G2 Esports denies reverse sweep and advances to MSI 2025 Bracket Stage

G2 Esports has become the second and final Play-In team to advance to the Bracket Stage at MSI 2025 after defeating GAM Esports.

Despite its initial 2-0 lead, G2 had to overcome a challenging Fearless Draft display to deny GAM’s comeback and close out the series 3-2.

Considered by many as the favoured team in the match-up, G2 had an unsurprising start to its final Play-In Stage series. However, it did not necessarily look that way as GAM came out on top of two early team fights in game one. Moreover, G2 allowed Nguyễn ‘Emo’ Thái to pick Taliyah, one of the player’s strongest champions.

As the game progressed, G2 managed to even out the odds, taking a gold lead and trading well during scrappy skirmishes. In particular, Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther on Syndra remained two levels ahead of his mid opponent on Taliya. It then only took one decisive team fight in mid lane for G2 to invade the enemy base and take the first game in just under 29 minutes.

The second game kicked off with a favourable draft for G2. In typical GAM fashion, the Vietnamese team still managed to fight its way towards an early-game kill lead. Similar to the previous game, G2 relied on diligent farming to steadily build an advantage. At the 14^th minute, the LEC squad then evened out the kill score 7-7.

Fuelled by smart engages from Sergen ‘BrokenBlade’ Çelik and Steven ‘Hans Sama’ Livon’s deadly Lucian, G2 eventually dominated its opponent, claiming match point at 31:28.

G2’s 3-0 sweep now seemed inevitable. But in the face of early MSI elimination, GAM made a valiant final stand. The draft for game three allowed the LCP roster to lock in a strong Xayah-Rakan bot lane. Meanwhile, G2’s underdog jungler, Rudy ‘SkewMond’ Semaan, went for an unconventional Nunu pick.

This risk did not pay off as GAM stopped G2’s winning condition of stacking dragons while securing the Athakan in minute 20. From thereon, the team rolled over G2 with superior macro plays to take its first game of the series at 32:38.

Reaching the fourth game of the series, G2 began to struggle with the team-building options dictated by Fearless Draft. On top of that, GAM continued setting the pace in the Summoner’s Rift with successful early-game skirmishes.

It was the GAM’s top-lane that stood out as Phạm ‘Elio’ Thạch Nhân Băng on Galio enabled advantageous engagements for his team. Trần ‘Artemis’ Quốc Hưngon Caitlyn also delivered a 9/0/5 record across the game. Never losing momentum, the Vietnamese squad secured another win in under 33 minutes.

With the threat of GAM’s reverse sweep looming over G2, the team pulled off a well-rounded draft heading into the deciding game of the series. This time, it was G2’s turn to lead in the early game, claiming the first dragon as well as first blood without any retaliation from its opponent.

Even during a valiant dragon contest by GAM, G2 remained calm, conceding the third dragon to give the rival any opening. At minute 20, the LEC roster reinforced its objective lead with a sneaky Athakan kill. The fifth game was by far the slowest in the series as both teams prodded and probed across the map, hesitant to take any risks.

The tension eventually culminated in a successful battle at the Baron for G2 in minute 30. The resulting gold lead was all G2 needed to close out the series at 35:34 and eliminate GAM from the tournament.

With the final Play-In match concluded, G2 has joined fellow Play-In team Bilibili Gaming in the upcoming Bracket Stage. The next phase at MSI will kick off on July 2nd at 1 am BST with a best-of-five (BO5) series between Gen.G and G2.

Fans can tune into the action via the official Twitch and YouTube broadcasts or associated co-streamers.