G2 vs Fnatic – 2018 EU LCS Spring

Lore & Background

The G2–Fnatic rivalry did not start in 2018; it was already a decade in the making by the time the two met in that Spring split. Fnatic, founded in 2004, had been a fixture of European competitive gaming long before G2 even existed. G2, born in 2013 as Gamers2 and rebranded in 2015, arrived with a swagger and a fanbase that quickly made them the league's most polarising and most-watched team. Every season, the head-to-head record reset, and every season fans on both sides treated the G2–Fnatic games as the real story of the split.

By 2018, G2 had shed its early-organisation growing pains. Perkz at mid had become the face of EU League of Legends for a generation of viewers, celebrated for his mechanical ceiling and his unflinching aggression. xmithie brought a physicality and map-presence at top that made G2's early-game identity unmistakable, and Bwipo's duelling at bot put pressure on every opposing duo. The team played a style that was loud, fast, and deliberately confrontational, which made their clashes with Fnatic feel less like a scheduled match and more like a scheduled fight.

The 2018 Spring split carried an extra layer of nostalgia for EU fans: it was the last season under the 'EU LCS' name. The rebrand to the LEC in 2019 would reshape the league's presentation, sponsorship, and global visibility. Knowing that, the 2018 G2–Fnatic meetings took on a quiet, almost ceremonial weight. Fans in the arena and in front of their screens treated those games as a farewell to an era, a final chapter in the old EU LCS storybook before the pages turned.

In Their Own Story

The arena lights dimmed to a deep blue, and the crowd noise swelled into a low, sustained hum that you felt in your chest more than heard. Two rows of PCs sat on either side of the stage, their screens glowing white and waiting. On the G2 side, Perkz cracked his knuckles and whispered something to xmithie, who grinned and leaned back in his chair. On the Fnatic side, the players settled in with the quiet, practiced calm of a team that had been doing this longer than anyone in the room. The announcer's voice boomed through the speakers, calling out the team names, and the crowd erupted. For a few seconds the noise was just a wall of sound, indistinguishable and electric. Then the draft screen lit up, and the wall of sound sharpened into a roar. Someone in the front row was already on their feet. The match had not even started, but everyone in the building knew exactly what was about to happen. Two teams that had been trading blows for years, about to trade them again, under the lights, in front of everyone who had ever cared about European League of Legends. The first pick was locked in, and the hum turned into a cheer.

Reader's Guide

The 2018 EU LCS Spring split was the last season under the familiar 'EU LCS' banner. G2 and Fnatic, two of the league's most decorated and most-watched organisations, met in a double round-robin format where every team faced every other team twice. The stakes were simple but felt enormous: both sides were chasing a top-seed finish and a clean run into playoffs, and the G2–Fnatic games were the ones fans set their alarms for.

Walk into the arena and the atmosphere is already thick. The crowd is a mix of G2 black-and-white colours and Fnatic red, and the noise shifts like a tide as the draft screen lights up. Perkz, G2's mid laner, is the focal point: his picks and his early-game aggression set the tempo for the entire team. xmithie at top brings a physical, map-controlling presence, and Bwipo at bot makes every wave a duelling event. Against them, Fnatic bring the depth and institutional memory of a team that has been at the top of EU LoL for over a decade.

The key moments in any G2–Fnatic game are the early skirmishes and the mid-game teamfights. Perkz's roaming, xmithie's split-push pressure, and Bwipo's duelling windows create a rhythm that fans learned to read over years of watching the rivalry. The teamfights in the mid-to-late game are where the matches are won or lost, and the crowd noise in those moments is something you remember for years.

Fans still reference the 2018 G2–Fnatic meetings because they sit at the tail end of an era. The EU LCS rebranded to the LEC the following year, and the feel of the league shifted. Those Spring 2018 games became a kind of period piece: the last time the rivalry played out under the old name, the old branding, the old rhythm. Pulling up a clip years later, you are not just watching a match. You are watching the end of an era, and the crowd noise in the background is the sound of fans knowing it.

Did You Know?

• The 2018 EU LCS Spring split was the final season played under the 'EU LCS' name; the league rebranded to the LEC in 2019.
• Mikayil 'Perkz' Yilmaz, G2's mid laner in 2018, is widely regarded by the EU LoL community as one of the greatest mid laners in the league's history.
• Fnatic, founded in 2004, had been a fixture of European competitive gaming for over a decade before G2, founded in 2013, entered the scene.
• The G2–Fnatic head-to-head record spans multiple EU LCS seasons and is one of the most frequently referenced rivalries in European League of Legends.