After enduring a three-match losing streak,
G2 Esports are finally regaining their form as they set their sights on the
League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC)'s upcoming road trip to
Évry-Courcouronnes. With two crucial matches against Karmine Corp and SK Gaming ahead, the team will have little time to breathe as they still need to secure a playoffs spot — even if the odds currently seem in their favor. In an exclusive interview, AD Carry
Steven "Hans Sama" Liv reflects on the team's recent struggles, how things have changed since the Winter Split, and the upcoming clash with Karmine Corp.
You just broke a three-match losing streak by beating Vitality. Can you walk me through what happened over the last two weeks, with the losses to BDS and then to GX and FNC in Madrid?
Steven "Hans Sama" Liv: [Laughs] Well, the last few weeks were very, very far from the results we were expecting—we didn't expect to perform this badly. All of us were disappointed to lose those three series in a row. It's quite far from our usual comfort zone, because this kind of lose streak rarely happens to us. We've learned a lot, especially from our two series in Madrid.
Coming into today, I thought that our match was going to be really rough. Our team's form hasn't been that great, to be honest. We've been struggling quite a bit, and it was rather obvious to anyone watching us play. Thankfully, today was different than the past few weeks, and I'm very happy that we played much more as a team and made less blunders. We're going to have to keep this up for Évry. Next week's going to be spicy.
Credit: Michal Konkol/Riot Games
What would you say was the main issue which led to your defeats in the last few weeks?
Hans Sama: We were playing those series as if they were solo queue matches. I do think we just did not show good League of Legends, and it was quite obvious to see. We weren’t really playing like a team, and today we were much better at looking out for each other—paying attention to what others were doing and what we had to do as a team. That was much different from before, where we were just five players doing our own thing, like it was solo queue. This week was quite rough practice-wise, but us talking more and figuring out those issues will probably help us in the long run. We put more thought into how we should play today. We showed some good League of Legends this time, and we can pick up things from there and improve again, because it’s been very bad in the past few weeks.
Has the team been worried about making playoffs at any point in the last few weeks?
Hans Sama: We definitely talked about how it’s important to focus on making playoffs [chuckles]. We knew we had to win against these teams—today’s match was very important and we all knew it. So yeah, we all want to make playoffs, which is weird to say considering our ambitions. For sure, it would be unusual if we missed it. It’d feel very weird. Everyone knew today was important, and everyone put in extra effort to make sure it could be a good day. I’m very happy that everyone came in with the mindset of being locked in and doing the extra step in preparation—like talking about draft or, in practice, making sure we knew what we were going to do against them today. It was very clear—at least for me—and I’m pretty sure it was clear for most of the players too.
How do you feel about G2’s current form in Spring compared to Winter? One could easily just look at standings and think that the old G2 was better, but do you feel like Spring G2 has improved from Winter?
Hans Sama: It's a bit hard to say. We were definitely pretty good in Winter. I do think we've been underperforming a lot these past few weeks, and we've been talking a lot about new things—so in that sense, we’re learning. I'd say that we are better than our old form in some new aspects, but we were probably sharper individually back then. Team play is very important though, I have high hopes that after this match against Vitality we'll continue to show very good team play and macro, put into practice what we've been discussing internally.
If we keep playing like this, I believe we'll be much stronger than we were in Winter. I hope so—I think so—because we’re talking about things we didn’t even mention back then. Those things will make us way better in the long run. Staying ahead of the meta is also key, and although I think we were quite creative earlier last split, which helped us win a lot of playoffs games, it was also what was lacking in the finals and where we crumbled. When we stop innovating and making new plans, we become a bit predictable. As long as we keep those things in mind, we can make it all the way this split around.
Next week you'll be playing in Évry-Courcouronnes, near Paris—a rematch of the Winter Finals against Karmine Corp, and also a match against SK. Are you excited to play there, and what are your thoughts on facing these teams?
Hans Sama: It’ll be very exciting. I really love playing with the French crowds. It's going to be a big challenge to show the same good gameplay we had today—but on a bigger stage, with a lot of noise. I remember in Madrid we struggled a lot to hear what was happening in the game. For example, I remember we played against Sion one game and some of us didn’t even hear him ult, and then we got aced. So yeah, getting used to playing on stage again is going to be really important, and such a good experience for us.
Beyond just winning those matches, we need to improve a lot when it comes to performing on stage. But it’s gonna go well—we have a plan, and we just need to execute it. Especially against KC, it's going to be really exciting. I’m personally always hyped to play them. They’re a very individually proactive team. It's something which is quite obvious to see in the way they play. It's going to be fun.
One exciting part of the matchup is that you’ll be facing Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert and Raphaël "Targamas" Crabbé. How do you feel about going up against them?
Hans Sama: We’ve played against each other a lot already—both in competition and in practice—and yeah, it’s always an exciting matchup, to be honest. Caliste can be very aggressive, and I’m all in for that. I’m really confident that Labrov (Labros Papoutsakis) and I can do well. I just need to make sure I’m locked in for that day. It's gonna be fun to play against him. He’s a good player—a very good player. Playing against Caliste is always nice because he brings a different vibe as an AD Carry. We have a few plans. I’m gonna do my best to beat them. Whenever we face KC, I always come in thinking: I want to beat them in botlane.
Is there anything you would like to say to close the interview?
Hans Sama: Thank you for the support you’ve given us. We’re going to keep getting stronger with the way we play together. We just have to stop playing like it’s solo queue—like five solo queue players. Thanks again for the support, and see you in Évry!
Header Photo Credit: Hara Amorós/Riot Games
