G2 Esports get eliminated from CCT Online Finals #5

G2 Esports started to show signs of weakness a few days ago, when they lost in the upper bracket semifinals at CCT Online Finals #5. Their opponent, Aurora Gaming, was not exactly a top team full of highly accomplished players. But it still destroyed them: 6 – 13 on Ancient, followed by 2 – 13 on Nuke.

On December 6, in the lower bracket, G2 encountered another team devoid of superstar players, which is currently ranked 40^th in the world. Guild Eagles, from Kosovo, defeated G2 Esports at the end of a three-map match: 3 – 13 on Mirage, 13 – 4 on Inferno, and 11 – 13 on Overpass.

HERE WE GO AGAIN pic.twitter.com/Qvik6ZIH2A

— G2 CS (@G2CSGO) December 6, 2023

A quick analysis of the situation

This defeat was quite shocking. But despite the criticism they received, we can’t say yet that G2 made a mistake by bringing in nexa. His performance, 33 – 33 / 1.01, was ok. NiKo did worse than him. So did HooXi. In fact, apart from m0NESY and huNter-, nobody did a spectacular job. So it’s pretty clear that the issue is related to G2’s teamwork, not to individual performance.

There’s also a small chance that G2 haven’t taken these CCT matches too seriously. Their coach is about to leave, everyone has had an exhausting season, and the tournament is merely an A-tier event.

On the other hand, one could argue that the $100.000 prize offered to the winner, as well as the two invitations to CCT Global Finals (a $500.000 event) offered to the top two teams give CCT quite a bit of prestige. But, from what it would seem, G2 either didn’t prepare enough or they haven’t figured out a cohesive strategy yet.

It usually takes months for a new player to get fully integrated. Nexa was signed just two weeks ago.

The good news is that m0NESY is still in great shape and determined to win trophies. Maybe in one more week, until the start of BLAST Premier: World Final, his teammates will manage to find out what’s wrong with G2’s current strategy and why they’re getting destroyed so easily by underdogs.

If something doesn’t change in the coming days, G2 will have no hope at the tournament they won last year. Because the competitive level is extremely high. Only the best of the best will be there, and every match is guaranteed to be difficult.

Header: G2 Esports