G2 Esports is the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational champion.
G2 took the crown after a dominant victory over Team Liquid from the LCS. This is the first major international title for Europe since 2011, when Fnatic won the World Championship prior to the introduction of Asian teams.
The final showdown between North America and Europe ended after three fast-paced games. In game one, G2 proved that even the smallest advantage can be exploited. At level one, support Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in burned his flash and it was immediately game over for Team Liquid.
Jungler Marcin “Jankos” capitalized on that small mistake to get three kills in the bottom lane. That advantage was snowballed out of control by G2. With the extra attention from Jankos, support Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle on Rakan went in for the hard engagements that turned into kills.
G2 punished hard and secured neutral objectives without opposition. Powered up with the baron buff, G2 killed four TL players inside their base and proceeded to destroy the nexus.
G2 started game two with a small advantage thanks to Jankos. TL found enough picks to stay in the game, but not enough to get ahead of the opposition. Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen and Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong stood up for Liquid and hit back where they were able.
The combined efforts from TL’s solo laners was not enough, as G2 aced Liquid at 22 minutes after a long fight in the middle lane. One baron later and G2 put a second win in the scoreboard.
At match point, G2 kept the momentum going. Jankos continued to neutralize Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng in the bottom lane. The pressure put CoreJJ in a defensive mode that kept him from initiating any kind of play.
G2 punished every single lane across the map, put Jake “Xmithie” Puchero behind in the jungle, and methodically took objectives. TL had no other option than to retreat into its base for a desperate defense.
The hero of the game would be Martin “Wunder” Hansen on Neeko. The top laner landed a critical three-man stun under a turret before Caps went in with an Irelia ultimate while Luka “Perkz” Perković made the Xayah feathers fly. G2 aced Team Liquid once more and closed the game at 18 minutes.
G2 will return to the rift on June 7 when the 2019 LEC Summer Split begins.
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