G2 Esports Starts Strong at Worlds 2019 with Victory over Griffin
G2 Esports, the reigning Mid-Season Invitational champions and LEC first seed, kicked off their group stage run at the 2019 League of Legends World Championship with a convincing win against Griffin.
Looking to improve their roster, G2 signed Fnatics mid laner Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther for the 2019 season. They also moved Luka “Perkz” Perković from mid lane to bot lane, a position he had no prior professional experience in. However, Perkz quickly proved himself as the best ADC in LEC.
G2 dominated the 2019 LEC season, finishing first in both the Spring and Summer Splits. As a result, they are considered one of the top contenders for this year’s Worlds Championship.
On the other hand, Griffin entered Worlds as one of the more unpredictable teams. While they have shown their skill in LCK regular seasons, they have a tendency to struggle in best-of-five scenarios. Additionally, they lack international experience outside of Rift Rivals. Moreover, Griffin made a surprising decision to replace their long-time coach, Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho, just two weeks before the group stage.
In their match against G2, Griffin made questionable choices. They substituted Choi “Sword” Sung-won, who hadn’t played on stage in several months, instead of Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon. Griffin’s strategy focused on playing towards the top lane and getting Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong ahead on Taliyah, but it failed to set them up for success. Throughout the game, Griffin seemed disoriented and struggled to position themselves in teamfights.
However, G2 demonstrated their excellence with innovative picks and flexible gameplay. They chose to counter Renekton with Ornn, a champion currently out of the meta. G2’s ability to adapt and switch up their playstyle is what sets them apart.
Thanks to Perkz’s experience as a mid laner, G2 is able to experiment with unconventional team compositions in the bot lane. In this match, they opted for a standard, front-to-back composition with Kai’sa and Leona. With the help of Ornn and Leona, G2 easily engaged and secured victories in teamfights, leading to a 30-minute win against Griffin.
While G2 displayed their dominance in their first game at Worlds, Griffin struggled to find their footing on the international stage. Both teams will have their second game of the group stage tomorrow. Griffin will face Hong Kong Attitude at 12pm CT, followed by G2 against Cloud9 at 1pm CT.