With two back to back 2-1 weeks, G2 Esports is confidently advancing through the 2024 LoL EMEA Championship (LEC), in hopes of locking its playoffs spot soon. Last week, Mikyx sat down with Armand in this exclusive interview to discuss the team's ambitions and talk about the ongoing meta.
G2 Esports, competing in the 2024 LEC Winter Split
| You mentioned that you believed G2 has already improved compared to the team's Worlds 2023 form. What do you think is the main aspect that you've been working on?
Mikyx: "We've improved our mid-game a lot. In general, we're much better at playing around waves and controlling them. We now know where to be on the map at the right time and understand our lane assignments much better than before. We still have a lot of work to do, but at least I feel like we are much more aware and disciplined when it comes to the mid-game because of past mistakes we did. During Worlds, we just kind of played through instincts and did some mistakes very randomly whereas now, we play the game in a much more conscious manner where we don't take unnecessary fights and simply play smarter."
| This week you've picked Zyra and Sona, any more off-meta picks coming up? We all saw your Twisted Fate in Champions Queue!
Mikyx: "Well... my Twisted Fate is really trying to make an appearance, but my team is not sold on it yet. They didn't even let me try it..."
| You could flex it with Caps in the mid lane!
Mikyx: "Yeah, maybe in the future I hope! The rest of the team is not too hyped about that one. There's for sure a lot of random picks that I play. Maybe there's going to be some more stuff. I feel like there's a lot more options with the new support items to actually just pull out some random champions. Usually in the start when everything changes, the meta is not as defined, so you can just kind of get away with anything."
| G2's goal is always international play. Would you say that this aligns with your goals? Or are you looking at the LEC first?
Mikyx: "Honestly no, not really. I'm just looking forward to international competition again. I don't really mind if we win or lose in Europe, as long we perform on the international stage."
| We've seen a lot of complaints from bot laners on socials. Do you believe that AD Carry is a weak role?
Mikyx: "No, I think that every role are quite strong at the moment, AD Carries included. For example, Varus is really popping off recently; Vitality has shown they are really good at playing him."
"There's always a lot of ADC bans early on during drafts though, so maybe without the top six bot laners then the role does weaker I suppose. I still think that most champions in that role are pretty strong or at least playable, especially with the current state of support items."
| Some people have mentioned that the item rework has led to having too much damage in the game. Do you agree with this statement?
Mikyx: "I'm not sure honestly. There's probably a bit too much damage with all the stats they've pumped into the new items, especially mage items. At the same time, Riot also too away HP from a lot of items, which made everyone way squishier. I'm not particularly shocked by the state of the game personally though. Maybe it could be tuned down a bit. The support items do way too much damage though, those are a bit crazy."
"At least they're getting nerfed soon!..."
| Your team's mid-game seems to be its strong point, but it falters in other stages of the game. What do you think the team has to work on the most currently?
Mikyx: "Early-games are definitely the main thing we have to work on at the moment. They are being redeemed by our mid-games, where we usually are able to find advantages or get back in the game at least. As long as we manage to exit early-games while being even against our opponents, we should always be fine. We should avoid trying too much random stuff like we did today [against Vitality], it certainly wasn't the best idea in hindsight."
| Despite setbacks in recent matches, are you still confident that G2 is the best team in Europe?
Mikyx: "Yeah definitely. It's at least not possible for us to lose more than one game in a day [laughs]."
| What do you think of Solo Leveling (Anime)?
Mikyx: "We've watched the first three episodes already, they're pretty insane honestly. The show is worth it."
| Are you watching it as a team?
Mikyx: "Yes we are. Funnily enough, it's the only manwha I have ever read. I got to chapter 150-160 and I basically stopped when I heard that the anime was being produced. I'm more of an anime person so I'm happy to I can enjoy it with my team as well now. It's really good."
Mikyx and Hans Sama, ready to continue their rise in Week 3.
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.
Week 3 - G2 Esports LEC Schedule:
- Saturday 27th - GX vs G2
- Sunday 28th - FNC vs G2
- Monday 29th - SK vs G2
