G2 Esports

Origins and Early League of Legends

G2 Esports began as Gamers2, founded in Spain on February 24, 2014, by former professional League of Legends player Carlos Rodríguez and investor Jens Hilgers. The organization's initial League of Legends roster featured players like Jesper Strandgren and Sebastián Fernández, with Rodríguez himself playing mid lane. This team participated in the 2014 Spring Expansion Tournament, beating Reason Gaming and Team Strix before being eliminated by n!faculty in the second round.

The organization also ran a sister team in Spain called G2 Vodafone, named for its sponsor. This team won the Spanish 2016 Final Cup Spring Split but failed to qualify for the EU Challenger Series. The main Gamers2 squad finally qualified for the top European league, then called the EU LCS, by defeating SK Gaming 3–2. Following this success, the organization rebranded to G2 Esports on October 15, 2015.

Rise to European Dominance in League of Legends

G2 immediately made an impact in the 2016 EU LCS Spring Split, finishing first in the regular season. They won the playoffs in Rotterdam after beating Origen, securing their first domestic title and a spot at the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational. Their preparation for that international event was infamously poor, as the team took a vacation beforehand. They lost eight of ten games at the tournament, with their only wins coming against the lowest-ranked seed. This performance cost the European league its first seed for the 2016 World Championship.

The 2018 season marked a significant step forward. Considered an underdog, G2's League of Legends team advanced to the semifinals of the 2018 World Championship, where they lost to the eventual champion, Invictus Gaming. This roster was known for unconventional strategies, particularly from AD carry Hjarnan, who was a rare professional player of the champion Heimerdinger.

The Peak Era and International Triumph

A major roster overhaul for the 2019 season created G2's most celebrated lineup. The team released its bottom lane duo and signed support Mikyx. They also acquired mid laner Caps from rival Fnatic, which led to longtime star Perkz role-swapping to AD carry. This new squad won the inaugural LEC split on April 14, 2019, with a 3–0 victory over Origen.

This team then achieved a historic milestone for Western League of Legends. At the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational, G2 swept North America's Team Liquid 3–0 in the grand final. This made them the first European team to win a Riot-sponsored international tournament since Fnatic won the Season 1 World Championship. Later that year, they finished as runner-up at the 2019 League of Legends World Championship, losing to FunPlus Phoenix in the final.

The success continued into 2020. After Perkz and Caps temporarily swapped roles for the Spring Split, G2 won both the LEC Spring and Summer titles. At the 2020 World Championship, they reached the semifinals before being eliminated by the eventual champion, Damwon Gaming.

Roster Transitions and Continued Success

The 2021 season brought significant change as longtime captain Perkz was traded to Cloud9 and AD carry Rekkles was signed from Fnatic. Despite a strong 14–4 regular season record in Spring, G2 failed to win the playoffs and, for the first time since 2016, did not qualify for the World Championship that year.

Another rebuild followed for 2022. The team released several players and brought in new talent like Flakked and Targamas for the bottom lane, and coach Dylan Falco and top laner BrokenBlade from Schalke 04. This roster finished fourth in the Spring regular season but won the playoffs from the lower bracket, starting a 24-game winning streak that extended into the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational. At that event, G2 started strong but was ultimately swept 3–0 by T1 in the semifinals. Following the 2022 World Championship, jungler Jankos left the team after five years.

For the 2023 season, G2 signed jungler Yike and AD carry Hans Sama, while Mikyx returned to the team. They won the LEC Winter split and the Season Finals, qualifying as Europe's first seed for Worlds. There, they started 2–0 but were eliminated by Bilibili Gaming. The organization announced no roster changes for 2024, a season where they completed the first LEC Grand Slam by winning Winter, Spring, Summer, and the Season Finals.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Campaigns

G2 entered Counter-Strike by acquiring the Team Kinguin roster on September 11, 2015. The team initially found moderate success, finishing 3rd–4th at DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015. In early 2016, G2 sold its international roster to FaZe Clan and formed a new French-speaking team from the former Titan roster. This squad placed second at the ESL Pro League Season 3 Finals and won the Esports Championship Series Season 1 in June 2016.

In February 2017, G2 created a French super team by acquiring kennyS, apEX, and NBK from Team EnVyUs. The roster underwent many changes in subsequent years. In late 2019, G2 shifted to an international lineup by signing nexa and huNter- from CR4ZY. A major addition came in October 2020 when star player NiKo joined from FaZe Clan, reuniting with his cousin huNter-.

This core achieved a major final at the PGL Major Stockholm 2021, finishing second to Natus Vincere. For the 2022 season, G2 signed young prodigy m0NESY and later overhauled the roster with players like jks and in-game leader HooXi. The team holds the second-longest LAN map winning streak at 22 and is one of only three teams to win both IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne in the same year.

Rainbow Six Siege World Champions

G2's Rainbow Six Siege team competes in the European League and has defined excellence in the game. The team won its first world championship at the Six Invitational 2019, defeating Team Empire in the final. This victory made G2 the first team ever to win a Rainbow Six Siege world championship.

The team confirmed its status by claiming a second world title at the Six Invitational 2023. This victory was particularly dramatic, achieved through a grueling lower bracket run to reach and win the grand final. These two world championship titles stand as a high point for the entire organization.

Organizational Developments and Broader Reach

Founder Carlos Rodríguez served as CEO until September 2022. His resignation followed controversy related to his association with internet personality Andrew Tate. Rodríguez had been suspended after a video of him partying with the Tate brothers went viral. Commentators later suspected this incident was the reason G2 was denied a franchise spot in the 2023 Valorant Champions Tour. As part of the fallout, Rodríguez was suspended from Riot-sanctioned competition until November 2022, contingent on completing sensitivity and executive training.

The organization is a member of the Esports Foundation Club Partner Program, funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. This program provides monetary rewards to teams for positive engagement with the Esports World Cup series. Beyond its flagship teams, G2 competes in Valorant, Hearthstone, Rocket League, Fortnite, iRacing, and EVA. It also operates G2 Minnesota in the Call of Duty League, G2 Football Club in the Kings League Germany, and announced a full female League of Legends team called G2 Hel in September 2022.