Fnatic was smited by G2 Esports this week in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Summer Season, finishing their group stage at 3-1. Having secured a top-two spot in their group, the boys in black and orange return to the drawing board, preparing diligently for playoffs and hoping to avoid repeating the same mistakes. In an exclusive interview, support Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle reflects on the defeat against G2, the team’s work ethic, and his thoughts on the LEC format.

What happened in the series against G2? Why do you think the match went the way it did?

Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle: "Our result against G2 was not really surprising. They’re just a lot better right now. Our troubles began in draft; both of them were a bit hard to play. In game, we had some good early positions and got some kind of leads, but then we just threw them away. We got caught, we were doing random stuff, we weren’t on the same page, and then everything snowballed. It was quite a disaster.

Was there anything that surprised you, perhaps things like the Kled and Rek’Sai picks? Did it have a big impact on the game in your eyes?

Mikyx: The game was already a bit rough. We didn’t really expect the Kled, but Rek'Sai was kind of expected. Kled was a bit out of nowhere and didn’t seem that insane, but it was annoying to play against three semi-global ults with Pantheon, Taliyah, and Kled. So we always had to be very aware of that. It was kind of fun to see, and it was hard to dive as well.

Now that you’ve played G2, how do you assess their level? Are they the clear number one team, or how would you rank them compared to others you’ve faced?

Mikyx: Right now, they’re probably the best from the games I’ve seen. I would say KC is pretty good as well, so I'd probably put them as the number 1 and 2 teams. And then after it’s us and MKOI.

Do you think G2’s experience at MSI and EWC changed them? Does it feel like the same G2 as in Spring?

Mikyx: It’s quite similar to how they played last split. I didn’t really see many differences or improvements. They just played different champions, maybe, but other than that, I feel like they did a lot of similar stuff.

How would you assess Fnatic’s current state and power level? Do you feel the team is close to reaching its potential?

Mikyx: There is quite some work to do. If I had to rank ourselves, maybe I would put us in fourth. But potential-wise, if everyone is playing at their best, we can be the best. It just doesn’t usually happen on the same day or in the same game. So yeah, that’s what we have to work on—being consistent. But when everything clicks, we play quite well.

How is the team’s work ethic in Fnatic evolving? You mentioned in an interview with Hotspawn during Week 1 that it had improved from last split during.

Mikyx: It’s always better at the very start. At the start, you have the honeymoon phase where everyone puts in a bit of extra effort. But recently we may have slowed down a bit, probably also because we have already qualified for playoffs. I mean, this match was still important, trying to get first seed. Overall, I would say it’s still better than the last two splits, but it can be much better. We still did extra stuff like 2v2s or night blocks, but not as frequently as maybe the first few weeks.

Could the slowdown in work ethic become an issue later in the split, especially with playoffs coming up?

Mikyx: Maybe, but now we have three weeks to just focus and do everything we can to make it. Three weeks is quite a lot of time. I guess we’ll have to see.

What do you think of the summer LEC format, especially the small number of onstage games in the group stage? Does it make scouting teams harder or feel weird?

Mikyx: It definitely feels weird that we played seven games while they only played two before today’s match. I feel like it would be fun to play all the teams because now, for example, we probably can’t play NAVI this year at all. Overall, I’m not the biggest fan. It’s quite weird, especially with very few games leading up to the actual playoffs match, where it’s very important to go to Worlds. I would just like to play more. Beyond that as well, there is a real chance we won’t get to play against MKOI or KC all split, for example. It just feels very awkward.

How do you feel about the addition of the new performance coach, Richard Wolter, and the current coaching staff at Fnatic?

Mikyx: He is a very nice addition. I’ve already known him from G2—he was working with us for the past two years there, helping us with morning exercises and stuff. I really liked him back then, and now as well. He also helps us with nutrition, sleep, and does some breathing exercises before stage. Overall, I think it’s a good addition. He makes sure we don’t do the “illegal stuff” we might have done the last two splits, like drinking too much caffeine or eating bad food before sleep.

How do you plan to use the short break before playoffs? Is there anything important you want to focus on?

Mikyx: We’ll try to scout the next patch, get ahead of the curve, see what’s going to be OP, and then just spam some games, theorycraft a bit.

Historically, Fnatic has done well in group stages but struggled in playoffs. Is there anything special you plan to do to prevent that from happening again?

Mikyx: Well, if I knew what special had to happen, I’d probably do it. I don’t know what has to happen, but we’ll just have to see. Hopefully Richard can fix us for the playoffs run.

We need an anime update. Have you watched anything lately, either by yourself or with the team?

Mikyx: Nah, not really. I'm just trying to catch up on One Piece, but I don't really have much time for watching something by myself. Aside from that, I’m just watching Lost with Duff (Christopher Duff) right now."