Is BrokenBlade the right toplaner for G2 Esports to dominate international League of Legends tournaments?

G2 Esports is one of the most dominant League of Legends European teams. They have been very successful domestically ever since their rebranding from Gamers2, back in October 2015. The organization has 10 LEC titles, with there being multiple straight title wins that showcased the dominance and hunger for creating a legacy that Fnatic failed to create.

G2 Esports is a very dominant domestic team, yes. But when it comes to international League of Legends tournaments like MSI and Worlds tournaments, they struggle to replicate their success. This is despite the fact they won the MSI 2023 along with being runners-up at the 2019 Worlds.

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Why does G2 Esports struggle to be successful at the League of Legends international tournaments?

One of the core reasons why G2 Esports have struggled to replicate their dominance is due to the Asian Teams, specifically from the regions of China and Korea having stronger laners than them.

Arguably speaking, they were in their prime in 2019. This is because the League of Legends meta favored their two best players (debatable) back then, Jankos (JGL) and Caps (MID), which is one of the reasons why they reached the finals that year.

While Wunder (TOP) and Perkz (ADC) contributed a lot to their team when against the prodigies from Asia, they did struggle to be the oppressors and often fell behind in lanes.

Considering G2 Esports in LEC is known to be the most aggressive League of Legends team that somewhat reflects dominant Asian teams, they often do struggle to be as dominant as they usually are domestically. This ends up being their weakness at times as they usually performs the best when ahead in the early game.

G2 Esports' performance in the 2022 international championship was a prime example as their toplaner BrokenBlade underperformed considerably. The Asian players outperformed him when it came to the laning phase and macro play.

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Is BrokeBlade the right player for G2 Esports to dominate the international League of Legends tournaments?

When looking at the current G2 Esports roaster, BrokenBlade is one of the most questionable aspects of the team. He could ultimately be a huge deciding factor for them in terms of dominance at international tournaments.

One of the reasons behind this is that, when compared to the other members of the roaster, he is arguably the one most likely to underperform. Yike is an exception, as he's untested in international events, which is why his performances are tough to predict for now.

Considering BrokenBlade's past history at international tournaments, it's clear that he does seem to struggle against Asian teams. While several factors that weren't in his control might have contributed to that, one cannot ignore this fact.

Currently, G2 Esports like to play around their botlane, with their toplane often being weak. And to BrokenBlade's credit, barring his laning phase, he does manage to do an overall good job consistently when it comes to playing as a weakside player. Further, he does so with few resources, which helps other lanes function better, and is thus one of the best European team fighters.

But the main issue lies with his laning phase as the teams from the LCK and LPL region will easily have players who are comparatively better than the domestic toplaners that BrokenBlade usually faces. This could make life even more problematic for him and G2 Esports.

Additionally, playing weakside against Asian toplaners is simply going to make life tougher for BrokenBlade. This is because LCK/LPL players, even with fewer resources, manage to outplay opponents due to superior mechanical skills that even European toplaners like the Topfather struggle to match.

One can make the argument that players like Ruler or Gumayusi are most likely expected to provide a comparatively stronger fight to Hans Sama. However, being weaksided as a toplaner is comparatively more punishing to play compared to playing weaksided as a botlaner, which is why G2 Esports will likely continue to play through their botlane.

This is why G2 Esports needs a top laner who can consistently perform at a high level and make the right decisions at crucial moments. At least, if they wish to dominate in international League of Legends tournaments.

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Who should G2 Esports replace BrokenBlade with?

Speaking about current matters, it's in G2 Esports' best interest to continue with BrokenBlade. They should do this at least for this year as he has developed quite a good team understanding with the current League of Legends roster.

And while importing a bright and young prospect is always on the cards, like how Team Vitality did with Bo as the jungler, it doesn't seem like the best option for them to do so right now.

There would be more benefits if the G2 Esports League of Legends coaching staff invested extra time in having 1-on-1 sessions with BrokenBlade. Working on his laning phase could result in better performances.

Whether G2 Esports decide to replace BrokenBlade or not, one thing is for sure. The upcoming League of Legends MSI 2023 tournament will be the ultimate test. If he fails to improve upon his previous disappointing international performance, he could very likely be replaced by the end of 2023.

So, in conclusion, G2 Esports do in fact need a new toplaner if they want to dominate at international tournaments. While BrokenBlade has had some impressive performances, his inconsistency and tendency to make costly mistakes have somewhat hindered the team's success on the League of Legends international stage.

In the future, G2 Esports should look for a toplaner who can provide consistent performance, strong split-pushing, engage, and peel for their players, as well as effective adaptability.

With all this being said, this is by no means a criticism of BrokenBlade as a player or person. It's rather an acknowledgment of the team's need for a more reliable and consistent toplaner to achieve their ultimate goal of becoming the League of Legends world champions.