After G2’s MSI success, we look at the future prospects of the European region at the international stage.

So. G2 finally did it. Their road to redemption was a thorny one and—until the very end—it looked like they weren’t going to make it. But once the BO5s started, they picked up the slack by upsetting Team WE, and even challenged SKT T1 in a nail-biting Finals. The Kings of Europe ended up falling to the Korean powerhouse, but there’s nothing shameful in losing to the best team in the world.

Now that MSI is over, does G2’s success mean that more European teams will start showing up at international competitions? The team’s mid laner, Luka “PerkZ” Perković certainly seems to think so.

In his interview with Yahoo Esports, PerkZ mentions how he expects the 2017 World Championship to be the breakthrough moment for Europe. But—barring G2—which lineups can step up and perform on the international stage?

Unicorns of Love

When talking about possible Worlds contenders, it seems fair to start with the team that challenged G2 in the EU LCS. To many viewers that don’t follow the European region, UOL will forever remain the pink-cladded team with a quirky manager and an unhealthy affection for Chaos Style. But this iteration of the Unicorns is already a thing of the past.

Nowadays, UOL wins games through macro and teamfighting. Sure, they don’t shy away from new things either. Their rookie jungler, Xerxe, is quick to introduce untested picks like Warwick, Rumble, or Hecarim to competitive play. And the AD carry, Samux, prioritized Lucian and Caitlyn in the era of utility-based bot lanes. But Unicorns don’t rely on unorthodox strategies to close out their games—and every weird pick of theirs is supplemented by a solid understanding of the game’s fundamentals. The only issues are occasional dips in individual performances, and the inability to secure control over side lanes.

The team is already looking to improve by going on a Korean boot camp and there’s a whole Summer Split left in store for UOL to hone its play. Provided that Unicorns fix their problems, they definitely have what it takes to make a splash at Worlds.

Fnatic

Fnatic spent the most of the 2017 Spring Split struggling to find their identity. With ROCCAT breathing down their neck and the chances of reaching Playoffs dwindling away, hope seemed lost for this lineup. But it was when Fnatic were backed against the wall that they came out with their strongest weapon—Animal Style.

By funneling resources into their superstar AD carry and focusing on the mid game, Fnatic managed to turn the tables and clinch their rightful Playoffs spot. They even 3-0’d Misfits before ultimately losing to G2 in the Semifinals. In a way, it’s unfortunate that these teams met so early. Otherwise, we might’ve seen Fnatic fight for the trophy.

Of course, there were many problems with the Animal Style. It was still unrefined and—in case something went wrong—there was no Plan B, which made Fnatic susceptible to being “figured out”. But if they hone their unique playstyle and make it just one of the tools in their arsenal, this team could turn into a very, very dangerous foe for international competition.

H2K

Honestly, the only reason H2K made this list is because PerkZ mentioned them in his interview.

While H2K do have strong laners and an exceptional jungler on their side, they fall short in almost every other aspect of the game. Their objective control is shaky, their teamfighting is disjointed, and their drafts are hit-or-miss.

The worst thing is that these issues have plagued multiple iterations of this roster, and the team never seems to find a way to work around them. The bottom line is that unless H2K find a way to overpower their opponents, they tend to look lost. And losing direction against top-tier teams is a costly mistake that is bound to hurt dearly on the international stage.

ROCCAT

No one expected ROCCAT to take the EU LCS by storm. And yet, after a drawn-out string of losses, they somehow managed exactly that. It was as if something suddenly clicked, and the once-struggling lineup started racking up one win after another. They even managed to put a stop to G2’s year-long winning streak! The best thing about this newfound dominance was that ROCCAT weren’t relying on cheap tricks to secure their victories.

They were legitimately a very good team.

Unfortunately, you can’t lose for the entire first half of the Split and still hope to pull through. In the end, ROCCAT fell short of Playoffs without getting a chance to prove themselves on the bigger stage. Maybe they can still find their magic in the Summer Split. But with the departure of Maxlore from the roster, it remains to be seen whether the rest of Team ROCCAT can pull itself together once again.

Conclusion

Many European teams are poised to try and take G2’s crown, it’s just a matter of who can actually pull it off, if anyone. Perhaps in the coming Split these teams will learn from the best and make their home region proud at the World Championship. But as the EU LCS is right now, G2 are way ahead of the curve, and it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Kings of Europe finding major success on that international stage at the end of the day.

What do you think of European teams’ future performances in international events? How does Europe stack up against global competition? Share your opinion in the comments!

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