LoL: 2021 LEC Summer Playoffs Recap- G2 Esports vs MAD Lions

A screenshot from the LEC broadcast for the Summer Playoffs match between G2 Esports and MAD Lions. The Game Four drafts appear on screen with a shot of MAD Kaiser above.

Two heavyweights lock their horns to move closer to the LEC Summer 2021 Crown and secure their place at Worlds 2021.

After an explosive start to the LEC Summer playoffs yesterday, things are starting to heat up. Rogue defeated Misfits in a five-game series to set a precedent for the two heavyweights in this match. MAD Lions will be looking to reclaim the throne and forge their legacy in the European League of Legends scene, while G2 Esports will be looking to get their momentum and secure their spot at Worlds.

Will G2 Esports glide past the Spring Champions, or will MAD Lions put a wrench in G2 Esports’ plan?

Game One

The match started with Jankos and the G2 bot lane executing a picture-perfect dive under the MAD Lions bot lane. They donated both the early kills to Rekkles on his Varus, giving him the dream start to the match. Taking advantage of the G2 bot lane priority, Jankos secured the first dragon for his team and took the first Rift Herald of the match too. While G2 used the Herald in the bottom lane to put pressure on the lane, MAD Lions quickly responded in the river and stopped G2 from taking the second dragon. They took down Mikyx in response, while the opponents took down Gwen to even things out.

Perfection from G2 Esports

G2 secured the second dragon later and took down the first tower of the match in the bottom lane. MAD Lions realized that the match was slowly slipping away, so they dove Wunder in the top and got that kill for Armut. But Jankos cleverly traded the kill by taking the third dragon of the match before the 20th minute. MAD Lions, pressured by the situation, tried to take a pick in the mid lane. However, G2 Esports promptly responded by protecting their top laner and getting two kills without losing any of their members.

Just before the Mountain Soul dragon spawned, MAD Lions attempted another fight in mid lane. Unfortunately for them, G2 Esports was just too strong to overthrow and they took down three players, securing the Soul for them afterward. Next, G2 went straight to the Baron and invited MAD Lions to contest it. G2 Esports secured the Baron, took down all the MAD Lions members, and dominated the opponents to end the first match of the series with a convincing display.

Quick Stats:

Game Two

MAD Lions had to look for answers moving into Game Two and they did by getting the First Blood on the enemy top laner. G2 Esports tried to respond by diving the bot lane with Jankos; however, Armut invested his Teleport to spoil their plans. Another try by G2 to even things out resulted in Mikyx getting caught but he took down the enemy ADC with his Ignite to get one kill in return.

After a slower first match, this one was a complete blood bath with teams constantly trading kills and trying to get small leads. While there were kills in all the lanes, both teams lead in kills back and forth, one after the other. MAD Lions always got the better of the trades and secured two dragons and Baron for themselves eventually. Realizing the threat of an early Soul point dragon, G2 secured the third dragon of the game.

As both the teams were busy farming, MAD Lions used the Baron to open up the top Inhibitor turret and barge into the G2 base. MAD Lions won the ensuing team fight and it was enough to break the Nexus and even up the series.

Quick Stats:

Game Three

Game Three started with small skirmishes between both teams. However, Caps secured the First Blood on Humanoid by diving him under the tower. After that, there was a huge team fight in the bottom lane, which MAD Lions won and they went on to claim the first dragon of the match. Jankos was also shut down just before the dragon fell to prevent any steals. MAD Lions looked to initiate more team fights near objectives. But G2 responded perfectly and traded out most of the kills. Though MAD Lions secured the second dragon as well.

A short time later, a major team fight broke in the river when G2 looked to take their first dragon of the match. After finishing it, they jumped over the challenging MAD Lions and slowly took down every one of their members as Caps continually flanked the enemy and dealt enormous amounts of damage.

G2 got the second dragon as well and they had a strong lead in the match, but MAD Lions decided to take things into their own hands. Suddenly, they started the Baron to challenge G2. While G2 nullified that effort, MAD Lions invested Teleports and made sure to take the Baron down.

MAD Lions hit the weak spots

After that play, MAD kept up the pressure. They took down Caps and Rekkles, then went back to the last dragon to secure the ever-valuable Dragon Soul.

G2 Esports was in a very strong position, however, Humanoid used his stun cards perfectly to stop the carries before team fights and slowly took down the turrets. As a result, they won many team fights and looked to end the match, but they couldn’t do that as G2 had a last stand near their Nexus, protecting it with their life. After that, Caps and Rekkles were caught by the Twisted Fate stun cards again and Gnar's ultimate took G2 Esports out of the match for a long time. Long enough for MAD Lions to rush down their base and take down the Nexus to gain a lead in the series against the previous Kings of Europe.

Quick Stats:

Game Four

MAD Lions needed one more win to push G2 Esports into the Lower Bracket. The match started with a gank on Wunder in the top lane; however, Wunder managed to salvage the fight and get one kill for himself. G2 Esports responded by executing a dive in the bottom lane and getting some kills to even up the tally. But it was G2 who pulled ahead, as Caps got one more solo kill onto Humanoid and Jankos slew the first dragon of the match.

MAD Lions won more team fights, while G2 Esports focused on objectives to claim the second dragon of the match. A little while later, G2 Esports then took down the third dragon, and MAD Lions took down the tier-two tower in the mid lane. While escaping, MAD Lions got a hold of G2 Esports in their jungle and they punished them for overstaying, taking a favorable fight. Seeing their opening, MAD Lions took down the Baron and started building side lane pressure to slowly chip away at G2 Esports.

After that, MAD Lions moved together and grouped in the mid lane to deter any upcoming resistance from G2 Esports, and as a result, broke their Inhibitor Tower. G2 Esports tried to look for picks, but they ended up sacrificing their teammates as MAD Lions took their sweet time to push to break every Inhibitor before forcing one last fight. MAD Lions demolished G2 Esports in their base to cleanly finish out the series. With this, MAD Lions claimed a spot at Worlds and will move forward in the Upper Bracket, while G2 Esports will be facing Fnatic or Vitality in the Lower Bracket.

Quick Stats: