Over the last few weeks, MAD Lions’ League of Legends team has had to fight off waves of skeptics who doubted their capabilities on Summoner’s Rift, especially after their recent struggles through the 2023 LEC Spring Split. But after a well-fought series against the league’s defending champions today, they are ready to earn the respect of fans once more.
Many people expected G2 Esports to roll over MAD, especially after the samurais crushed their way to the playoffs with two back-to-back series wins against SK Gaming and KOI. They looked a lot more cohesive lately than MAD’s current form. But during this series, it felt like both teams were scrambling to find a foothold.
Throughout the series, however, G2 struggled to play around Steven “Hans Sama” Liv as he scaled on picks like Jinx and Lucian. They were getting caught out of position, and in the late game, were outplayed in various teamfights by MAD’s superior coordination.
In the final game of the series, for example, AD carry Matyáš “Carzzy” Orság collected six kills and five assists without dying a single time. His aggression was perfectly paired with Zdravets “Hylissang” Galabov, who was on his classic Pyke pick. With other picks like Gragas, Wukong, and Kennen rounding out a brutal, burst-focused team composition, their firepower was too much for G2 to handle.
Related: New Akshan ultimate glitch discovered during MAD and G2’s LEC playoff series
With this 3-2 loss, G2’s hope of defending their LEC throne against Team BDS has crumbled away. But now, they have plenty of time to regroup, restrategize, and rest for the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational, which is set to begin on Tuesday, May 2. Finishing as the fourth-best team of the Spring Split might not be a great look for G2 supporters, but they have plenty of time to find their groove before the event begins.
MAD, on the other hand, still have plenty of work ahead before they can step onto the finals stage with BDS later this weekend. First, they must collide with Team Vitality to finish off their lower bracket run, going up against some of the best players in the league, like jungler Zhou “Bo” Yang-Bo and veteran mid lane star Luka “Perkz” Perković.
You can catch all the action when these ferocious lions jump into battle tomorrow, April 22, at 11am CT.
