GL Thayger: "I hope they are prepared because I think we are going to stomp them"

Just days before the EMEA Masters final, Galions are eagerly awaiting their opponent, . After defeating their LFL rivals for the first time this year in the upper bracket final, the team secured a historic milestone by reaching the EMEA Masters grand final for the first time in its history, while also qualifying for the EWC EMEA Qualifier.

As the team prepares to face LEC organizations in the upcoming event, jungler will once again challenge teams from the European league, only a few months after making a brief appearance there himself. Ahead of the EMEA Masters final, the Spanish player spoke with Sheep Esports about the upcoming events awaiting his team.

Francisco "Thayger" Mazo: “It's gonna be a really interesting match up, because they beat us a couple of times and we also beat them already, so I'm pretty confident going to the match for sure. We have been playing really well lately. Even though we lost some matches in the LFL, it's nothing that I worry about, to be honest. It was just some bad days, but I know we'll play focused as a team. I think we will do really well, so I am pretty confident.

Thayger: Yeah, it's been like a couple of weeks now, but for sure we have the momentum on them because we won the last matches. I wouldn't like to be overconfident just because we won the last matches. I think they're a good team, so I wouldn't focus too much on that.

Thayger: No, to be honest, I think that there was only one top tier with us, Solary, and Misa. I think that the other teams are just below, and I didn't expect them to give us any trouble. I also didn't expect a lot of matches to be like that, I mean, it was on us, but at the end it was like 3-1. It could have easily gone to game 5.

Thayger: I try to communicate more about my timers, when I can play, and when I'm strong in the game. I've improved even more by just being adaptive, and just playing for myself a lot, and overall being in a really good spot in the game. And then I think communicating around that and playing around the jungler is something I've improved.

Thayger: Not really. As I said before, I think we were not too focused, let's say. I don't think we were like playing at our 100 % level, which is for sure something not good, but I don't think that's ever gonna happen in a best-of-five or in the final of EMEA. We're going to be focused no matter what. So yeah, I really don't care about losing those three matches. I'm disappointed for sure, but it is what it is. We were also trying some stuff on the comps, and I think we didn't play well individually, but yeah, I don't really care much.

Thayger: Yeah, for sure, we have been scriming them, and I think we can for sure beat them. You never know because officials are different from scrims, but I think we've been doing well so far, so I am pretty confident going into the EWC Qualifier.

Thayger: I think we would make the playoffs in LEC right now. and are the best for sure. And then we would go into , , and .

Thayger: It's hard to say because it's not been that much time since I left LEC, and I didn't really have enough seasons where I can see if that matters, like the fact that they have a bad image of me after my last LEC split. I guess we will see in the next offseason if that's the case. But I for sure think it affected me, like my image, you know, that split for sure. I'm pretty sure the teams think I'm worse than what I am just because of that split.

Thayger: Yeah, for sure. People judge a player too fast, but you need to judge the context. For example, is an insane player. But look at the teams he's been playing for. He has played for BDSA, which was the best team in the ERL. Of course, he was playing insane, I'm not saying he didn't. And he has been playing for G2, but I would like to see if you put him on SK or any bottom tier. I'm sure many people would criticize him. You need to see the bigger picture. You cannot just criticize one player just because of one split this is not fair.

Thayger: Yeah, for sure. I think I will do better than last time I was in LEC. I also had more time to fix my mistakes and play better as a team than when I was in LEC. So I'm for sure more confident and I think I'm also a better player.

Thayger: Yeah for sure I'm gonna think twice before joining a team that maybe I don't see myself winning. I think it's really important to go to a team thinking that I can actually compete. When I went to NAVI, I didn't really have much time to think about it. I made a choice, which ended up not being the best. But next time I will for sure give it a second thought.

Thayger: Yeah, for sure. It's really fun to play against them. I think that they also have a similar playstyle as us. And yeah, we've played against them sometimes in scrims and it's really fun to play against them. They're pretty good every time I play against them and It's always fun to play against . Yeah, it's gonna be a really interesting match, I'm sure.

Thayger: I hope they are prepared because we know how they play and we know each other now. I just hope they are prepared because I think we are going to stomp them.”