G2 Esports vs Team Liquid

What an insanely spicy clash, one that's important for a multitude of reason. Firstly, G2 Esports want revenge after dropping the ball mere days ago. Secondly, Team Liquid want to repeat their success to not only find a bit of redemption, but also advance to a 2W-2L record. If they end up pulling it off, they might even stand a chance of advancing to the Knockout Stage which, naturally, is nothing to scoff at.

Group A is relatively one-sided, but we've seen time and time again that just a single game can end up being the difference between reaching glory and waiting things out on the sidelines. G2 Esports and Suning are two of the best teams in the group, but they're by no means perfect. Inconsistent play, egregious decision-making, sloppy drafts, and so on -- we've seen it all. They're also playing a very high variance style. They'll go for risky plays and they won't always work out (as seen in the recent past). They're insanely fun to watch, but they're also "coin-flip teams" to a certain extent.

First of all, one things needs to be said: G2 Esports lost to Team Liquid because they fooled around. There's just no other way to put it. Some fans are aware of the fact, but a surprising number of people think that Team Liquid actually improved enough to take down the LEC champions. That's absolute lunacy. G2, as expected, opted not to tryhard and their draft showed it as well. In other words, they thought they could treat Liquid like a bunch of scrubs which, naturally, they're not. G2 has an amazing line-up, packed with some of the best players the West has ever produced, but they're not infallible. They often underestimate their opponents, which is pretty much their M.O. Liquid, to their credit, improved in multiple key areas, but had G2 drafted a standard team comp, they would've won easily. But seeing how they were sitting comfortably with two wins on the board, they decided to do the most ill-advised G2 thing ever: go on auto-pilot and play for the memes. On the one hand, that's fun and entertaining. On the other, it might end up backfiring big time.

They're better than Suning, but not by much. Heck, they've nearly lost that first game too. This means they'll have to be on their best behavior once they step foot on stage in Shanghai. If they intend on locking down first place in their group (and therefore evading a potential clash with DAMWON or Top Esports in the quarters), they need to step up and play to win.

Liquid, on the other hand, has rightfully been reenergized thanks to their one (albeit key) win. They've regained their confidence and will play with a bit less pressure, now that they've taken down the biggest favorite in their group. Still, there's a tough road ahead, and the odds are definitely not stacked in their favor.

We're siding with G2 on this one as it's the only logical choice. They know what's on the line and should play accordingly. Then again, you're never quite sure what you're going to get with the perennial LEC kings. In any case, this will definitely be a fun scrap!