G2 Caps: "It felt like we were always desperate to control the map"

Following a difficult loss against T1, Caps delves into his recent match against the South Korean team and what to expect for the team's future matches.

Rasmus "Caps" Borregaard Winther, disappointed after a loss to T1 in the MSI 2024 Bracket Stage.

"We need to find a way to calm down, especially in our comms."

Following a difficult loss against T1, Caps delves into what happened during the match in a conference interview. Taking the World Champions to game 5, G2 Esports remains hopeful for the rest of the tournament, albeit disappointed that they could not advance in the upper bracket.

| G2 had a lot of unconventional picks today. Could you give us insights on the reasons why you decided to pick those champions?

Caps: "Yeah, I mean, it's been about a month since the LEC finals now. So, with several patches released during that time, we've been actively practicing various new champions. Some of them we decided to pick today, while others we've kept in reserve for future matches.

Overall, everything we played was well-rehearsed and prepared. We had a good understanding of T1's preferred picks and strategies, allowing us to bring out counters accordingly."

| What would you attribute today's loss to? What is your biggest regret from this match?

Caps: "In the first game, I was ahead, but got caught off guard while sneaking through mid and Xin Zhao attacked me. After that, I started falling behind, and we ended up losing our lead. So, I'm frustrated with that game in particular. We also lost the last two games.

It felt like we fell into a trap where we couldn't pressure them. They controlled the game from start to finish. Although we had some good fights and angles, we were always playing catch-up. I'm eager to take control of the map in our future matches."

| G2 looked dominant in games 2 and 3, while also looking great in game 1. However, G2 seemed to struggle later in the series when it comes to skirmishes. What happened towards the end of the BO5?

Caps: "Yeah, I mean, I think we struggled to apply pressure in the last few games. It felt like we were always desperate to control the map, but it was challenging to find openings against them. Whenever we did, they were skilled at disengaging, whether it was Ahri ulting away, K'sante ghosting, or Kalista ulting. It felt difficult for us to engage on them."

"Additionally, we lacked pressure, especially with Ahri consistently pushing the side against me, making it easy for them to target me or Jinx in mid. As a result, we constantly felt pressured. Despite some clutch fights, such as the fortunate Baron fight, it wasn't enough. Moving forward, we need to put ourselves in better situations."

| How does it feel to solo kill Faker? Does today's results give you more hope for the rest of the tournament?

Caps: "I was happy that I was able to kill him, but, of course, especially considering game one, when we lost right after, it felt a bit bad, especially because I ended up dying right after."

"Maybe I was too proactive afterward, trying to go for the top roam and then getting punished on the way back. So, definitely bittersweet, I guess. It felt good in the moment, but if we can't translate it to a win, then it feels a bit worse."

| Why pick Bel'Veth in game 5?

Caps: "Bel'Veth is one of Yike's signature champs. He always performs well on it. In the last game, we needed some fighting power because they were playing Kalista Varus, which is very strong. So, we picked the Bel'Veth to fight back against their comp and play around it."

| What does G2 need to work on in order to beat T1 or Gen.G in a potential future match?

Caps: "I think we were quite stressed on stage, for sure. It's something we were working on last year, and we improved towards Worlds, but now it feels like it's come back a bit. Especially in these important series, it can make us more stressed."

"We need to find a way to calm down, especially in our communications. It was hard to get a proper plan set up, so we need to be calmer, maybe with fewer people speaking. That could be a big advantage for us going forward.

At the same time, we made some crucial mistakes. I made some big mistakes which ended up costing us a lot. I'll do better next time, and I'm sure we can beat whoever we go up against."

| What did G2 talk about backstage between Game 4 and 5? Was the invade at level 1 planned?

Caps: "Going from game four to game five, we were just trying to reset a bit because game four felt tough for us. We didn't really get to do a lot, to be honest. We were getting pushed in and we were not able to put up a good fight."

"So going into game five, we just wanted to put up a fight, find some angles, and try to get pressure in the game. One of our ideas was the invade, and they kind of predicted it. K'Sante was there, so it ended up being a 5v5, which we didn't win, but it made it easier for our bot lane. So yeah, it had some pros and cons."

| Tristana hasn't worked well for most teams at MSI. Could you give us your thoughts on the champion and why did you decide to pick her in game 1?

Caps: "Yeah. I mean, I think Tristana is quite strong. A lot of her items were buffed, especially the AD carry items. And when you have to deal with a lot of frontline, then she can be quite effective. Maybe it's hard to speak for everyone playing her, but in that game, I personally felt quite strong on Tristana. I was a bit ahead, but then I over-pushed it a bit."

"If I had played it a bit more slowly, it would have been much better. But I tried to snowball top lane and got a bit greedy. On my way back, I got punished, and we ended up losing a fight at the mid turret where they TPed on us, and we died again. So yeah, I think I was a bit too proactive and need to play it a bit slower."

Header Photo Credit: Liu YiCun/Riot Games