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While G2 Esports had a very quiet 2021 campaign, they have come back stronger, extending their League of Legends European Championship titles to a record-setting nine titles. They will be representing Europe in Busan, South Korea at the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational, which is set to commence on May 10, 2022.
THE 12-0 RUN HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
WE ARE YOUR LEC CHAMPIONS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/kiBw2wXua2
— G2 Esports (@G2esports) April 10, 2022
After going trophyless in 2021, the organization reshuffled the team, letting go of key players like Martin Nordahl Hansen, better known as Wunder to rival Fnatic and Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle to Excel Esports. Star-talent Martin “Rekkles” Larsson who was supposed to lead the team to multiple trophies was traded. The Swedish bot laner joined the French organization, Karmine Corp.
With these elite players off the team, G2 Esports announced the signing of top and bottom loaners on Dec. 2021. Two of which were coming out of the ERLs, Victor “Flakked” Lirola and Raphaël “Targamas” Crabbé. German/Turkish veteran top laner Sergen “BrokenBlade” Çelik joined the team from the now non-existent Schalke 04.
The new additions joined the only retained players, Rasmus Borregaard Winther, otherwise known as caPs, and Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski. Not much was expected from the team with a rookie on their roster (Flakked). But the King of Europe shocked the League Of Legends league community, already clinching two trophies this year.
While the team had some challenges early on in the year, ranging from the team’s exposure to Covid-19 to their first playoff series loss to Fnatic. The team was said to have developed into the cold assassins that they have become during the three-week break. The break after the regular season and before the playoffs offered them ample time to bond and master their craft.
Talking about their journey through rebuilding the team, Jankos shared that their achievements today were born out of hard work. He revealed that their absence from the Worlds afforded them an early start with the new members, as they started scrims last November. It was important to build team chemistry and get an early start in finding the perfect mix.
The 26-year old described himself as an “older brother” to the team, stating that the chemistry with the lads has so far been natural. He also shared a scenario where he had to scold the guys, keeping them focused.
Jankos explains that they exist a mutual within the team, despite himself, caPs and BrokenBlade having had more success. He revealed that they don’t have high egos and as such, there’s been no clash whatsoever. He went on about how important it was to listen to everyone and trust them completely, stating that when it comes to it, it is a team effort.
“I feel like even though me, Caps, and BB (might have) had more success in the past (compared to) Flakked and Targamas, we don’t really have high egos,” Jankos said. “We don’t think of ourselves as gods. We don’t think that we have to be right. We listen to Targamas, we listen to Flakked, and we trust them completely that they have a better idea (on) how to play the game than we do. It’s a team effort and a lot of ideas come from the five of us and the coaching staff, not only from a single player.”
