Sheep Esports - LEC Season Finals - G2 Dylan Falco & Rodrigo : "We always knew we were better"

Dylan Falco and Rodrigo, on-stage during the League of Legends EMEA Championship Season Finals 2024 in Munich.

Rodrigo: "The most special team to take down for me would be Gen.G because of the aura they have. I really want to go there and beat them."

Crowned as the champions of the League of Legends EMEA Region once again, G2 Esports are now celebrating their victory against Fnatic at the LEC 2024 Season Finals in Munich before the 2024 World Championship begins. The team's coaching duo, Dylan Falco and Rodrigo Domingues Oliveira, dive into the mechanics behind their victory, the teams to watch out for at Worlds, and the competition in Europe in this exclusive short-form interview.

G2 Esports has claimed yet another title by defeating Fnatic in what is referred to as LoL's "Clásico". How did it feel to take them down? Did everything go as planned?

Dylan Falco: It went pretty much as expected since we won. We've grown pretty confident here in Europe. We've won a lot of times and have a good track record against Fnatic. I feel like we probably only showed and won with one type of game, one strategy. A lot of the drafts had different champions, than we originally expected, but they did not deviate from what we planed for that much.

Rodrigo: We knew what they were going to do. They probably knew what we were going to do as well, but we were just very confident in our strategy going into this. In the end, I feel like our players were more comfortable playing the games. I could see they had a lot of clutch moments. And a lot of the time, I felt like Fnatic was stressing too much about sides, while we were just playing the game normally.

After the loss to MAD Lions KOI at the start of the season finals, some people doubted G2. Were there any doubts within the team about winning the season finals?

Rodrigo: No, I think we always knew we were better. Coming into the match against MDK, we thought we could try some AP mids and more engage-oriented comps. But we realized it wasn’t really working, so we went back to a different style. As you saw in the last days, it was pretty much AP jungle, Caps playing to scale, and then we just won. It worked very well for us in scrims too. We had an idea against MAD Lions, but we had no clue what they would bring because they had about a month to prepare for us. Even so, I think we never had a doubt. They were just very well-prepared that day, and we really didn’t know what they were going to do. But after that, it felt very easy for us.

With Worlds coming up and a few weeks before the Swiss stage, what are G2's plans? Are the players and coaches feeling tired after such a long season?

Dylan Falco: We definitely go for months at a time with very few days off to win these championships. This year was extra stressful with an additional international tournament during our summer split cycle, so it was hard to find time to rest. We're planning to take maybe a week off—not too much time—but enough to rest, recover, and start working on the new patch. It’s definitely a skill to maintain focus throughout the year, but for me, Worlds is the most exciting. Even after just a few days off, I’ll probably already want to get back to preparing because, well, it’s Worlds, right?

Dylan Falco lifting the 2024 LEC Season Finals Trophy. Credit: Steph Lindgren/Riot Games

Rodrigo, preparing patches is one of your specialties. How are you going to prepare for Worlds in terms of strategies?

Rodrigo: I mean, my job with patch preparation is to find outliers and bring them to the team to see how they could fit into our strategy. Gwen, for example, was one of them. Unfortunately, it didn't work out in both games, but that’s how we prepare. We try to find outliers and see how they can integrate into our strategy. It doesn’t matter if a champion is just OP; if it’s not good for us, it won’t work. You need to find both. A lot of this comes from data, and that’s where I come in.

Hans Sama mentioned after the MDK match that he believed the team was at about 60% of its full power. Do you agree with that, and do you think you’ll reach 100% for Worlds?

Dylan Falco: Hans likes to talk as if he’s in an anime. I'm convinced he's just an anime character transplanted into real life. He’ll always say things like, "This is my weakness," or "This is the one thing that can counter me." So, I'm not surprised he said we're only at 60% power. I think we were pretty good this weekend, and I’d definitely put us above 60%. Obviously, the goal for this team has always been Worlds, so we’ll try to get to above 100% for that.

As you head to Worlds, where you'll face many strong teams, are there any specific opponents you’re eager to take down?

Dylan Falco: For me, it's always T1. I would say that G2 and T1 have one of the rivalries that I like the most in League of Legends, even before I joined G2. It's always my answer in interviews, so I'll say it again. I hope we can play them. Other than that, I just hope to make a good run. Beating any top team in the world is always an accomplishment.

Rodrigo: I have two. The most special one for me would be Gen.G because of the aura they have right now—everyone talks about it. I really want to go there and beat them; that would be very nice. The second one would be if the Brazilian team makes it out of the play-ins. I really want to play them. It's just very special for me, so I hope they make it and we can face each other.

Rodrigo lifting the 2024 LEC Season Finals Trophy. Credit: Steph Lindgren/Riot Games

Given how dominant G2 have been in recent years, do you think anyone will ever challenge you for the championship in the LEC?

Dylan Falco: I hope so, of course. I'm always a fan of young European talent. I think there are a lot of strong players coming into the LEC next year. This should be a good year for potential rookies and roster changes, so we’ll have to see how it works out.

Rodrigo: Yeah, right now a lot of teams are trying to figure out how to beat us, which makes our wins even more satisfying. Being at the top is great, but staying at the top is more important and harder. Winning so many finals in a row doesn’t get old; it’s such a huge achievement for us. I’m very proud of it because METAs change, and we need to adapt, but we always make it work.

What do you think is the main weakness you still need to address before Worlds?

Dylan Falco: Probably the relationship between the strong side and weak side in the early game. Sometimes we give up too much on the weak side or play it in a way that puts someone behind. Against very strong teams, this can be a bigger problem because the player we try to get ahead can end up taking over. So, I’d say improving how we play the full map in the early game is the main weakness we need to work on.

Rodrigo: For me, it’s probably related to trying to create plays that aren’t there when the game is going well. I think if we calm down a bit, we’ll probably be better.

Do you have any message for G2 fans?

Rodrigo: I’m just very glad for the support. Coming to the arena and feeling that it’s on our side, with everyone screaming, "Let’s go G2," feels amazing. I’m very grateful for the fans who travel from all across Europe to watch and support us. I’m very, very happy about it. We’ll do our best at Worlds to represent you all, so thank you.

Header Photo Credit: Michał Konkol/Riot Games

LEC Season Finals - G2 Dylan Falco & Rodrigo : "We always knew we were better"

Crowned champions once more, the coaching duo of Dylan Falco and Rodrigo celebrate their victory in an exclusive interview.