G2 have more pro LoL wins against the East than all other LCS, LEC teams combined since 2023

There's a reason G2 are almost always the West's last hope at international events.

G2's League of Legends team poses in a promo shot for MSI 2024
Photo by Colin Young-Wolff via Riot Games

Chances are, if you ask any fan of League of Legends esports who the best Western team has been over the last few years, nine out of 10 folks would say G2 Esports. And in a recent graphic shown on the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational broadcast, the numbers signaling just how much better G2 have performed in comparison to the rest of their Western counterparts is staggering.

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The graphic, titled “Fighting the Raid Boss,” showed off just how effective G2 have been in comparison to the rest of the West when facing off against Korean and Chinese League teams over the last two seasons. G2’s win rate against the East is just over 29 percent over the last two seasons, while everyone else from the West is putting up a combined win rate of eight percent (yes, it’s that low). 

A graphic showing how strong G2 has played in comparison to other Western lol teams against the east since 2023
G2 have been head and shoulders above the rest of the West over the last two seasons. Image via Riot Games

G2’s record against the East is far better than any other Western League team dating back to MSI 2023. In that time frame, the EMEA titans have played 24 games against Korean and Chinese teams, and although they’ve won only seven of them, that’s more than every other team from the LCS and LEC combined. 

Since MSI 2023, G2’s seven wins against China and Korea outrank everyone else from the LEC and LCS (Fnatic, Team BDS, MAD Lions, Cloud9, Team Liquid, NRG, and FlyQuest) as they have won just six games between all of them. 

Following Team Liquid’s 3-0 loss to Top Esports last week, North American teams in particular reached an all-time low mark in the East-West gap discussion. LCS teams have now lost 41 of their last 43 games against Korea and China. It’s not looking any better for Liquid, either, as they’ll face off against defending world champs T1 later this week.

Yeon and APA from Team Liquid posing for a photo in a promo image at MSI 2024
As far as NA is concerned, Liquid is their last hope at MSI 2024. Photo by Lee Aiksoon via Riot Games

League fans on the game’s official subreddit took it upon themselves to break down each Western team’s individual performance against the East during the current decade, with one Reddit user named dracdliwasiAN going team by team to support the claim that G2 stand on top of the field. 

One could even go back to Worlds 2020—one year after G2’s run to the Worlds grand final—and find that G2 swept Gen.G in the quarterfinal that year, in addition to taking a game off eventual world champions DAMWON Gaming in the semifinals. That tournament was a sign of things to come for the next few years as other Western teams have been hard-pressed to replicate the modicum of success that G2 have found against the East. 

G2 mid laner Caps hugging his teammates after a win at MSI 2024
G2 is the very definition of consistency. Photo by Colin Young-Wolff via Riot Games

One fan in the Reddit comments named Admirable-Word-8964 came to the defense of Fnatic, who have been particularly decent against the East, provided you’re willing to extrapolate the sample size. Sticking with the theme of Worlds 2020, Fnatic hold a record of 8-20 against the LCK and LPL since that point in time, which is good enough for a win rate of 29 percent—the same number that G2 hold against the East since 2023. 

With MSI 2024 ongoing, G2 currently stand tall as just one of two Western “hopes” remaining in the tournament, the other being Liquid. G2 nearly advanced in the first round of the bracket stage by beating perennial powerhouses T1 but were thwarted in an on-brand, razor-thin five-game series on May 10. They’ll face off against Top Esports in the lower bracket tomorrow, May 14. 

Author
Image of Michael Kelly
Michael Kelly
Staff Writer covering World of Warcraft and League of Legends, among others. Mike's been with Dot since 2020, and has been covering esports since 2018.