used a grimacing emoji to convey the awkwardness of the meme.
Jankos is contracted to G2 through the end of the 2023 season, according to the League global contract database. He will not have the option to enter free agency this offseason without a buyout.
