Once again, G2 Esports showcased their dominance with a 3-1 victory over Karmine Corp to kick off their summer playoffs run in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC). Having surprisingly yet to win a split this year, the former kings of Europe are now hard at work, aiming to reclaim their title as the continent’s undisputed best team. In an exclusive interview, toplaner and speech artist Sergen "BrokenBlade" Çelik sat down with Sheep Esports to discuss overcoming his slump, facing Karmine Corp, the internal turmoil in the LEC, and G2’s relentless drive to win.

Did the match go as you expected, and how do you feel about qualifying for Worlds after this victory?

Sergen "BrokenBlade" Çelik: "Obviously very thrilled to be once again qualifying for Worlds for many years in a row. This is something I've been dreaming of as a player. When you start playing the game, you want to be there. It's a great feeling to be back, especially after we haven't been strong domestically. This is the first time we qualify like that without winning a split beforehand. I'm just very happy, to be honest.

How did you prepare for the match against Karmine Corp, given the break before playoffs, and their midlane situation with Nisqy sharing the position in scrims?

BrokenBlade: We had no idea how KC was going to play. They didn't play for a long time, and they're obviously a very strong team. They're very different from a lot of other teams. Especially when it comes to Canna (Kim Chang-dong), he just plays this very set base of champions. Not a lot of players play all of them at the same time, but he does. For me, practicing against this is a bit difficult. He picked all of his champions today, and in the first game it worked, but in the other games it didn't.

For us, I think it's just important that we played our game. A lot of the times when we played against KC, we let our mind wander too much instead of just playing the G2 game. Today we did play our game. We don't want a repeat of Winter Split, where we beat KC and then they came back to win. We want to beat them again. We want to beat anyone who comes our way and win it all this time around.

You’ve had some struggles in Madrid before, especially during Spring Split, but now you’re heading back there. Does that feel special to you, and do you think it will be different this time?

BrokenBlade: I know it's going to be different. We are a much stronger team mentally, and also in how we play and perform. I have very high hopes. As it comes to Madrid, if we play MKOI in the finals, it's going to be a very one-sided crowd. But we like it. We like the challenge, we like the pressure. I think it's beautiful. It's the sport that makes a beautiful defense—you against the world. Sometimes it's the world against the enemy team. That's just how it is.

Today we were victorious, and we just need to keep working, keep being hungry, because the job's not done. The job has not been done for any split this year. I want to give everyone on my team a win as well. Especially the new guys—they deserve it. They worked their asses off to be where they are, and I want us to be rewarded for our hard work.

How do you feel G2 compares to other European teams right now? Do you think G2 has something others don’t?

BrokenBlade: A lot of the teams right now in Europe are crumbling, either under pressure or for other reasons. You can look at a lot of the teams—KC is performing worse, Fnatic is performing worse. MKOI is one team that is performing at the same level. The only team that has performed better than in previous splits is us right now. And I think that is because we are actively working on our things. Obviously, I cannot speak for other teams because I'm not in their bubble. It would be unfair of me to say this team has this problem, that team has that problem. So I'm going to speak about our team.

Our team had problems in previous splits, but we came into Summer Split and we just fixed them. We said we have to get this shit done or we're not going to win a split. And I think we are about to be doing it. I can't say we got it done until we get it done, and that is lifting the trophy. None of us is satisfied yet, and we all want to be there together lifting the trophy in the end.

After so much past success, how did it feel for G2 to not have won a title this year yet? Did it make you reassess your approach and realize more effort was needed?

BrokenBlade: Exactly. We had to find the winning recipe, and the recipe we used in previous splits just wasn't fitting for us. It's like when you're cooking at home and something just doesn't taste right. For us, something just didn't taste right. Right now we are putting in all the ingredients that make us win, and we are on a good track. I don't want to hype everyone up too much, but I think we're on a very good track. That's because of what we are doing internally. I'm very happy that everyone is contributing. We are being active in the team. No one is slacking off or being a passenger—everyone is doing their part to change the fact that we are not the best, because we want to be the best. At the end of the split, I'm sure we will call ourselves that if we keep working like we do.

After nearly a year with this roster, do you think G2 is close to matching or surpassing the level of the previous roster?

BrokenBlade: Obviously, if you look at it from a stats perspective, we are not. For us, the only way we can top the other roster is to win Worlds or go much further in Worlds, and that is still very far away. I have to be humble on this question. We just have to win first—win domestically before we can think big or dream big. Right now, if I'm being real with you, no. But that is because we just didn't win. I do think this team is very strong. We have a different way of playing the game compared to last year. My hopes are very high, and I'm looking forward to going to Worlds with the squad because it's going to be a very cool experience.

This year has been a roller coaster for you personally, both in Europe and internationally. How do you feel about your individual evolution as a player, especially after moments where you struggled and now seem back at the top?

BrokenBlade: For me, having that period of time in my career is not a failure. It opened my eyes on how I have to deal with lows, and that was for sure one of my biggest lows this year. This is something I will take with me through my career. It was a very weird feeling. I felt like I had no solution to the issues in front of me, and I felt very defeated. There was MSI, and I had to evolve and reflect from that, because it doesn't matter if you're good one year—you can be bad the next. I need to work every day and every week to be better than yesterday. I just wasn't good enough.

I wasn't in the best mental place at MSI, but I think I've dealt really well with it. Things are going much better now, and I'm very happy with the place where I am. I'm not satisfied, though; there are always things I can do better. Like today, I had multiple moments where I almost killed my opponent—very close, two times. In the first game, I could have played much cleaner if I had timed things better and been more precise. Mental health plays a big role in this. You need to be in a good space to even think and perform well. My advice to all players, especially up-and-coming players, is to really keep your mental health in check and do something that makes you happy every now and then."