G2 Esports have been brutally defeated at the hands of Bilibili Gaming, dropping into the lower bracket of the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) Play-In stage. With the weight of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC)' hopes and its fans on their shoulders, the Samurais must now shake off the loss and refocus as they prepare to face a hungry GAM Esports. In this exclusive piece, jungler Rudy "SkewMond" Semaan sits down with Sheep Esports to discuss the loss, their upcoming match against GAM, and what it’s been like to experience his first international event.

It was your very first time facing a top international team. How did you feel? Were you surprised by their style of play? And despite the score, are you satisfied with your individual performance?

Rudy "SkewMond" Semaan: "Not really satisfied, no. Throughout the match, I felt like we could actually win—not just one game, but the entire best-of-five. It was my first time against an LPL team, and I was impressed by how they played — they’re extremely decisive, very strong in macro, with excellent rotations. We made some small mistakes, but against a team like that, every detail matters. A tiny mistake can cost you a tower, two towers… or even the game. And that’s basically what happened.

Despite that, we did pretty well given the circumstances, especially in the first two games. The third one, though, was a total stomp — there wasn’t much we could do. But honestly, the first two games were definitely winnable. It really came down to small details. For example, the first game literally ended with just a few auto attacks on the Nexus. That’s part of the game. Now, the most important thing is to stay focused for tomorrow and try to learn as much as possible from this match.

Do you think you played the map well? Compared to the match against FURIA, it felt like a real step up. On the other hand, it seems like individual mechanics were more of an issue. Do you agree?

SkewMond: Yes and no. I don’t quite remember the last teamfight of game one, but if I recall correctly, I missed a Pantheon Q on Alistar who survived, which gave him enough time to defend the base. These kinds of details can change everything — and that’s one reason why we didn’t win that game. In the third game, mechanically or not, we just got rolled over. It’s probably my worst game of the tournament. For the second game, I don’t remember all the skirmishes exactly, but I know we missed a few spells here and there. That happens, of course, but against teams like BLG or LCK, every mistake costs a lot. They’re really sharp at punishing those.

Are there any lessons you’re taking away from this series?

SkewMond: Right now, a few small things come to mind, but it’ll be clearer after the review. There are probably details about our rotations and base timings — sometimes we played a bit too greedily, and that cost us heavily on the map. The real issue is tempo. We didn’t manage to play proactively. We were very reactive and rarely initiated plays, and at this level, that’s noticeable immediately. That’s the main point I take away.

Sergen “BrokenBlade” Çelik said himself that he’s had a tough tournament so far. Does that affect the team’s mood? Are you managing to stay positive?

SkewMond: We support him fully. We all recognize when a player is underperforming — we’re pros at a high level, it’s obvious. But instead of getting down, we rally around him. He knows himself that he hasn’t been at his best, so there are no secrets. We stay focused and motivated. We’re here to lift him up. Personally, it was my first time against an LPL team. Even though it was a 0-3, I’m convinced we had real chances to win. I’m sure we can beat them if we face them again. We missed a lot of chances, and we won’t miss them next time. I’m really excited to play tomorrow and hope we can stay in the tournament. My goal is to go as far as possible and face even more top teams.

Did you expect to face GAM tomorrow? Have you already started a detailed analysis of them?

SkewMond: We’ve obviously watched their games, like we do for every team before playing, but we haven’t started a deep analysis of their patterns yet. To be honest, I didn’t necessarily expect to face GAM. Given how well FURIA played against us, I thought it would be a very close best-of-five — and it was, another five-game banger.

In the end, it’s GAM, and they play very well too. I’m really looking forward to facing them. I hope we’ll wake up tomorrow and show a better side because I want to reach the main stage, to play against the best teams. This kind of tournament is a huge opportunity for experience. I just hope we can go as far as possible, because it would be a real shame to stop here.

Do you think the Play-Ins have already helped you warm up and learn? And if you reach the main stage, do you think that journey will make you stronger?

SkewMond: Yes, definitely. When you step back and look at the bigger picture, going through the Play-Ins is probably the best thing that could happen to us. Even if we lose tomorrow, it will simply mean our level wasn’t high enough and we didn’t deserve to go to the main stage. We won’t have regrets. Because if we got through the main stage “by luck,” we probably wouldn’t go very far either. But if we win tomorrow, it will give us even more experience, and we’ll be really ready for what comes next, no matter the opponent. It would also give us a real confidence boost and momentum.

We played pretty well today in the first two games. The third was clearly a lesson. I hope we’ll draw the right conclusions — and if we get the chance to face them again later in the tournament, I’d really like to take our revenge.

Steven “Hans Sama” Liv said FURIA surprised you with a very different, sometimes chaotic playstyle compared to LEC teams. Do you feel the same about GAM? And what do you think could be the edge to help you beat them?

SkewMond: Good question. To be honest, I haven’t looked closely at their patterns yet. But from what I’ve seen so far, GAM is a team that plays really well together. They tend to group a lot, and they seem very confident in how they approach teamfights. Other than that, I don’t have many precise details yet, but they’re clearly a strong team. It will be a big challenge for us, and I really hope we come out on top.

You play tomorrow at 5 PM, so you have some time to rest. For you, once you leave the press room, what’s the plan to prepare well for the match?

SkewMond: The first step is to take some time to reflect on our games. Review certain moments, identify what we could have done better. Then, reset mentally, rest well, and prepare for tomorrow. I don’t know yet if we have scrims scheduled, maybe a block tonight — that would help us stay sharp. Otherwise, play some solo queue, talk with the players and coaches, align on the game plan, and start analyzing GAM’s tendencies to understand how they play.

It’s your first time in Canada. How’s the experience so far? Any moments you particularly enjoyed since arriving?

SkewMond: It’s actually my first time changing continent, not just coming to Canada. I had to fight some jet lag, but now it’s much better. Honestly, I find Vancouver really cool, the people are super friendly. It’s very different from Europe — lots of little things, like the houses, the school buses that take kids to school…

As for a favorite moment, it’s hard to say, there have been several. I really enjoyed Media Day because I love the trailers Riot makes — they’re really amazing. Even if I don’t say anything in those videos, it means a lot to me. And playing on stage is always a blast. I don’t know if I’ve ever won a BO5 that went all five games — I haven’t had many — but I remember last time I got reverse swept. So going to game five yesterday and winning was great.

Playing against a team like BLG is impressive. They were finalists at Worlds, they had a close match against T1, that’s no small feat. I’m not happy with the result, of course, but I’m glad I got to play against them. I played pretty well in the first two games, though there are still some details to improve. I’m optimistic about what’s next, and I hope we’ll show a very good side.

Is your goal mostly to gain experience, or are you aiming for more?

SkewMond: Good question. Obviously, our goal is to go as far as possible in this tournament. If we can win the title and beat every team, we’re not just going to throw games away. That said, gaining experience is important. But we’re not here thinking “we just hope to win a few games against the best teams.” We really want to win BO5s and go as far as possible. The more games we play on stage, the better. That’s why winning tomorrow is really crucial for us.

Any final words to close the interview?

SkewMond: Yes, first, a big thank you to all the fans who have supported us for a long time. I’m not very active on social media since the final, but I’ve heard there are quite a few hate watchers and that many don’t believe in us this tournament, especially after losing two LEC finals. To all of you who continue to support us, I’m truly grateful. I hope we can make you proud by going as far as possible in this competition. To my family, if you see this article, I love you, and I hope to make you proud by reaching the highest level possible."