The oldest European rivalry saw Fnatic and G2 Esports clash once again in Week 5 of the 2025 LEC Spring Split. In front of an audience of 12,000 in Madrid for the Spanish Roadshow, Fnatic wrote a new chapter in their history by putting an end to a painful streak — the Black and Orange claimed their first BO3 victory against the Samurai since August 12, 2017.

FNC found its last BO3 win when the league was still known as the EU LCS, during the Summer Split of G2’s second year in the league. This was an era when Martin "Rekkles" Larsson and Paul "sOAZ" Boyer fought side-by-side against a G2 team dominating the scene with Luka "Perkz" Perković and Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen. The only common threads between then and now are Rasmus "Caps" Winther and Dylan Falco, both on Fnatic's side at the time, and on the losing side with G2 — a testament to their impressive longevity at the highest level.

A Historic BO3 Victory

It’s important to put this achievement into context: Europe had phased out BO3 formats for a long time, favoring BO1 regular seasons and BO5 playoff matches. There hadn’t been a BO3 in Europe from late 2017 until early 2023, when the league switched to a three-split format.

Since that 2023 change, Fnatic had never managed to defeat G2 in a BO3 — until now. The stats below tell the chronological story:

Header Photo Credit: Riot Games/EU LCS