MSI 2017: G2 Esports should hopefully not choke against SKT1

ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 03: G2 Esports in action against Ninjas in Pyjamas at the ELeague Arena at Turner Studios on June 3, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 03: G2 Esports in action against Ninjas in Pyjamas at the ELeague Arena at Turner Studios on June 3, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /
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At the MSI 2017, G2 Esports have a chance towards redemption as here’s to hoping they don’t choke against SKT1 this time around.

With the Group Stage of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI 2017) approaching, is it insane that I have my hopes on G2 Esports? I’ve been a big fan of the EU LCS since I started watching League of Legends esports. While Fnatic used to be the king of Europe and has been my team of choice, they have been underperforming this year. G2 Esports has been there to pick up the slack and has been dominating the European scene.

They put up some impressive numbers with 12 -1 in this year’s spring split, undefeated 2016 summer split, and an impressive 15 – 3 during the 2016 spring split. Not only that but they were the EU LCS champions for both splits in 2016 and the spring split champs this year too. Nobody in the EU can touch them.

So why am I worried for G2 Esports at MSI? G2 has a history of dropping the ball on the international stage. And I mean horrendously. In 2016, G2 went to MSI and came out in 5th place out of 6 teams, only beating Super Massive.

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At the Worlds Championship, they finished in the 13-16th group, only winning one series out of the six they played in. For a team that is so put together in their own division, it is baffling that they can’t even place on the international stage.

In an interview on G2esports.com, Luka “Perkz” Perkovic said, “I can only speak for myself, but I believe that the experience I gained last year will be very important for me in this tournament and all tournaments to come.”

After the first week of the spring split, Perkz spoke with Sjokz and Stress in the Post-Game Lobby about the changes to G2’s infrastructure and how he was working to improve as a player.

So far, this year it looks like they have started off on a better note. They had a rough start, losing to Flash Wolves in the first round of the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournament. They fought their way back through the losers bracket only to lose to Flash Wolves again but earn themselves second place. This is already significantly better than they had done in any competitions outside of Europe last year.

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G2 is the first match up in MSI Group Stage against SK telecom T1, the titans of the League of Legends world. If they can keep the momentum from IEM and pull off a win, it would be an amazing start to a very competitive Group Stage. I might be crazy but I am hoping for great things from G2 at MSI 2017, and despite some bad history, I am expecting to see them place.