Following two convincing victories in the 2024 LEC Winter Playoffs, the reigning champions of the league, G2 Esports, have consolidated themselves in the standings by locking a spot in the tournament's semifinals this weekend. With Dylan Falco at the helm, the organization is now poised to continue its rise following a dominant performance in the LoL EMEA Championship. In this exclusive interview, G2's coach discusses his hopes for the team and expectations for the future.
Dylan Falco, coaching G2 Esports in the LEC.
| You've just beaten Fnatic in a 2-1 score. How are you feeling after this match?
Dylan: “I'm kind of relieved that we won. I thought that we were in very good form heading into this series and have had a lot of very strong ideas on the patch. I think the fact that it took three games, and that third game being a bit close, was a bit too much for our hearts. I'm happy we won, and we clutched out in the end.”
| What are your thoughts on Lucian in general? You've been one of the only teams to successfully pull off the Lucian/Nami.
Dylan: “Overall, I think that Lucian, coupled with the likes of Nami or Milio, has had very rough results across the world. Only a few teams have managed to play it well and, I think we're learned a lot from watching others play. This combo is weak to champions that can threaten them really well, and it requires you to play very aggressively, which can lead you to make mistakes more often than not. It becomes very easy for this duo to sometimes lose a game for its team. There are clear conditions for pulling out these champs, and we are willing to fulfill them. Honestly, I also think that Hans Sama is just insane on Lucian, so that really helps. It can be strong in skilled hands if you're willing to play to the limits."
| Your second game against Fnatic did not go well. Did you feel shaken up after this game? Or were you confident that you would win regardless?
Dylan: “I was confident that on blue side we could just fix a few of the drafts and early game issues that plagued us in the second game. I think the second game was... It was a bit of a passive game, one that I'm personally, as head coach, not too big a fan of, but just the way the draft in our early game went, we were kind of forced into a passive position. So yeah, I wasn't the biggest fan of the plan or the draft. I think they had some really good ideas that we were caught a bit off guard for. And then of course once all three lanes start the game losing in a game like that, it's just very, very hard to do anything but try and stall. So I'm happy that the boys stalled, but yeah.”
| You've been trying out a few things lately. Did you tackle this match differently than usual?
Dylan: “We're mainly just focused on patch understanding rather than preparing for specific opponents, especially this week, because we didn't really know what people would come into the week. This is one of, I think, more volatile patches in League of Legends history, I would say. It's definitely... there's a lot of very interesting strong champions that change draft a lot, so... We kind of had a general approach and then we were able to see a bit of what Fnatic played yesterday.”
| We haven't seen too many new picks on Patch 14.2 so far. Do you think there's some more exotic picks we can expect?
Dylan: “Yeah, I think there's a lot of crazy stuff on this patch. Maybe we have not shown all of it, but we've played some interesting stuff... Senna/Maokai, Zac top… There's also Brand Jungle rising in popularity at the moment. I would expect more fun picks!.”
| Do you see G2 as the clear number one? Who are your main rivals?
Dylan: “Yeah, I think we're the best team in Europe for sure. We won the last couple of splits, and we got first place in the regular season, and now we're doing pretty well in playoffs again. We definitely have one of the strongest rosters, and we also have all the synergy we built through last year. We have the experience. That being said, I think that Fnatic and BDS are probably standouts and very real competitors. There was a world in which we'd have lost to Fnatic for sure. I'm really excited to play against BDS next, they've looked really strong lately even though we did beat them in the group stage.”
| Mikyx has been very vocal about his focus on international play. Would you echo that you are focusing on getting the team ready for MSI mainly?
Dylan: “It’s interesting because I think, for us, winning Europe is not good enough. We would not consider that a successful year if all we do is win in Europe. But that being said, the only way you get to compete internationally is by winning Europe. So, as of right now, my mind is actually really focused domestically. I would love us to do well internationally, and that is the ultimate goal of this team. But MSI is a tricky one, right? You can get second place twice and then all of a sudden you're not going to MSI. So we're focusing on that first.”
| Are you confident that you'll win the LEC Winter Playoffs?
Dylan: “I think we're the favorites to win the split. I'm confident, yeah, of course. But of course, there's competition and anything can happen, and there are a couple of other strong teams for sure.”
| If you win in Winter, it'll mean that you'll have a spot for the Mid-Season Invitational locked-in. In that scenario, would you see yourself tackling the Spring Split differently due to the assurance of international play?
Dylan: “So last year we won Winter Split and then our Spring Split had some questionable performances. We started off with quite a few troll picks, specifically, I would say, in my mid lane department. I think if we were just to do well in Winter Split or to win it, for example, I would not want to repeat that again. I would like to have a serious approach to the next split as well, especially with my mid laner.”
| Last year proved a big blow for European fans. Now, LCS Eevee has been constantly spamming NA>EU at any chance he gets. Please, are we winning against them this year?
Dylan: “Like we took what... We took four games, or was it four or five games off of Asian teams last year. I don't really think that's something that any team did. I think we had a really bad day against NRG, but our sights are a bit higher than just beating North American teams. Although I guess we did lose last time, that is true.”
| I heard that Kesha was secretly training Yike, how's that going?
Dylan: “Yeah, Yike needs a bit of work on his snowball driving. I'm also actually a Nunu OTP myself as well. So we've got a lot of... leadership and a lot of help for Yikes’ Nunu. It's not quite ready yet, but maybe you can see it, maybe for the finals.”
G2 Esports, winning in the LEC 2024 Winter Playoffs.
What's next?
Sitting comfortably at a score of 4-2, the team seems poised to lock its playoffs spot on Saturday as they look to face-off against a struggling GIANTX. Fully focused on international play, G2 Esports is set to continue its rise and hope to show its best form possible as it readies up for the LEC 2024 Winter Split to continue on January 27th.
Playoffs - G2 Esports LEC Schedule:
