With the
Mid-Season Invitational Main Event just days away, the champions and top teams from every region are set to take the stage. After reaching the
First Stand final with a run that exceeded many fans' expectations,
heads into the tournament with renewed confidence and a very different status.
Much like the team itself, jungler
has taken his game to another level, a rise reflected by the Finals MVP award he earned after G2's victory over
Karmine Corp in the
2026 LEC Spring Final. Ahead of the second international event of the season, the French jungler spoke with
Sheep Esports about the tournament and G2's ambitions.
This interview was conducted during Media Day ahead of the Play-In.
How have the past few weeks gone, and what mindset are you bringing into the tournament?
Rudy “SkewMond” Semaan: “The past few weeks have gone pretty well. We've had a lot of highly competitive scrims, which has been great for keeping us grounded and making sure we continue to learn as much as possible. In terms of our ambitions and mindset, we obviously want to win the whole tournament, but we also know it's going to be much tougher than First Stand. There are more teams, it's a longer event, and that gives everyone more time to adapt. Personally, I'm really looking forward to it; I think the level of competition is going to be incredibly high.
Since joining G2 last year, you've already played in several international tournaments. This time, you're coming in as runners-up from the last international event. Does that bring extra pressure, or does it give the team more confidence?
SkewMond: I don't think it really adds pressure. If anything, it's reassuring because we know we're capable of beating the best teams in the world; we've already done it and proved it. That said, we're also fully aware that this tournament will be very different. We'll have to reinvent ourselves, find the best answers to the meta, draft well, and adapt to how other teams want to play. If the meta shifts, certain draft archetypes naturally lead to different playstyles. In my opinion, it'll be night and day compared to First Stand. I expect games to be much faster-paced, with a lot more fighting, so it's going to feel like a completely different tournament.
As you mentioned, there are many more teams and potentially stronger competition than at First Stand. BLG and HLE are widely seen as the favorites. Which team do you currently consider the most complete?
SkewMond: I'd probably say those two. They're the biggest names and definitely the teams people fear the most. That said, you can't overlook T1 either if they make it through the Play-In Stage. Those three teams stand out the most to me. They have the most experienced rosters and the strongest track records over the years. They're going to be incredibly difficult to play against, especially because of how aggressively they approach the game, something a lot of teams still struggle to deal with. On top of that, they simply have world-class players across the board, so they're going to be very dangerous throughout the tournament.
Speaking of individual talent, this tournament features almost all of the world's best junglers. Who would you say has been the best since the start of the year?
SkewMond: If we're talking about the whole year so far, I'd say
(
Peng Lixun). If we're talking about current form, then I'd probably go with
(
Seo Jin-hyeok). But since his team didn't even qualify for the LCK Cup playoffs, it wouldn't be fair to call him the best jungler of the year. XUN has consistently delivered outstanding performances. They won First Stand, then went on to win the
LPL as well, so I think he naturally comes into the tournament with favorite status. Besides those two,
(
Mun Hyeon-jun) is obviously incredible, and
(
Gao Tianliang) has also been playing really well. But honestly, like you said, every jungler at this tournament is exceptionally strong, even Inspired. It's important not to underestimate anyone.
You could end up facing BLG again during the tournament, which would be your first meeting since the First Stand final. Looking back, what was missing back then, and why would things be different if you met again at MSI?
SkewMond: I think we had too many doubts during the draft phase. After losing a game, we weren't entirely sure which direction to take or how to adapt properly. Maintaining confidence throughout a series is incredibly important, and that's something we've worked on a lot during the Spring Split. Hopefully, it'll make a difference if we face them again. Against a team like BLG, the moment you start losing confidence, they'll simply run over you. That's something we've definitely tried to improve.
Is there a team that isn't receiving much attention but that you could see making a surprise run?
SkewMond: If we exclude ourselves, T1, BLG, and HLE, since people already rate us quite highly, I would probably say
or
. They're understandably flying under the radar given the level of the other teams, but they're more than capable of playing good
League of Legends. They'll have the chance to show what they can do against the world's best teams, and hopefully they'll surprise a few people.
Your opening opponent will be Top Esports, a team G2 has faced regularly in recent years. What are you expecting from them, especially after the roster changes they've made since beating G2 in last year's Worlds quarterfinals?
SkewMond: They're probably a little weaker than last year's roster, but they're still an extremely strong team. They're very good at playing around their own win conditions and snowballing games from there. They have excellent solo laners and strong laners in general. Tian is a very talented jungler who's extremely aggressive in the early game. Matching his tempo and responding to their plays is always a great challenge. I think it'll be a really good opening match for us and a solid way to kick off the tournament. Hopefully, we'll come out on top.
It feels like G2 has found the formula to perform consistently on the international stage, whereas that hasn't necessarily been the case for every LEC team. Do you think the other top LEC teams are currently capable of showing their full potential internationally?
SkewMond: Honestly, I don't think so. MKOI looked very inconsistent, and I have plenty of reasons to believe they wouldn't have achieved much at this tournament. Right now, I think G2 and Karmine Corp are the two strongest teams in the LEC and the ones most likely to make an impact internationally.
As for KC, it's unfortunate that only one team advances from the Play-In Stage. I definitely don't want to write them off because I think they can absolutely pull off an upset and beat T1. But nothing is guaranteed; they'll have to earn it because T1 are an exceptional team. At the end of the day, they're the three-time reigning world champions. Even if KC doesn’t make it through Play-Ins, they should keep their heads held high because they won't be losing to just any team. Aside from that, I don't think there are many other LEC teams that could realistically compete with the world's best at the moment.”
