MAD Lions upset G2 to create 5-team tie for first in 2022 LEC Summer Split

MAD Lions pulled off an upset over G2 Esports today in week three of the 2022 LEC Summer Split, successfully navigating the surprise Zilean pick from their opponents.

Heading into this League of Legends game, G2 stood at a 4-1 record with an opportunity to grab sole possession of first place following Excel’s loss to Rogue earlier in the day. But their path to securing first place had to go through MAD, who have looked much improved this summer with new mid laner Nisqy.

The teams entered the drafting phase and most of the picks went as expected until G2 revealed a surprise Zilean pick for support Targamas.

MAD Lions started out the game strong while G2’s Zilean struggled to handle the early-game pressure from MAD’s bot lane. As a result, MAD built an early 3,000 gold lead at the 15-minute mark. While G2 had some moments of brilliance, such as mid laner Caps’ impressive outplay on Zoe, the reigning LEC champions struggled to break into MAD’s stronghold in the early game. 

By the 30-minute mark, MAD’s gold lead had expanded to over 9,000 combined with three cloud drakes to their name. A few minutes later, MAD made their final push into the base of G2 to close out the game. But an impressive teamfight from G2 helped the team nearly ace the entire side of MAD. 

This became a recurring trend throughout the game as MAD’s team composition had trouble finding that one teamfight to end the match against G2 while the gold deficit for G2 stopped them from gaining any meaningful ground. Things finally came together for MAD at the 41-minute mark when AD carry UNFORGIVEN was dominant in the final teamfight and dealt the final blow on Twitch to end the game.

MAD Lions now stand at a 4-2 record after their impressive victory over G2. They will look to go 2-0 in week three of the LEC Summer Split when the new and improved lineup takes on Misfits Gaming to end their week tomorrow, July 2.

As for G2, this loss puts them in a five-way tie with Fnatic, Excel, Rogue, and MAD at 4-2. They will aim to recollect themselves and close out the week against LEC rivals Fnatic.