G2 Yike calls on EU to ‘hope’ again as LEC prepares for Worlds 2024

Hopium.

Martin "Yike" Sundelin of G2 Esports is seen on stage during MSI 2024 Bracket Stage.
Photo by Colin Young-Wolff via Riot Games

European and North American teams have historically underperformed at international League of Legends tournaments. At MSI 2024, G2 Esports restored hope among Western fans, and they now want other EU teams to believe in themselves.

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Following MSI 2024 on May 19, G2 Yike shared his thoughts about the event and European teams in general. He believes European teams can continue to improve and surprise at international tournaments; they just need to “regain hope.”

“I really believe so. I hope that after watching us play this MSI, teams will regain some hope. Europe has not been doing well in the last few years. I think that we definitely performed much better this year at MSI,” Yike said in an interview with Sheep Esports.

G2 walking on stage at MSI 2024.
G2 surprised the world at MSI 2024. Photo by Colin Young-Wolff via Riot Games

Yike is aware G2 and other European League teams shouldn’t get overconfident. The LEC champions defeated Top Esports 3-0 in the lower bracket at MSI 2024 but then miserably lost 0-3 to T1.

“I wouldn’t say that we did great or amazing… it was still a decent tournament overall. I think that other European teams need to regain that hope. Our region has to get stronger and, hopefully, this hope can lead to better practice within the LEC,” Yike said.

G2 weren’t the only European team at MSI 2024, with Fnatic also competing. Humanoid and crew failed to win a single series in the Bracket Stage, but they still looked competitive. They managed to take a game off TES in the play-ins and were arguably close to taking down the LPL runner-up.

The 2024 LEC Summer Season returns on June 6, while the start of Worlds 2024 is scheduled for Sept. 25. The World Championship is finally returning to Europe.

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Image of Mateusz Miter
Mateusz Miter
Freelance Writer at Dot Esports. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.