The Spring split culminated in an El Clasico G2 Esports vs Fnatic series that showcased unmatched tenacity and regional prowess between two long-time LEC rivals.
G2 Esports emerged as the winners of the LEC’s second split of the season. The original roster made up of BrokenBlade, Yike, Caps, Hans Sama and Mikyx made history as the Spring 2024 victory marked their fourth consecutive split win in the region.
G2 Esports and Fnatic met in the fateful Spring final where the EMEA teams clashed in an intense best-of-five for the Spring trophy and the #1 seed for the next international tournament.
Both rosters finished in the top five of regular season. From there, G2 unsurprisingly climbed the winner’s bracket and flawlessly secured their finals spot and an MSI 2024 slot without playing a single bo5. An expected feat from Europe’s best roster.
— LEC (@LEC) April 14, 2024
Fnatic on the other hand had a rockier start in Playoffs. But after a high-stakes silver scrapes against BDS, Humanoid and co. are finally within striking distance of LEC prestige and a guaranteed appearance at the mid-season invitational.
Here’s everything that happened in the G2 Esports vs Fnatic 2024 Spring split final.
G2 Esports vs Fnatic Spring Grand Final Recap
Game 1
A very well-rounded team composition from Fnatic gave Noah and Oscarinin’s Zac a ton of late-game threat. But it would only be tested after the expected lane switch from G2 Esports.
First blood from Razork’s Xin Zhao jumpstarted his team’s early gold lead. The rest of Fnatic were quick to pick up the pace as both sidelanes also found some crucial picks.
BrokenBlade couldn’t do anything against a botlane duo, so bot river saw a lot of action involving Caps’ Veigar and whoever could invade without getting caught by Fnatic’s superior vision control.
That said, Fnatic kept forcing fights near mid, which eventually led to G2 Caps exploiting their weak spots and securing a devastating triple-kill by the 13-minute mark. And despite being 4 kills behind, G2 Esports were able to equalize the gold from taking quick objectives around the map.
It all started to turn after G2 coralled Fnatic in a tight clash that gave Hans Sama three kills. This gave them enough space to go for a Baron take, but it was interrupted by Razork who stole the neutral objective and killed G2’s tempo.
When all was said and done, Fnatic were able to overcome the skill gap through brute forcing their way to a dominant Game 1 win.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: G2 Esports 0 – 1 Fnatic
- Game Time: 28:25
- Gold: 48.1k – 61.9k
- Kills: 11 – 29 (First Blood)
- Turrets: (First Turret) 4 – 8
- Dragons: 0 – 4
- Barons: 0 – 1
Game 2
Game 2 was punctuated with unexpected plays that threatened to tip the delicate balance of the match to either side.
What was supposed to be a close early game ended up going to Fnatic yet again. The score rapidly picked up and teased a repeat of the last game, but G2 Esports knew how to win in a deficit.
Despite being 4 kills behind, Caps and co. persevered and slowly gathered small wins until they fully executed in the lategame. After a cheeky Baron steal from Yike, the team went on to catch Fnatic by surprise and turn the tide of the match.
Fnatic were quite split on their defense, and this cost them dearly. After too hard of a push down mid, the black and orange roster were scattered, giving Yike another opportunity to clutch three more kills in an exemplar play on Volibear.
That was the tipping point that put G2 6k gold ahead in the last minute of the game. From there, Fnatic couldn’t stop their opponents from entering their base and forcing them into a disadvantaged fight that ended in a pentakill for Caps, and an equalized series.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: G2 Esports 1 – 1 Fnatic
- Game Time: 29:04
- Gold: 58.8k – 51.4k
- Kills: 18 – 18 (First Blood)
- Turrets: (First Turret) 10 – 3
- Dragons: 1 – 2
- Barons: 0 – 0
Game 3
Fnatic had more front-to-back capabilities with their Game 3 draft, but a Lethality Varus was still a considerable gambit up against Hans Sama’s Kalista.
Humanoid was very quick with a midlane gank escape, and it gave Razork the first two kills of the match. Six minutes into the game, G2 Esports began trading kills cross-map to deny Fnatic any big leads, but their opponents were just as eager.
Midgame was undeniably close, with no lead going over 2 kills. But Jun’s Renata ultimate held off G2’s push to give the rest of Fnatic enough time to converge on the Kings of Europe.
G2’s woes seemed to continue after they were forced to abandon a half-HP Baron, but Caps refused to die then and there and secured an ace with BrokenBlade’s Twisted Fate. That said, the score was extermely close.
From there, a big dragon take gave G2 enough momentum to apply pressure on all three lanes. At that point, all eyes were on a toplane teamfight which G2 were slowly losing. But Caps’ Azir was silently working on a split-push which completely swept the rug from under the Spanish roster.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: G2 Esports 2 – 1 Fnatic
- Game Time: 27:41
- Gold: 46.2k – 57.0k
- Kills: 14 – 20 (First Blood)
- Turrets: (First Turret) 2 – 10
- Dragons: 1 – 3
- Barons: 0 – 1
Game 4
Fantastic plays from both sides kept the fourth and final match close, but the obvious roster emerged victorious. After a lengthy midgame, Caps and co. found the plays they needed to win their third match, the Spring Final and the #1 Seed for MSI next month.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: G2 Esports 3 – 1 Fnatic
- Game Time: 34:55
- Gold: 61.4k – 71.9k
- Kills: (First Blood) 22 – 33
- Turrets: 4 – 10 (First Turret)
- Dragons: 3 – 2
- Barons: 1 – 0
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