It has been 6 years, 7 months and 25 days since a team that isn’t G2 Esports or Fnatic won the LEC. Well, that all changed when Rogue knocked them out of the losers bracket, eliminating them, and pushing themselves into the finals to face Mad Lions to crown new kings of Europe for the first time since 2014. Now, how did we get here?

Background Info on LEC

First off, lets explain what an “LEC” even is. In short, the LEC (League Of Legends European Championship) is a franchised league based off the game League Of Legends. Hundreds of thousands of fans tune in to watch pros play the game in a way most people couldn’t even dream of. The LEC is the top state of play in Europe, as teams want to win the league to have a chance to go to the World Championship, and A: Make a lot of money from prize winning and merch and B: win The Summoner’s Cup, and etch their names into gaming history. G2 esports and Fnatic have dominated the league, with Alliance being the only other team to win the LEC (or the European LCS back then), way back in 2014. Well, that was the case until April 11th, 2021.

How The Titans Fell

Schlake 04 eliminated Fnatic pretty early in the playoffs, but that was expected. Fnatic hasn’t had the best season, and most non-Fnatic fans didn’t expect them to go far into the playoffs. G2 was the real powerhouse. G2 dominated the regular season, but when playoffs came around, they surprisingly barely beat S04, but then lost to Mad Lions, sending them to the losers bracket. This isn’t the first time G2 have gone into the losers bracket. G2 is the team known for to coming back and winning. But then, G2 lost. Rogue eliminated G2, and set themselves to face Mad Lions in the finals.

The Comeback Kids

Fast forward to the finals, game two. Rogue have beaten Mad Lions twice now, and they just need one more win to secure the championship. But Mad Lions wouldn’t go down without a fight. They came back and won Game 3 and 4, sending the series into a winner takes all Game 5.

Mad Lions didn’t have the greatest start to the game, dying when they could have avoided it. They let a small gold lead build up, but then the comeback started. The team got some kills, setting back the gold deficit. They won team fights at key objectives, and before you could process that Mad Lions could actually do it, Mad Lions won.

Conclusion

Mad Lions proved that anything is possible. They game back from an 0-2 start, winning three games in a row, and becoming the champs. Now, they head to MSI to represent Europe. Will the success continue for MAD? Only time will tell.