Has G2 Esports' Caps Figured Out How To Beat Faker?

No, not really. However, his team did walk away from their first head-to-head matchup at the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational to kick-off the first play day of the Group Stage in Hanoi, Vietnam. 

The entire conversation leading up to this big international tournament has been focused on the Faker and his new-look SK Telecom T1 squad versus the 2018 World Champions Invictus Gaming and their star-studded line-up. So, when a plucky and crazy talented team from the EU region managed to steal the first game from the hall-of-famer’s team, one has to ask if the world should have been paying attention to G2’s Caps in that mid-lane battle. 

Is Caps as good as Faker? No. Sorry G2 Army, but it’s true. Although, they may have figured out how to beat him without having to be the better player. 

If you (“you” meaning anyone really) go up against Faker in a one-on-one in the mid-lane, chances are you’re going to get walked all over. There’s just no substitute for pure talent and mechanical mastery. Yes, Faker has lost lanes, everyone can, but it’s extra rare that Faker costs his team a game. 

How did G2 Do it?!

A lot of folks are saying that this is the best looking team EU has ever sent to an international tournament, and they might not be wrong. North America have definitely sent their best looking team ever. 

The way that G2 Esports’ Caps beat Faker on Day 1 of the Group Stage is he didn’t try to beat him. That’s right. The fact that Caps spent the entire 25-minute game merely attempting to keep Faker occupied, wrote the victory for him in the lane matchup. There’s nothing else to it. Caps and company played a very persistent, but rather reserved game against SK Telecom. This lead to very few opportunities for mistakes, which is what gets the snowball rolling in most games where SKT strangle and dominate. 

In the clip (above) you see both Wunder and Caps occupying Faker just off in the brush, keeping him from thinking of joining the brawl in the lane. The distraction allows the remaining members of G2 Esports to clean up two kills in the mid-lane. Keeping Faker busy turned out to be the best way to stop the ever-looming power of a late-game SKT. 

Removing the most technically gifted and prolific player from most team fights allowed for G2 to take nearly every objective through the game, and build a giant gold lead. Eventually, the weight would be too much for SK Telecom T1 to hold, and G2 would push straight through their opponents base. 

SK Telecom would go on to beat Flash Wolves in the 4th game of the day and sit in the middle of the pack with a 1W - 1L record after a single day of play. 

Hopefully, teams will take not of the moves (or lack there of) that G2 and Caps used to beat the most respected mid-laner and team-leader in all of League of Legends. 

MSI 2019 continues early tomorrow morning (12:00 AM Pacific Time) tomorrow, May 11th.