G2 make playoffs after 2-1 against EDG

G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #1 jawgemo Alexander Mor trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf have defeated EDward Gaming EDward Gaming China Rank #1 S1Mon Hsien Meng-Hsun (谢孟勋) ZmjjKK Zheng Yongkang (郑永康) nobody Wang Senxu (王森旭) CHICHOO Wan Shunzhi (万顺治) Smoggy Zhang Zhao (张钊) 2-1 to advance to the Champions 2024 playoffs. They will now wait for the group stage to finish, with the knockouts beginning next week. EDG are now in the group D decider match, where they will play against either Paper Rex or FUT Esports for a second opportunity at playoffs.

This series is the first time G2 have played against a Chinese team, having avoided the region during their local event, Masters Shanghai. The victory also guarantees one team from each region in playoffs, with DRX DRX Korea Rank #2 Flashback Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) free1ng No Ha-jun (노하준) HYUNMIN Song Hyun-min (송현민) BeYN Kang Ha-bin (강하빈) representing Pacific, Team Heretics Team Heretics Europe Rank #2 MiniBoo Dominykas Lukaševičius Wo0t Mert Alkan RieNs Enes Ecirli benjyfishy Benjamin David Fish Boo Ričardas Lukaševičius from EMEA, and Trace Esports Trace Esports China Rank #2 LuoK1ng Zhang Zhanpeng (张展鹏) Kai Lu Zhinan (卢智楠) FengF Song Xuefeng (宋学锋) heybay Ho Shun Hei Biank Zhong Jianfei (钟剑飞) redeeming China with an upset win.

The match began on Icebox, G2's map pick. EDG took an early lead, which they were able to extend despite forcing a tactical timeout from the opposition. G2 finally showed up on the scoreboard in rounds 7 and 8, where they were able to leverage their signature A-flank plays and ultimate economy to win the rounds. The Chinese squad was quick to adapt, however, as they were able to shut down both of G2's win conditions during the remainder of the half.

EDward Gaming were able to take the second pistol of the map, with G2 calling for their second pause after they lost the anti-eco. This set off a four round streak, where valyn and JonahP led their offense to success. icy was next with two key rounds, but EDG's lead was too much to overcome, and a quadruple kill from S1Mon 's anchoring closed out the first map 13-8.

“There were some issues that we had,” leaf said after the series. “They played a really good game,” icy added.

Haven began with another pistol win for EDG, but their opponents took over the opening portion of the map. EDG managed to stabilize by taking advantage of ZmjjKK 's Neon, who broke through the defense on rounds 7 and 9 with triple kills. This helped them go to halftime on a 6-6 scoreline.

The NA team regained their lead after the break, winning their first pistol of the series. Their opponents answered back with five of their own, a streak only interrupted by a clutch from trent. Back-to-back-to-back triple kills for G2 stole match point away from EDG, and a round later G2 tied the series with a 13-11 win.

When asked about their recovery on Haven, leaf mentioned their adaptation. “I think just discipline and realizing their win condition,” he said. “We just fixed our mistakes,” he added. “Made it pretty easy.”

G2 remained dominant during the decider map, Bind. They took a second pistol win to start off, and despite EDG winning round three, valyn won a clutch to force his opposition into an eco. Following the save, EDG called for a timeout, down 4-1. The next round saw teams trade advantages, but S1Mon was well positioned to win a clutch of his own.

The attackers' discipline helped set icy up for aggressive entries, breaking EDG's defense and extending their lead to 9-2. He ended the half with 17 eliminations and a 1.67 rating, his best offensive half in the event.

Not content with an opponent taking the spotlight, CHICHOO won a half-buy 1v2 to give his team some consolation. The next round, his lurking through B enabled a quick rotation to win his team the second pistol round on Bind.

An extra pair of rounds prompted G2's pause. The discussion led to them reaching double digits on the scoreboard, but hero rounds from S1Mon and Smoggy stopped any semblance of momentum for the North American squad. EDG started to regain control for their attacking half, but G2 were able to win the odd rifle round to keep their lead. The final round was night-and-day, with G2's coordinated defensive ideas countering EDG's individual attempts to end the decider map 13-11.

“Trace would super cool,” leaf said regarding teams he would like to play next. “I think DRX would be cool, it would be fun to have that kind of ‘rematch'.”

While G2 have earned a week break, EDward Gaming will next play on August 11. The group D decider match will give EDG a second opportunity at playoffs and decided the final team to reach the top eight.