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League of Legends: G2 Esports sweep Rogue to claim 2022 LEC Spring title

G2 are the 2022 LEC Spring Split Champions after a 12-0 sweep in the Lower Bracket Playoffs until the Grand Finals. (Photo: Riot Games)
G2 are the 2022 LEC Spring Split Champions after a 12-0 sweep in the Lower Bracket Playoffs until the Grand Finals. (Photo: Riot Games)

European juggernauts G2 Esports have been crowned champions of the 2022 League of Legends European Championship (LEC) Spring Split, after they swept Rogue Esports 3-0 in the grand finals on Sunday (10 April).

This marks G2's ninth regional title, as well as veteran Rasmus "caPs" Borregaard Winther's seventh.

The win also makes Sergen "Broken Blade" Çelik the third player to win titles in both the LEC and North America's League of Legends Championship Series.

This was also a huge comeback for G2, who missed out on last year's LoL World Championship as well as the grand finals of the 2021 LEC Spring and Summer Playoffs.

Following last year's disappointing results, G2 replaced most of the players on their roster, except for caPs and Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski, in an effort to bounce back in the 2022 season.

G2 finished the Spring regular season with an 11-7 standing, placing them fourth place and with a direct seed to the upper bracket semifinals of the playoffs.

Despite a solid showing in the regular season, G2 looked shaky at the start of the playoffs as they lost to long-time rivals Fnatic in a 3-1 rout.

Many had expected the team, consisting mostly of rookies, to fade into the background after that abysmal result.

However, G2 proved their doubters wrong as they went on a dominant run in the lower bracket. The team scored three-straight 3-0 sweeps over Team Vitality, Misfits Gaming, and Fnatic to earn their spot in the grand finals against Rogue.

Rogue, on the other hand, entered the finals on the hunt for their first regional title. The team looked dominant in the regular season, taking the first seed after a 14-4 finish.

Rogue players also received honours in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd LEC All-Pro Teams for their strong showing.

In the playoffs, Rogue defeated Misfits Gaming 3-1 in the first round of the upper bracket, before defeating Fnatic 3-2 in the upper bracket finals to secure their grand finals spot.

Here's how the grand finals showdown between G2 and Rogue went down:

Game one of the finals saw G2 mostly outplaying Rogue in skirmishes. But it was the Ahri pick for caPs that made the difference, belting out so much damage against Rogue that even their tankiest champions struggled to survive.

With a fed Ahri roaming around the Summoner’s Rift, any teamfight attempted by Rogue was shut down, allowing G2 to take the first game in under 34 minutes.

In the second game, Rogue went for a scaling composition while G2 drafted for more tankiness and sustain.

There was a showdown in the mid lane between Rogue’s Azir pick and G2’s Corki, where Rogue would take the upper hand in some of the encounters.

However, Rogue’s scaling composition proved to be fatal with Raphaël "Targamas" Crabbé’s Renata Glasc in the late game, with Hostile Takeover forcing Rogue’s champions to kill each other.

With Rogue failing to keep the bottom lane secure, G2 took a commanding 2-0 lead after 32 minutes of action.

Desperate to remain in the series, Rogue went for aggressive ganks with Kim "Malrang" Geun-seong finding picks in the side lanes. But G2 were able to respond to this thanks to caPs's deadly Ahri.

Rogue’s draft also proved to be too squishy against G2, and whenever Rogue overstayed they were readily punished by caPS' Ahri and Targamas' Pyke in teamfights.

G2 shut down any attempt by Rogue to split push as well with the damage from Sergen “Brokenblade” Çelik’s Ornn proving too much to overcome.

After a lengthy 38-minute encounter and a 26-13 kill lead, G2 destroyed Rogue’s hopes for a comeback and completed the 3-0 series sweep.

With their victory, G2 claimed the LEC Spring Split Championship as well as the grand prize of €80,000.

CaPs was named MVP of the series, having shown better form in the playoffs and looking especially dominant in the mid lane with Ahri and Corki.

caPs is MVP of the Grand Finals. (Photo: Riot Games)
caPs is MVP of the Grand Finals. (Photo: Riot Games)

Rogue bowed out of the competition in second place once again with €50,000 in consolation.

G2 will be representing the LEC at the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational, which will be hosted in Busan, South Korea in May.

There, the LEC champions will face 10 other teams, including South Korean juggernauts T1, their rivals on the international stage.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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