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G2 Esports Add Nelson as New League of Legends Strategic Coach

G2 signed Sng "Nelson" Yi-Wei to reinforce their coaching staff ahead of the 2021 League of Legends European Championship (LEC) Summer Split.

G2 Esports have signed ex- LNG Esports Assistant coach Sng “Nelson” Yi-Wei to reinforce their coaching staff ahead of the 2021 League of Legends European Championship (LEC) Summer Split. Nelson joins the eight-time European champions as a strategic coach.

G2 Esports Reinforce Their Coaching Staff

After struggling to impress in the 2021 LEC Spring playoffs, G2 decided to make some changes to their LoL division. Instead of replacing players, G2 opted to strengthen their coaching staff.

As rumored, Nelson has been signed as a strategic coach and will now join G2’s stacked coaching staff. He will work alongside head coach Fabian “GrabbZ” Lohmann and head analyst Christopher “Duffman” Duff.

With this signing, G2 now boast a five-man coaching staff. That includes GrabbZ, Duffman, as well as Scout Analyst Luciana “AngelArcher” Nadrag, and data analyst Dimitri “Noodlez” Zografos.

Seeing Nelson join G2 Esports, however, is not too shocking. Nelson has been approached by many LEC teams who wanted to sign him after he departed from LNG Esports in December 2020.

Nelson’s First Stint in Europe

Nelson first entered the esports scene in September 2012 as a manager of Absolute Legends Singapore. After two months, the team got signed by Insidious Gaming, where Nelson spent the next two years as a manager.

He continued his esports journey as a manager of a Singaporean LoL team Vestigial. While in charge of the team, Vestigal won the TLC Singapore 2016 Season and made it to the semi-finals of GPL 2016 Summer before disbanding in December 2016.

Nelson’s success as a manager hasn’t gone unnoticed and has earned him his first coaching stint with Hong Kong Esports. Nelson stayed at Hong Kong Esports (later HK Attitude) for 17 months as both coach and Head of Esport, before leaving for Team Afro in June 2018.

Nelson’s journey with Team Afro lasted for only four months before the team disbanded. He later joined Vivo Keyd but left the team in April 2019 to pursue coaching opportunities elsewhere.

Nelson left the Brazilian squad in April 2019 to join an LPL team LNG Esports. He joined the Chinese esports organization as an assistant coach for the 2020 season and has remained with the team for 18 months.

Nelson’s journey with LNG Esports, however, was largely unsuccessful. The team failed to reach the LPL playoffs in both the LPL Spring and LPL Summer, finishing 16th and 13th, respectively.

Regardless of his lack of success at LNG Esports, Nelson is still a prominent name in the scene. Besides his coaching experience, Nelson has also been a member of the on-air talent for various LoL esports events, including the World Championship 2019, when he was a part of the LPL broadcast.

Can G2 Esports Improve With Nelson?

It remains to be seen how will Nelson’s arrival impact G2 Esports and what will the Singaporean strategist bring to the table. Regardless, Nelson’s experience coaching across four regions can only be seen as a positive.

G2 Esports have been struggling with their performances in the LEC 2021 Spring, largely due to their poor meta read. Their iffy showing led G2 to finish the split only third – their worst placement since 2018.

The 201 LEC Spring Split also marked the first time the organization failed to win the league in four splits. And the first time G2 haven’t won the league since the EU LCS rebranded to LEC for the 2019 season.

Regardless of their struggles this split, G2 Esports are still viewed as one of the strongest LoL teams in the world. Most esports bookmakers have them priced as one of the main favorites to win the 2021 LoL World Championship.

However, they’re still far off the Chinese and Korean teams, who are firm favorites to win the Summoner’s Cup.

Odds for League of Legends 2021 World Championship

Odds courtesy of BetOnline:

  • DWG KIA +200
  • Top Esports +700
  • T1 +1200
  • Invictus Gaming +2500
  • JD Gaming +1600
  • Suning +2000
  • G2 Esports +1600
  • FunPlus Phoenix +600
  • Gen.G +900
  • Fnatic +5000
  • Afreeca Freecs +10000
  • Cloud9 +3900
  • Edward Gaming +600
  • Team Liquid +4400
  • DRX +6600
  • Royal Never Give Up +700
  • MAD Lions +2900
  • GAM Esports +12500
  • LNG Esports +15000
  • PSG Talon +15000
  • Unicorns of Love +20000
  • Team WE +3000
  • Rogue +2700
  • TSM +6600
  • 100 Thieves +10000
  • RED Canids +25000
  • Isurus +50000
  • Rascal Jester +75000