shox returns to G2 ahead of ECS Finals; NBK-bloodycase

G2 have unveiled their line-up for the upcoming ECS Season 5 Finals, with Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon making a return to the French team.

The 26-year-old is back in G2 after leaving the team's active line-up in March to undergo surgery on a wrist problem, with former OpTic member Oscar "⁠mixwell⁠" Cañellas replacing him on a trial basis.

shox will be joined by his former teammate Edouard "⁠SmithZz⁠" Dubourdeaux, who had recently stepped down from his role as G2 coach to play competitively again.

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt, who had taken over shox's in-game leader duties, and Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire have both been moved to the bench, with G2 stating that they are willing to listen to offers for the pair.

shox and SmithZz reunite in G2

Rounding out G2's line-up for the ECS Finals will be former LDLC member Kévin "⁠Ex6TenZ⁠" Droolans, who will act as a stand-in and team captain for the event in London. The Belgian veteran was part of G2's original French team for two months before making way for Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro.

G2's decision to revamp the line-up comes after a series of mixed results, which did not improve with the in-game leader change. During shox's absence, the team placed 13th-16th at DreamHack Masters Marseille and 7th-8th at IEM Sydney, dropping out of the top 10 in the world ranking for the first time in over a year.

According to a recent report from Flickshot.fr, shox had planned to keep NBK- on the roster, but in the end he went for bodyy after some of the team's members revealed that they did not wish to play with the 23-year-old.

In a statement, team coach Jérôme "⁠NiaK⁠" Sudries stressed that these changes represent only "a new step" for the team, with a final decision due to be made before ESL One Cologne.

“This new composition with the return of shox and SmithZz and the addition of Ex6TenZ as stand-in, but also as team captain for this tournament, marks a new step in our decision-making process and I am excited to start working with all of them in London this weekend," NiaK added.

In the meantime, apEX and NBK have joined the bench and I really want to thank them for the work produced and the energy deployed throughout the past few months.

"I would like to take this opportunity to point out the great professionalism shown by all of our players since the beginning of this process as our decisions were always made with the acceptance of all of them."

G2 have been drawn in Group B for the ECS Season 5 Finals, along with NRG, FaZe and Luminosity, with their first match pitting them against the StarSeries i-League Season 5 runners-up, on Friday.

The French team will attend the event with: