After slaying
and
to open the
LEC 2026 Summer Split,
now turn their attention to their rivals at
. While the Samurais remain the reigning champions of the league, the Blue Wall has not fallen behind and has kept toe-to-toe with them, hoping to finally dethrone the kings of Europe.
In an exclusive interview, support player
sat down with
Sheep Esports to discuss the upcoming matchup, his development as a player, and the arrival of
Luka "Perkz" Perković as head coach,
replacing the storied G2 head coach Dylan Falco.
How does it feel to start the split 2-0, especially after such a busy opening schedule and with another big match against Karmine Corp coming up?
Lampros "Labrov" Papoutsakis: “It feels nice, especially since our series against MKOI was quite hard and intense. It gave us a lot of confidence that, even if we don't play our best, we can always win.
We're still learning and there's a completely new meta that we don't have all the answers to yet. We're still figuring things out. We also have a new coaching staff and new systems in G2, so winning those matches removed a lot of stress off our shoulders. I'm just looking forward to the rest of the split.
What expectations did you have going into this road trip? Has the team's performance exceeded them?
Labrov: To be honest, I went in with no expectations. We should be coming in with a strong form, since we had a good run at MSI, but also, G2 has often started splits slowly. There’s that new meta and, I didn’t want to give myself too high expectations in case we started 0-1 or something.
But the fact that we won our first two matches, it definitely helps take off some of the stress we could have had. I’m excited to play against KC tomorrow and see how we match up because they're also in good form right now.
How do you view tomorrow's match against Karmine Corp? Do you see G2 as the favorites, or is it more of a 50-50 matchup?
Labrov: I'm definitely confident we are the better team, right? But I think it will be a close match for sure, and either team can take it. It's all about how it's going to be on the day—our preparation and how we play.
Do you think the Esports World Cup results accurately reflected the strength of the European teams, or were there circumstances that made those results misleading?
Labrov: I think for us, it's hard to say. EWC is a tournament where everything happens really quickly. We were literally playing best-of-ones. We played yesterday against MKOI and got completely stomped game 1—the game was unplayable. We had a similar game against Dplus KIA, you know.
So I think EWC is a tournament that's a lot about momentum, which we didn't seem to have as G2. But I think KC played really well—they beat T1 and AG.AL. I think EU teams can reach the top internationally. It's just about being consistent and building good habits.
After traveling so much recently, do you ever find yourself missing Berlin, or are you still enjoying being on the road?
Labrov: [Laughs] Yeah, I like Berlin a lot. It's chill, it's nice. Playing on stage and stuff is fun, but traveling this much can get a bit tiring. But yeah, I'm enjoying it, so it's fine.
You’ve been playing for quite some years now. How do you feel you have developed as a person and player, especially in terms of confidence and personality?
Labrov: I feel way more different than when I used to be. When I joined, I was very nervous and stressed when playing on stage, and now I rarely feel like that. Besides that, with my personality, I also feel like I'm a bit more of an adult now, you know? And I want to thank my staff and players. It's been a pleasure working with them, and they helped me grow a lot as a player and as a person.
Do you think balancing your personal life and mental health helped you become a better player?
Labrov: Definitely, yeah. I think life in League is a lot about balance, you know? And I think if you manage to have a good, healthy lifestyle outside of the game, it will really help you perform well and improve as a team and as an individual.
How has the transition to Perkz as head coach been, and how do you feel he has been fitting into the team so far?
Labrov: We haven't had much time working with Perkz much as a head coach yet. We had two officials so far, and before that, we literally only had two scrim days with him. So I haven't been able to form a full opinion on him yet.
It's definitely different compared to Dylan. Also, when we're on stage, he likes to be a little bit in troll mode and poke some fun into our comms—his personality is different. But I'm definitely enjoying it so far. I'm just looking forward to working more with him. I think we can become a very good team.
Was Perkz becoming head coach a surprise to you, especially given how quickly the decision happened after MSI?
Labrov: I definitely didn't see it coming. You know, I remember after
we lost 0-3 to
and we kind of got stomped, we went back to the hotel, had the end-of-day meeting, which you always have, and then 30 minutes later Romain announced this decision to us. So it was definitely a bit of a
"shocked Pikachu face." But yeah, I think stuff like this can happen in life. So it's really important to embrace the moments that you have and look to enjoy them because the future can be really unpredictable.
What are your expectations and goals for the Summer Split, and later, Worlds after such a busy year of international competition?
Labrov: You know, my ultimate goal is to win Worlds. I definitely believe we are capable of doing it. Obviously, it's not easy, but I like keeping this goal in mind. Last year when I joined G2, I didn't feel like this was possible, but now, one year later, I definitely feel we can do it.
And for now, I just want to focus a lot on my level and our team's level. We just need to focus on the LEC. Tomorrow we have KC, so we can't think too far. We just want to take it step by step and keep becoming stronger.
Do you think it's important to send a message this split and show that G2 can remain the best team in Europe, even on days where you're not playing at 100%?
Labrov: It would definitely help, right? Winning the Summer Split, that's our first goal. I want to win Summer again, and I think if we are super dominant, it will give us a lot of momentum and confidence for Worlds. So yeah, let's start with that.
How have you been enjoying your time in Paris, especially since you just chained two events there?
Labrov: Well, I haven't been outside much. The crowds though... well, in EWC there wasn't too much of a crowd. For the LEC roadtrip, it’s been entirely different. The crowd is just huge, you know?
And I mean, we didn't play against KC yet, so the crowd has been supporting us. I'm looking forward to seeing how much booing we're going to receive tomorrow, so it's going to be funny.
Besides that, I think the Paris food is really nice, you know? So respect to the Paris chefs, you guys know how to cook.”
