G2 Esports May Have Found the Formula ft. Memento

LEC Versus kicks off on Saturday, January 17. Among the twelve teams competing in this split, G2 Esports enters as the undisputed favorite. Reigning Summer champions with only two games lost out of nineteen. Worlds quarterfinalists. And now, the only top team to return with both its roster and coaching staff completely unchanged.

Hotspawn sat down with G2 Esports strategic coach Jonas “Memento” Elmarghichi to discuss what changed after MSI, why this roster still has untapped potential, and what it takes to turn European dominance into international success.

The Breakthrough

MSI 2025 was rock bottom. A quick loss to FlyQuest after a hard time in play-ins left G2 with nowhere to hide.”We could not reach any lower after that MSI,” he said. “We just felt like we needed to put everything aside and we had to make it work. No matter what.” And unlike many other collapses, this one truly sparked something.

After getting that reality check, losing in the worst way possible—0-3 against FlyQuest, against NA is like a mega meme—it sparked something within everyone. We really had to stop f*cking around and figure out how to make this roster win. It was just a very nice wake up call and we needed that experience to be able to transcend to another level.

What followed was a complete overhaul of their process. Between MSI and EWC, Memento posted a cryptic tweet claiming he had found something that could be decisive to compete at internationals. What followed was a BO3 win against BLG, and the most dominant Summer split in recent LEC history.

[At the time] I thought it was very interesting to watch our opponent’s POV—how do they make decisions? Why do they make better decisions than us? This ultimately came down to decision-making. If you figure out how to actually make good decisions—there’s a formula for it—you can beat pretty much anyone.

After MSI I spent countless of hours just rewatching our games and trying to figure out what is the biggest difference between us and asian teams.

After watching our scrims and official games it became apparent what the issue was so I decided to make adjustment in our gameplay…

— G2 Memento (@MementoLoL) July 22, 2025

The discovery itself remains a closely guarded secret. “I cannot tell you what it is. But I can tell you for a fact—it’s something so basic that people overlook it quite a lot. They actually don’t prioritize it.”

99.1% Pure – “The main thing that makes a roster succeed is having players on the same page”

Beyond the tactical breakthrough, Memento believes the real catalyst was unity. The discovery gave the team something to rally around—a shared framework for how to play.

It had a huge impact in-game, but I think it also brought the team together. We all had something we could focus on. League of Legends is a very complex game, but also a very simple game if you approach it the right way. The main thing that makes a roster succeed is having the players on the same page, understanding how everyone actually wants to play.

The coach’s role, in Memento’s view, isn’t to dictate—it’s to facilitate communication.

It’s very easy to sit there as a coach and say ‘We shouldn’t do this, we shouldn’t do that.’ But then the players never actually talk to each other. They don’t know what they want to do. One of the main things I truly believe in is making sure the players speak with each other and get on the same page. I can force that. I just put them in a room together and make sure they’re aligned. At the end of the day, I’m not playing the game. They are.

Let’s cook

Finding the formula was only half the battle. The other half was refining how the team operated day-to-day. “Everyone found their own role. I would focus fully on gameplay, Dylan and Rodrigo handled draft.”

With Fearless making drafts harder to predict, the team leaned into drafting in the present—adapting on the fly rather than over-preparing. Outside the game, they started playing Werewolf together to relieve pressure and enjoy the moment. “Things became more structured in Summer. We knew our strengths and weaknesses, and we worked towards our strengths instead of only trying to fix our issues.” For Memento personally, Summer was when he found clarity. “I ended up finding what fit me best—strategic coach, because I love the game and love analyzing.” And analyzing means identifying gaps that others don’t see.

As a coach, you will always see things that players do and they’re not getting punished for in LEC. Then you go international and it becomes very apparent: this is an emergency, we need to fix this right now. Luckily, our players are very easy to coach. They follow through.

