Image: Ubisoft/@capturedbycga
Fabian "Fabian" Hällsten is a legend of the game. His trophy cabinet is filled with silverware, including two Six Invitationals, two Six Majors, and three Pro League Finals.
For most of his career, the Swede has been known for his role in helming the G2 Esports dynasty, his ego, and his temper. Remembered as one of the greatest players in the history of Siege, Fabian has earned everyone’s respect.
Following a brief time as an analyst for the European League and APAC leagues desks, Fabian re-joined G2 Esports as a coach right before the start of Stage 3 for his debut as a coach.
Now, at the Six Invitational 2023, G2 are trying to survive in the lower bracket jungle. Day 2 of the playoffs saw the Europeans defeat FaZe Clan and DarkZero Esports to progress to the third round of the lower bracket, where they will have to face M80.
If the samurais beat the Brazilian-majority roster, it’s very likely they face Oxygen Esports. In other words, following the Europeans’ victory against DarkZero Esports, facing two more NAL rosters consecutively is on the cards.
Here’s where the spotlight intensifies upon the G2 coach – Fabian has never lost against a roster based in North America.
Here’s a look at all of his results as a player against them:
PL Season 4 Finals
Interestingly, Fabian’s first international match was against a North American roster. Back then, Elevate’s lineup included some well-known names in the scene, including Dylan “Bosco” Bosco, Gabriel “LaXInG” Mirélez, or Alexander “Skys” Magor. Fabian’s won the series as they were crowned champions.
PL Season 5 Finals
Just a few months later, Fabian got two more victories against American rosters. Emilio “Geometrics” Léynez and Davide “FoxA” Bucci were two of the players who featured for eXcelence Gaming against PENTA Sports, with the Europeans taking a 2-0 win.
Later on, in the tournament’s grand-final, Fabian’s SiegeGG Rating of 1.70 was the highest of the match against Elevate. After the final game, the Swede was named the competition’s MVP.
(Fun fact, William “Spoit” Löfstedt was still a 13-year-old teen back then.)
Six Invitational 2018
A beautiful rivalry between the European roster and Evil Geniuses would start forming at the Six Invitational 2018. After a heated 2-1 victory against the North American side in the group stage, both teams met again in the grand-final. Fabian was one of the best players in the server with the second-best SiegeGG Rating and three clutches, one of them coming in the penultimate round of the series.
PL Season 7 Finals
Juhani “Kantoraketti” Toivonen, who had won the previous edition of the Pro League with ENCE eSports, made his debut for PENTA with an insane performance against Evil Geniuses, where he got a SiegeGG Rating of 1.52.
Fabian went quiet that event, despite winning two more matches against North American rosters. Eventually, the European squad fell against Team Liquid in the final game of the competition.
Six Major Paris
In their debut for G2 Esports, the former PENTA Sports team went almost flawless in Paris. Their only defeat came against Mock-it Esports on Villa, which was a historic match where the European giants were beaten by a 6-0 score.
Fabian’s only encounter against a North American roster was in the tournament’s grand-final against his archenemies Evil Geniuses. His rivalry with Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski was also now much more developed, with Canadian seeking another international trophy since his Six Invitational 2017 win with Continuum.
Six Invitational 2019
G2 Esports terminated the team’s rivalry against Evil Geniuses in Montreal, Canada, in 2019. Although they didn’t meet, that was the last time they competed in the same tournament.
However, new names tried to take on the G2 might. Spacestation Gaming defeated the Europeans in the first map of the quarter-finals, but eventually fell short. Fabian was the rated player of the game and kept his team on course to win.
In the semi-finals, G2 Esports smashed Team Reciprocity by two 7-2 scores. Then, they defeted Team Empire to lift their second hammer in a row. Fabian thus ended the tournament with a SiegeGG Rating of 1.21, just behind his teammate Juhani “Kantoraketti” Toivonen , who was selected as the team’s MVP.
Six Major Raleigh
In Raleigh, Fabian got banned from giving interviews after a controversially-phrased comment on the main stage. He was the best player in the team against TSM, with a SiegeGG Rating of 1.35.
From there, Raleigh became the host city of some kind of European Finals, with forZe, Team Secret, G2 Esports, and Team Empire being the four teams in the semi-finals. Eventually, Team Empire toppled the G2 dynasty for good, but not Fabian’s NA streak.
Six Invitational 2020
G2 Esports were in the doldrums heading into the Six Invitational 2020. It did not stop the Swede from beating another American roster, though, as Team Reciprocity were once again felled. However, Fabian’s performance that day was extremely poor, as he got a SiegeGG Rating of 0.53.
Six Invitational 2023
Victories number 13 and 14 against North American rosters came in his coaching career, in the form of wins against Spacestation Gaming and DarkZero Esports. In his latest victory, Fabian defeated Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski in a match full of nostalgia.
G2 Esports’ next opponents M80 could put an end to Fabian’s streak against North American rosters. Despite the team having three Brazilian players and three Brazilian members in the staff, the fact remains that M80 are an NAL team.
If G2 defeat M80, though, the Europeans could face another North American roster in Oxygen Esports. How far can this streak go?