The 2024 Mid-Season Invitational has proven disastrous for European League of Legends, with both LEC representatives crashing out early in what many are calling the region’s worst international showing in years. G2 Esports and Movistar KOI (MKOI) both failed to make any significant impact at the tournament, raising serious questions about the competitiveness of European LoL on the global stage.
G2 Esports, traditionally a European powerhouse, barely escaped an embarrassing elimination in the Play-Ins, scraping past Brazil’s FURIA in a nail-biting five-game series. What should have been a straightforward victory for a major region team turned into an early warning sign of troubles ahead.
Things only got worse for G2 in the Main Bracket. The team was swept 0-3 by China’s Bilibili Gaming (BLG), before suffering the same fate against North America’s FlyQuest in the Lower Bracket. This marked a particularly painful moment for European fans, as losing cleanly to an NA team has historically been rare for top EU organizations.
“The gap between Caps and the rest of the G2 team was so noticeable,” noted one analyst, highlighting the mid laner’s inability to carry his struggling teammates. G2’s drafting came under heavy fire throughout the tournament, with compositions lacking damage or clear win conditions.
The situation was even bleaker for MKOI, who entered MSI as the LEC Spring champions after beating G2 in the finals. Despite their domestic success, MKOI failed to win a single series at the international event, crashing out against teams from regions usually seen as weaker than Europe.
The same issues kept coming up for both teams: questionable draft priorities, poor macro play, and inconsistent individual performances. Even when G2 showed flashes of brilliance—like their win against Gen.G in Play-Ins—they followed up with baffling strategic decisions and execution errors.
This collapse is especially hard to swallow given Europe’s history of doing well on the world stage. The region produced an MSI champion in G2 (2019) and Worlds finalists like Fnatic (2018), making the LEC the West’s best bet against Eastern dominance. Now, they’re losing to teams from Brazil, North America, and the PCS.
From kings to jesters
The franchising of the LEC in 2019 was meant to strengthen the region, but plenty of fans are now wondering if it’s made things stale, with recycled talent and not much new blood. The lack of exciting new European stars stands out more than ever as veteran players have a tough time keeping up with the competition.
With Summer Split just around the corner, both G2 and MKOI have to pick up the pieces before Worlds later this year. With European pride at rock bottom, they’ll need a big turnaround to make sure this MSI mess doesn’t become the new normal.
