G2’s Worlds Journey Ends Against Top Esports

They were close, yet so far. This Thursday, G2 Esports suffered their first-ever loss in a Worlds quarterfinal, five years after their last appearance in the Knockout Stage — and three years after the LEC’s last showing with Rogue in 2022. The LPL’s third seed, Top Esports, came in well-prepared, both in draft and in-game, and outclassed the Samurais in nearly every aspect. They now move on to the Worlds semifinals, where they’ll face the winner of AL vs. T1 this Friday. As for G2, they’ll head home — once again carrying the hopes of Europe in their bags. JackeyLove really did send Caps back to 2018.

Botlane, the focal point

We knew it already — G2 lives and dies by their jungle–support duo, and indeed, both had a rough series this time around. But they weren’t the only ones to blame. The two biggest factors that hurt G2 were the Atakhan and their drafts, and both issues were immediately visible in Game 1.

The bot lane was expected to be the key battleground of the early game for both teams, yet G2 opted to concede the matchup, choosing Rell into Braum. The issue? Neither mid nor top were winning lanes either. G2 had arguably drafted three losing lanes with a Xin Zhao who needs early tempo and objective control to shine. With a clean bot-side snowball and TES securing all four early objectives without contest, the LPL squad buried the game on a poorly executed Atakhan from G2. 1–0 TES.

Once again, G2 didn’t come out of draft with the best tools — but this time, they seemed to understand the importance of drafting for bot lane, securing a highly favorable matchup. They also got help from JackeyLove, who, as so often, had a lapse in judgment and overstepped on the first wave — a mistake G2 punished brilliantly, zoning him between two waves before diving him, leaving JKL with just 5 CS at 4 minutes. Despite some questionable moments from Labrov’s Bard, G2 gradually transferred their lead toward jungle and mid, who closed out the game — not without some struggle. Skewmond’s signature Dr. Mundo will remain undefeated at the tournament after another standout performance (9/0/9). 1–1.

Atakhan to burry EU’s hopes

And once again, it was the Atakhan that buried G2 in Game 3. The Europeans came in with two surprising picks, which again turned out poorly: Sylas in a losing matchup versus Hwei, and Thresh, a pick too predictable and underpowered in teamfights to be viable at this level. Despite two previous losses that had already exposed the champion’s flaws throughout the year in LEC, Labrov went back to it. Still, G2’s bot lane held their own impressively against Ezreal–Karma, and BrokenBlade secured a strong lead in top lane.

But on an exceptional read from TES, who noticed Hans Sama needed to recall to buy his Infinity Edge, the LPL squad instantly secured the Atakhan, then rotated to their third drake while perfectly denying G2’s access to both areas. From there, the snowball was unstoppable, and during a botched teamfight around Soul Point, TES closed it out. What could’ve been with a Nautilus — a champion Labrov excels on — to facecheck and easily lock down TES’s range… 2–1 TES.

You’ll never guess what ultimately sealed Europe’s fate in Game 4… Ironically, this time G2’s draft looked excellent: a well-timed Poppy to shut down Rakan and Naafiri, a Draven with no clear counter for JackeyLove, strong engage, winning lanes, and scaling with Ornn, Syndra, and Neeko. The early game went perfectly, with Hans Sama cashing in, though the snowball slowed after a poorly executed trap on bot lane that backfired. Still, G2 looked ahead approaching their nemesis objective — the Atakhan.

They started it on what seemed like good timing, but the execution fell apart again. The plan was to secure it safely with Poppy’s ultimate, but Viktor’s ult interrupted Skewmond, who took true damage while having zero MR due to the Atakhan debuff. G2 lost the Atakhan, the Drake, and two players in the process. Forced to make a play to come back, they engaged mid — but TES reacted instantly, turning it around despite a good initiation by Labrov, securing Baron and a clean Ace. 3–1 TES.

A Bitter Reality Check

In the end, G2 has little to be ashamed of — Top Esports simply looked better across the board. No choke, just a well-prepared team that came in with clear answers to G2’s strengths, forcing them into uncomfortable early-game drafts and taking them down in every crucial moment.

For the West, the result is once again disappointing — another quarterfinal exit, the fifth straight since 2021. But perhaps most frustrating is the manner of the defeat. G2 didn’t look completely outclassed from start to finish, yet the difference in precision, preparation, and execution made victory feel entirely out of reach.

While TES seem in great form — far stronger than during the Swiss Stage — they’re still not supposed to be among Asia’s top three teams. And yet, the best Western team could only take a single game off them. To aim higher next year, LEC will need more than hope — it will need to raise its overall level throughout 2026’s season to allow for better international preparation.

They may have fallen — but for a brief moment, G2 made Europe believe again.