MAD Lions Upsets Reigning Champion G2 Esports in First Round of LEC 2020 Spring Playoffs
Despite being the underdogs coming into their series against G2 Esports, MAD Lions went for the jugular and took down the reigning champions 3-2 to advance to the semifinals of the LEC 2020 Spring Playoffs.
The majority of the viewers, casters, and analysts expected a swift and decisive series on behalf of G2, going 3-0 or 3-1 then moving on to the Semifinals. But after close back-and-forth games with leads swinging to and fro G2 Esports and MAD Lions, the rookie team that came all the way from European Masters was able to exceed expectations to take down the playoffs favorite this early in the bracket.
Much can be said about the best-of-five on the side of G2 Esports, with Rasmus “Caps” Winthers disappointing during critical times of the series. Whether jumping in the dragon pit with no vision or possibly thinking that Ziggs’ satchel works on the Nexus, all eyes are on the G2 ADC to polish his gameplay for later on in the playoffs.
MAD Lions jungler Shadow in the LEC Studio, Week 5 of LEC Spring 2020. (Source: Riot Games)
However, credit must be given to MAD Lions for being decisive in punishing G2’s mistakes and making leads for themselves. Particularly, MAD Lions jungler Zhiqiang “Shad0w” Zhao stood out in the final game of the series with his impressive 16/2/5 standing on Olaf.
An important point to note however, is how the difference between LAN and online play will continue to affect the remainder of esports play across the regions. The change in latency, the crowd, the environment – all of these greatly contribute to how a player performs on-stage.
MAD proved that rookie talents like themselves can go toe-to-toe with the league’s finest on the Rift. With G2’s defeat, the former champions will be seeded into Round 3 of the loser’s bracket to hope to reclaim their former glory later on in the playoffs. Round 1 of the LEC 2020 Spring Playoffs continues later at 11:00 P.M. with Fnatic going up against Origen on watch.lolesports.com.
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