G2 took a decisive victory over Fnatic, a win that earned G2 yet another domestic title and sparked hope in the hearts of European fans that the team can make their mark at Worlds 2023. Here’s everything you need to know about the first LEC Season Final.
The Grand Finals are upon us. After a long journey for Fnatic and a year of dominance from G2, these two EU titans will clash in the very first LEC Season Final to determine which team is the best in Europe.
The top three teams in the LEC Finals have secured direct entry into the Swiss stage of Worlds 2023. Team BDS, meanwhile, will have another opportunity to qualify for the event via the Worlds Qualifying Series, where they will go up against Golden Guardians, the LCS’ fourth seed.
The early stages of the LEC Finals took place inside the LEC studio, in Berlin, before the tournament moved to the Sud de France Arena in Montpellier for the lower bracket final and the title decider. Before these two matches, the French arena also staged the EMEA Masters Summer Finals, making it the first time that Europe’s tier-two competition will be part of the LEC roadshow.
Here’s a look at where Championship points were at the end of the Summer Split.
With KOI, Vitality, Heretics, and Astralis having their season ended before the finals and SK getting eliminated from contention along with EXCEL, the LEC’s four Worlds teams have been locked in.
- G2 Esports
- MAD Lions
- Fnatic
- Team BDS (WQS)
SK Gaming was the first team that’s been knocked out of contention, with BDS securing, at the very least, a chance to play against NA for the fourth seed. Team BDS looked incredibly strong against SK, completely shutting them out with a 3-0 win.
Meanwhile, EXCEL pushed Fnatic to the absolute limit in a back-and-forth set that was uncertain until the very last game ended. The extra time in game clearly paid off for them and, despite having Oscarinin on the bench due to a hand injury, Fnatic managed to qualify directly for Worlds.
BDS, meanwhile, have been eliminated from Season Finals contention and will have to get past Golden Guardians to qualify for Worlds.
This all led up to MAD vs Fnatic, a nail-biter of a 5 game series that saw MAD Lions almost pulling off a reverse sweep. But, despite Oscarinin still being down and out, Fnatic managed to make it to finals with Wunder subbing in.
Unfortunately for Fnatic, they weren’t able to carry their momentum and complete the run. G2 took the trophy, giving Caps a domestic record that few have or will ever match.
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Here is all you need to know about the 2023 LEC Season Finals:
LEC Finals: Format
- 6 teams competed in a double-elimination bracket.
- Seeding was determined based on Championship Points.
- All matches were played in a Bo5 format.
- Top 3 teams qualified for Worlds.
- 4th-placed team will play in the Worlds Qualifying Series (WQS).
LEC Finals: Schedule and results
Sud de France Arena matches (September 9-10)
Day 1: September 9
Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
Lower Final | Fnatic 3-2 MAD Lions | 9 AM | 12 PM | 5 PM |
Day 2: September 10
Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
Grand Final | G2 Esports 3-1 Fnatic | 9 AM | 12 PM | 5 PM |
LEC studio matches (August 19 – September 3)
Day 5: September 2
Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
Lower Round 2 | BDS 2-3 Fnatic | 9 AM | 12 PM | 5 PM |
Day 6: September 3
Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
Upper Final | MAD Lions 1-3 G2 | 9 AM | 12 PM | 5 PM |
Previous results:
Day 1: August 19
Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
Upper Round 1 | MAD Lions 3-0 EXCEL | 7 AM | 10 AM | 3 PM |
Day 2: August 20
Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
Upper Round 1 | G2 3-1 BDS | 7 AM | 10 AM | 3 PM |
Day 3: August 26
Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
Lower Round 1 | SK 0-3 BDS | 9 AM | 12 PM | 5 PM |
Day 4: August 27
Stage | Match | PT | ET | GMT |
Lower Round 1 | Fnatic 3-2 EXCEL | 9 AM | 12 PM | 5 PM |
LEC Finals: Teams and rosters
Team | Qualified from | Players |
G2 Esports | Winter Split | BrokenBlade, Yike, Caps, Hans Sama, Mikyx |
MAD Lions | Spring Split | Chasy, Elyoya, Nisqy, Carzzy, Hylissang |
EXCEL | Summer Split | Odoamne, Peach, Abbedagge, Patrik, LIMIT |
Team BDS | Championship Points | Adam, Sheo, NUCLEARINT, Crownie, Labrov |
SK Gaming | Championship Points | Irrelevant, Markoon, Sertuss, Exakick, Doss |
Fnatic | Championship Points | Oscarinin, Razork, Humanoid, Noah, Trymbi |
LEC Finals: Standings and prize
Placement | Team | Prize Money (USD) |
1 | G2 | $71,600 + Worlds spot |
2 | Fnatic | $44,060 + Worlds spot |
3 | MAD Lions | $27,540 + Worlds spot |
4 | Team BDS | $16,525 + WQS spot |
5-6 | EXCEL | $8,260 |
SK Gaming |