After their loss in Évry-Courcouronnes against Karmine Corp,
G2 Esports now sets its sights on the
League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) playoffs with a hunger for redemption. With a colossus like Fnatic standing in their way, the team must quickly shake off their recent defeat and rise to the challenge. In an exclusive interview, toplaner
Sergen "BrokenBlade" Çelik sits down with Sheep Esports to discuss the loss to Karmine Corp, the upcoming playoffs, and G2’s recent trajectory and path to improvement.
What do you think were the reasons which led to you losing out to Karmine Corp in Évry?
Sergen "BrokenBlade" Çelik: "Honestly, they just played better than we did. I know many talked about the crowd, and I'm sure it was a nice boost for them, but I don't think it was a deciding factor. We just moved weirdly around the map, especially in games 2 and 3. We have to go home, learn from those defeats, and improve. You can cry about losses if you want, but the best thing is to learn from them. We will come back stronger.
Who do you see as the biggest opponent currently: Fnatic or KC? Is the “classico” still G2 vs. Fnatic, or has it shifted to G2 vs. KC?
BrokenBlade: The classico is still Fnatic, simply because Karmine Corp hasn't been in the league long enough, but I do think that KC is our biggest rival, especially since they've beaten us. If Fnatic had beaten us in Winter, it'd be a different story. Neither of them are to be underestimated as they have really good players and staff. We want to reclaim our throne, and we'll do everything to get it back.
Credit: Christophe Lemaître/Riot Games
You faced off against Kim "Canna" Chang-dong, who's currently regarded as one of the best toplaners in the league. How do you think you compare to him?
BrokenBlade: I don't like to compare myself to others. I just try to learn as much as I can from playing against these kinds of players. Still, he is easily one of the best toplaners in the league. He's always very solid, and his biggest strength is his ability to blind pick and do well in any given match-ups. He always creates pressure in game and pushes you the most out of any toplaners in the LEC right now. I always love playing against him, especially in a best-of-three fearless setting. I hope to face him in the later stages of playoffs.
Today, you picked Shen and Warwick, two champions we haven't seen you pick in quite some time now. Was there a specific reason why you went for Shen in particular? Do you think that the champion could have worked in a different scenario?
BrokenBlade: Shen was more of a spontaneous pick in the draft, I thought it would have been good. I managed to get a kill in the early game, which should have led to a much bigger lead, in my opinion. Sadly, it didn't work out—that’s what happens sometimes when you go out of the norm. Gwen obviously outscales the tank, so it was always going to be hard in late game. Next time I’ll probably have something else prepared.
Prior to your match against KC, you hadn't picked a lot of unconventional champions, instead opting for a simpler and safer play style lately. What was the reason for that?
BrokenBlade: I'll always go for weird champions if they are good. There's also nothing wrong with going for more meta picks, but I believe I'm the type of player who can always pull off those non-meta picks. For me, what's important is winning. I don't care if I have to play a boring champion, as long as we are the ones on top. Dylan is a coach that accepts and welcomes creativity as long as it's responsible and good.
As mentioned, the crowd in the arena has been a big topic of discussion. How did you feel playing in Évry over the weekend?
BrokenBlade: I didn't feel much pressure against SK. Against KC, at times, you couldn't hear much especially during big fights, so it was hard to really hear one each other, but it was nowhere near as bad as in Madrid. I welcome the pressure. It brings a lot of motivation. Playing in someone else's arena means that fans want you to lose, so it brings you motivation to silence them. The louder they are, the more I want to win. That's just how it works for me. It's really nice to have such passionate fan bases.
I want to give a special shoutout to all the G2 fans who traveled to support us—it truly means the world to me. I know it wasn't the easiest especially with how prominent the home crowd was, but we know that you guys are here. We've seen and heard the G2 Samouraïs corner.
Between Madrid and Évry, which event was the best for you?
BrokenBlade: Spain is a beautiful country with great food, but France is where I've won the most. I have to say Évry.
Given G2’s recent unprecedented losing streak, how has your relationship been with the coaching staff? How have Dylan, Rodrigo, Isma, and others worked with the team internally to overcome this slump and move forward?
BrokenBlade: When things aren't going well, you have to start back from zero. We sat down and came to the conclusion that we needed a new plan and foundation. The coaching staff brought a few ideas to the table, and then we talked them out. We had a very, very big talk—especially the players—with Memento (Jonas Elmarghichi), who's very focused on improving our macro and micro, how we should be playing as a team. I feel like we had a very, very big breakthrough with that talk.
We've been playing this game for so long and winning so much, so it's almost funny to be in a slump relating to your playstyle. It's beautiful to connect as five. I believe we found the way we want to play in the future and how we'll start winning more games. Our matches in Évry were a great test as we've been losing a lot on bigger stages. It's best not to overthink the losses in Madrid and keep moving forward.
Hans Sama told us he felt like the squad was behaving more like solo queue players rather than as a team lately. Do you feel like the team is improving now?
BrokenBlade: I definitely agree with Hans. We were just very disconnected; we didn't play with the same vision. I think we are back from this slump. We still have a lot to think about, such as how and when we play together, but we've definitely started to look more for plays together, which is very, very nice.
You said G2 is back—how back is G2 exactly? Considering the struggles this split, where do you think the team currently stands?
BrokenBlade: Obviously, in our eyes, we are always playing to claim the title, you know? There's no split where G2 did not aim to claim first place. There are a lot of good teams right now. KOI, Fnatic, and KC are very good, but I think we are too. I want to contest them; this is what I meant when I said that we were back. It'll start officially in playoffs, we have some big challenges ahead of us.
Are we past calling G2 favorites to win the league at this point or do you still believe that the team should be seen as such due to its history? Could G2 be seen as underdogs heading into playoffs?
BrokenBlade: I don't think too much about this kind of stuff. People will have their own opinions, but at the end of the day, what matters is winning and making it there. If we win, people will just say we were favorites all along, despite our huge slump. If we don't, they'll just say the contrary, you know? We just focus ourselves on playing the best League of Legends possible.
Caps just recently re-signed with G2, which many see as a sign of long-term commitment to this roster. You’re also signed through the end of 2026. What do you think this roster can achieve in the long run, especially now that Caps has committed? Do you feel that it helps you personally get closer to those goals?
BrokenBlade: I'm obviously glad that he re-signed, simply because it means I'll get to play with him some more. I do believe this is more of a long-term project, simply because we didn't show great performances in Winter. We always go in wanting to win everything, but I also believe we've already come really far. For us, it's about how much we learn. Right now, it’s hard for me to say what will happen—it’s always difficult to predict the future. But we want to reach our goals as fast as possible. We still want to win Worlds—that’s always going to be our goal. If that wasn't our goal, then we'd never achieve it.
Can you imagine a world where G2 doesn’t have Caps? Or is that just not possible?
BrokenBlade: I mean, you can't, you know? He's been there for too long. He's the same as Faker (Lee Sang-hyeok) with T1 at this point.
Credit: Christophe Lemaître/Riot Games
You'll be facing Fnatic in your first playoffs match. What are your thoughts ahead of this match?
BrokenBlade: Facing Fnatic is definitely really cool. It feels like we always end up facing one another in playoffs. Usually, it's later in the bracket, but it was bound to happen at some point. I'm excited for it, and I embrace it. I'm sure they've prepared quite a lot; they have their own way of playing the game. As for other teams, I don't really have anyone that scares me. There are a lot of strong teams that we can rival against, and that just makes playoffs more fun. That's the beauty of this sport. I'm very motivated to beat Fnatic, especially after losing to Karmine Corp."
Header Photo Credit: Maxime.P/Riot Games
