Worlds 2016: Better Late than Never for G2

After clinching a spot in the round-of-eight by defeating ROX Tigers, ANX looked to now clinch the number one seed in Group A vs. G2 Esports. 

In the ban phase, G2 chose to ban out Smurf’s Poppy, Kira’s Vlad, and Likkrit’s Tahm Kench, while ANX chose to ban out Nidalee, Olaf and Syndra.

Once into picks, G2 locked in their comfort champions:

Top: Irelia

Jungle: Graves

Mid: Ryze

ADC: Sivir

Support: Alistar

On the other hand, ANX chose to show some newer picks.

Top: Kennen

Jungle: Elise

Mid: Jayce

ADC: Lucian

Support: Braum

G2’s comp was really built to succeed in the mid game, while ANX had a comp that was built to fight early and often, and at 12 minutes, we saw this favor the side of G2. Twelve minutes in, it was dead even across the board at three kills apiece, and gold 19k to 19k thanks to some even fights, as well as a misplay by Kira. 

Come 16 minutes though, we started to see ANX extend their lead slightly, gathering three more kills to now be up 6-3, but the gold remained relatively even. 

ANX was not able to abuse their early advantage, in fact losing the early game in terms of gold. Twenty minutes in, ANX was down 1k but did have a Mountain Drake to their name. 

Now in the mid game, G2 reached their power spikes just in time for a dragon fight, which resulted in three kills, as well as a now 5k gold lead. As the game went on, G2 kept winning small skirmishes and picked off a player here and there. 

At the 28 minute mark, the gold lead sat at 8k. G2 was absolutely cruising, showing fans what they should have looked like throughout the tournament. 

The game turned into a slow bleed as G2 just continued to split push down objectives and extend their massive gold lead. At this point in the match, it was all but over, and at 36 minutes, G2 finally pulled the trigger off of a pick from PerkZ that resulted in them killing four ANX members. With four members down, G2 closed out the game and was able to secure their first and only victory at the tournament.

Now this sets up a huge game between ROX Tigers and Counter Logic Gaming to determine the standings of this group.

G2 ends their tournament at 1-5, while ANX will advance out of Group A at 4-2.

What do you think about the action so far today at Worlds? Let us know by commenting below or tweeting us @GAMURScom.