No Half Measures – “We should be far more consistent throughout the year”

The decision to run it back was straightforward. “Considering the progress we made throughout the year, it’s not surprising that we didn’t change anything. We had a working formula. And I just felt like there’s so much more to unlock with these players,” he explained. Memento sees the continuity as a big plus for G2 heading into 2026:

The biggest advantage is that we won’t have that early phase where we’re trying to figure out how we want to play the game. We won’t have those moments where players make a decision and go ‘no, I thought you wanted to do this.’ We can keep our form and work on new things rather than starting from basics again. We should be far more consistent throughout the year.

Say their names – “[Skewmond and Labrov] will not be at the level they were in Summer. They will be higher”

The reputation of Hans Sama, BrokenBlade, and Caps is well established. This year, the spotlight instead fell on the two rookies—Skewmond and Labrov—especially after losses in finals.

When we had those finals and we lost, it’s not like one of them came back and said ‘Okay, I guess we can’t win.’ No they were directly getting back to work, in the mood of ‘We have to figure out how to win, we have to.’ They’re really hungry and they’re working really hard. It’s a pleasure to work with them.

BACK WHERE WE BELONG 🏆 pic.twitter.com/v0FpOXRxML

— G2 League of Legends (@G2League) September 28, 2025

When asked if these two still had something to prove after their dominant Summer Split, Memento’s answer was clear:

I think they’ve proven themselves. But this year, they will not be at the level they were in Summer. I know they will be higher. That’s the number one thing—not living in past peaks. That’s what we’re aiming for when we decide to continue with the same roster.

Industrial Scale

Despite the domestic dominance, Memento is clear-eyed about where G2 still falls short against the best in the world. The gap isn’t mechanical. It’s about pace.

We need to work on how we pressure the map. What I mean is: there are moments where a team is stronger but they’re letting their opponent farm up. What Asian teams do a lot better is they don’t give you anything. They’re not gonna let you get a drake if you’re weaker. They’re much more high-tempo.

The contrast with LEC is stark.

Playing in LEC, it’s a much lower pace. ‘Hey, you full clear, we’ll full clear. Handshake—I’m gonna get my first item.’ But when you go to international events, it’s: ‘I have a pickaxe over you, I’m gonna force this, we’re gonna fight at this camp. You either fight me or you lose.’ Playing at a higher pace will be one of the key points of being able to compete with the best in the world.

Empire Business – “The goal is to win Worlds”

The ambitions are simple and maximal. G2 doesn’t hedge: “The goal is to win Worlds. Call me delusional. But if I don’t believe it, then I will never put in the full effort. [It’s the] same with the players,” he said. “You have to actually believe you can achieve it. You have to play with that confidence.”

For LEC, the expectations are even clearer. Not winning a trophy would be considered a failure.

We’ve proven that we’re the most dominant team. Not winning an LEC trophy would definitely hurt. It would be a disappointment for everyone. The expectations are a lot higher now. We can’t just go to finals and lose—we have to actually collect trophies.

Does G2 feel the burden of carrying European hopes at international events?

Yes and no. I don’t think we’re as weak as the world may perceive us. But yeah, we’re carrying. I guess that’s how it is. I would prefer if we keep the burden, but I would like to share it—in the sense that there would no longer be just one team capable of competing. I believe we’re on the way there. As long as Europe’s competition keeps leveling up, we get more experience. That’s healthy for the region.

Beyond trophies and titles, Memento has a more personal goal. “I want the players to feel like they’ve improved—whether outside of the game or inside. They can look themselves in the mirror at the end of the year and say ‘I put in the effort and I became better,’” he explained. “That was the worst feeling I had as a player: you spend a year with a roster and feel like you didn’t improve. What was the point? That is my biggest fear.”

Last year, they eventually found the formula. This year, they want the world to say the name. Empire business starts now.

G2 Esports 2026’s roster:

• Toplane: Sergen “BrokenBlade” Çelik
• Jungle: Rudy “SkewMond” Semaan
• Midlane: Rasmus “Caps” Winther
• ADC: Steven “Hans Sama” Liv
• Support: Labros “Labrov” Papoutsakis

Coaching staff:

• Dylan Falco
• Rodrigo “Rodrigo” Oliveira
• Jonas “Memento” Elmarghichi