By the end of the 2015-2016 season, most NBA teams had a 70 million salary cap, which then increased to 89 and 108 million the next season.
This injection of money into the teams caused the players' salaries to inflate in a way never seen before. As a consequence, some of the most paid contract in the history of the NBA were signed, notably leading the Los Angeles Lakers pledged to spend 134 million dollars on Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov.
These two players played a total of 111 games between before leaving the ranks of the purple and gold, with more than average results. In the end, the club was forced to pay the money they pledged to eventually remove Mozgov and Deng.
G2 Esports haven't spent the money on any mediocre player, but they may be fearing something similar with their League of Legends roster.
A week ago the esports organization owned by Carlos "Ocelote" Rodríguez announced that the renewal of three of its main squads: Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, and League of Legends. The contract of all the players from these sections were updated until 2020.
In principle, it is a positive agreement for the club, since it secures three teams that are decisive in the success of the organization. However, the LoL team is currently beyond recognition.
Last year, the same roster battled their way until the Worlds final, where they were defeated by FunPlus Phoenix. With the two 2019 splits titles and the MSI won, G2 Esports missed the Grand Slam from almost nothing,
As if this wasn't enough, their aggressive style of play and their ability to use champions in almost any position made them a role model for the vast majority of European teams and also in other regions.
During the 2020 Spring Split, G2 seemed to be playing in the continuity of their previous season and, even though they were challenged by MAD Lions, pocketed their seventh title.
However, as the 2020 Spring Split enters Week 6, G2 Esports are now tied with Misfits Gaming for the sixth place – with a 5-6 record. For the first time since 2018, G2 might simply miss Playoffs.
G2 Esports didn't start the summer with the best record, as they 'only' won one match during the Superweek. Personal issues came to burden the performance of Luka "Perkz" Perkovic just on the eve of the Summer Split — but nothing was lost.
However, week after week, the performance of the whole roster seems to be utterly low. G2 are clearly disappointing, and their last match against MAD Lions was just telling about their current state.
Fortunately, they grabed enough Championship Points during the Spring Split to almost guarantee their Worlds seed — especially since the LEC can send four teams this year, instead of the previous three.
There is still time to change course and possibly no team has the talent of the current champions, but it is now crystal clear that time is running out for G2.
In the Post Game Lobby interview, G2's Head Coach Fabian "Grabbz" Lohmann admitted that the roster wasn't displaying their best. According to him, this week was a proper nightmare as they could barely count on Perkz for training. Grabbz also admitted his own responsibility, explaining the mistakes he did when planning the game.
G2 has had hardly any bad times during this year and a half with Rogue and MAD Lions suddenly rising as superstars on the top of the LEC. Would it be time for the Samurais to sheathe their blades? Will they take back their crown?
G2 Esports continued their dominance of European League of Legends, dominating Fnatic in a 3-0 series win. With four titles in a row, and eighth overall, they seize the mantle of most successful team in LEC history.
Original content from Millenium Spain by "Razablan".
