G2 Hel drop to last place in the Swedish league after 6th consecutive defeat
Can G2 Hel make a comeback from this rough start to their split?
G2 Hel, the female League of Legends team of G2 Esports, is still searching for its first win in the Svenska Onlineligan Division 1 after being defeated 2-0 by LEO Esports yesterday.
Going into this match, G2 Hel and LEO Esports were the only teams with 0 wins left in the league. They both had 0-6 game records, though in the case of G2 Hel, 2 of those defeats were forfeits due to external factors. If either one won they’d climb to 8th place, while a 1-1 draw (the format is Best of 2) would result in a 3-way tie for last place between the two of them + DMG Esports SE. This match was notable for featuring more women than men, a rarity in the European Regional Leagues. In addition to the 5 women playing for G2 Hel, there was also a woman on LEO Esports: support Emily “Naoki” Metzler.
G2 Hel started out well in Game 1, getting first blood and building a gold lead. They continued to expand it, getting the first 2 drakes and then reaching a 3k gold lead when they took down the game’s first inner turret in the 17th minute. The first major setback for G2 came in the 23rd minute, when they lost the fight for the 3rd drake and LEO got 2 kills, including a shutdown on Caltys’ Ezreal. A lost teamfight in the 27th minute, with 3 kills to 0 in favor of LEO, almost completely dissipated G2’s gold lead. G2 Hel hit back just 2 minutes later, getting a kill on LEO’s jungle Skarner and securing their 3rd drake right after. After being behind all game, LEO managed to get a lead in the 34th minute when they secured Baron in a chaotic fight. With LEO using the Baron buff to push itno G2’s base, G2 engaged on iRickeN’s splitpushing Aurora, but quicky got counter-engaged on. LEO picked off Shiina’s Vi and then closed out the game in the 37th minute.
G2 Hel started out strong again in Game 2. Although they lost the first drake, they were already 2k gold ahead by the 10th minute. Things quieted down until the 14th minute, when G2 Hel got their first dragon and then also a kill in the following teamfight. After back-and-forth action in the midgame with successes for both teams, LEO managed to tie the gold in the 26th minute following a pick on Colomblbl’s Leona + bringing down G2’s inner mid turret. They then got a small lead in the 31st minute, forcing G2 Hel off Baron and using the time to take bot inhibitor turret + 3rd drake, reaching soul point. Then, just like Game 1, they got the first Baron of the game in the 34th minute. 3 minutes later LEO managed to secure Dragon Soul after a chaotic but deathless fight, putting themselves in the lead. They closed out the game in the 39th minute after a 3-1-1 push, getting the 2-0 match win.
I reached out to the teams for post-match comments. LEO Esports sent their support, Emily “Naoki” Metzler.
Emily “Naoki” Metzler: I'm glad that we finally got our first wins! We played macro really well and improved on the things we wanted to improve on from the previous official match.
An advantage of joining mid-split (I joined after the 2nd matchday) is that my teammates already know how they want to play. But we’ve only had 5 scrim games together before our first official, while most teams get more time to adjust to each other, so it’s not as easy to make it work.
G2 Hel played really well in the early game; especially their jungler, who's good at playing aggressively. We fell behind in both games and had to be really patient in the midgame and wait for G2 Hel to make mistakes.
Our goal is to make playoffs and I'm looking forward to achieving it!
Thank you to Naoki for her comments!
Naoki’s X (Twitter) account
LEO Esports’ X (Twitter) account
G2 Hel’s next game is scheduled for Sunday the 15th of September, 20:30 CEST. They face Regem, who are currently in 7th place with a 3-3 record (1 less match played).
Video links:
Game 1 champion select
Game 1 start
Game 2 champion select
Game 2 start
Sources:
G2 Hel Roster Announcement by G2 League of Legends on youtube.com
SOL Säsong 9 - Division 1 - Bracket - Tournament on Challengermode
SOL Säsong 9 - Division 1 - Matches - Tournament on Challengermode