Deep Dive: Dylan Falco and G2’s Unique Coaching Philosophy
G2 Esports
A Brief Trip Back to the 2021 Off-Season
In the aftermath of the G2 Rekkles saga, the organization made some radical changes to their League of Legends division heading into the 2022 Season. Removing their MSI-winning coaching staff and instead bringing in a new head coach, Dylan Falco.
While today we can all wax lyrical about Dylan Falco, his staff, and how they have completely transformed the G2 narrative, it wasn’t all that obvious at the time. Dylan Falco has been a well-respected figure in the LoL Esports scene for many years now, but he unfortunately fell victim to a classic narrative that has haunted many coaches around the world. The League community pinned him as being nothing more than a small-club coach. Meaning he was able to elevate players and teams that didn’t have many expectations, but once he arrived at a bigger team with a lot on the line, he couldn’t deliver. Despite this, G2 took it for what it was; a baseless community narrative. They signed the renowned coach and given that he's delivered result after result, G2 are undeniably happy with their decision.
An Era of Rookies
Since signing with G2, Falco and his staff have blown this community narrative out of the water. Winning two LEC titles and representing Europe at both MSI and Worlds in 2022. It’s hard not to mention that given their Winter Split victory just a few months ago, they will most likely travel to MSI this year as well. But the most intriguing part about their success story over the last few seasons has been their insistence on signing rookies out of the European Regional Leagues (ERL) and developing them into bonafide star-players. So far there have been three rookies that, while on G2, have been threats to any team they face. Flakked and Targamas during 2022, and Yike so far in 2023.
Trust and Comfort
If you’ve watched LEC so far this year, you’ll quickly recognize that G2’s drafts are very unique in comparison to the rest of the league. Rather than prioritizing Caps, the mid laner has focused on being a conduit for flexibility. The team will draft things like Kled or Malphite for BrokenBlade, just to flex it to Caps at the last second. Opening up counter-picks for their team and making them a nightmare to prepare for.
Their rookie jungler Yike has played all the comfort-picks he has in his arsenal regardless of whether they’re in the meta. We have seen Lillia, Bel’Veth, and even Kindred so far this year. It all speaks to the trust that Dylan Falco and his staff have in their players. Rather than always looking for the most optimal picks, it’s very apparent that this team has found a unique identity that makes them uncomfortable to play against.
This Year and Beyond
If you are a fan of European League of Legends and wish for the days of 2018/19 when there was some hope of bringing home a Worlds title, G2 is the team you should be rooting for. While this unorthodox play style has led to some low points, this is the team (alongside Vitality) that has the raw skill in order to compete with the best Asian players. Not only that, just like the 2019 G2 super-team that had an incredibly wacky play style, this current G2 roster and the coaching staff around them have just as unique of an identity that is sure to throw off teams at international events, and maybe deliver them some wins against the best that the East has to offer.
Image Sources: Riot Games / LoL Esports