G2 Labrov: "Coming back from Worlds, I thought the LEC would be easier [...] I learned my lesson"

After a rough start to the 2026 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Versus, G2 Esports finally got their first win of the season, convincingly defeating SK Gaming to end the opening week on a high note. In an exclusive interview with Sheep Esports, G2 support Labros “Labrov” Papoutsakis reflected on the team’s return to the LEC, lessons learned from the first week, and how he’s approaching his second year with the roster after a strong 2025 season.

Labros "Labrov" Papoutsakis: "Yeah, it feels great. Finally getting our first win of 2026, especially on BrokenBlade (Sergen Çelik)’s birthday as well [chuckles]. And yeah, it’s nice, you know, like bouncing back after the first two tough days. So I’m excited for the upcoming weeks.

Labrov: We started scrimming in December, and I think we had two weeks of scrims. Then we went off, and we came back on the 2nd of January, and we scrimmed for like ten days or something. Honestly, the scrims have been going well. I feel like we just need more time to play back on stage and feel more comfortable. It’s also BO1, and that makes a lot of the games very shaky so far. You can see it with pretty much every team in the LEC. I feel like nearly every team in the LEC could beat one another. We really didn’t show a great face this week, but I think we’re getting stronger and stronger game by game, and I think we’ll come back to our old form soon enough.

Labrov: Yeah, I mean, generally, playing in G2, you’re just expected to win and lift trophies. Otherwise, your split is considered a failure. I don’t think it’s necessarily about what Romain or people on social media say. Everyone here already has that mindset, and we do feel some pressure on our own. In my experience, at least, I don't focus on what people say online.

Labrov: To be honest, after a good year at Worlds, playing at the highest level against really strong teams and performing well—at least in scrims—I thought coming back to the LEC would be easier. But that was a very wrong mindset. You need to give 100% every single time. I think that was part of the reason this week didn’t go so well. For me, I thought it would be easier, and I ended up getting humbled twice. I’m not sure if the rest of the team had the same mindset, but for sure I’ll change my approach for the next weeks.

Labrov: I feel like, for example, on the first day of LEC, we didn’t really follow our usual match day routine. That made a big difference. After going 0-2 in the previous two days, I felt like today everyone gave 100% to make a good plan and see what we could do. For me, at least, I learned my lesson, and moving forward, I’ll give 100% every single day.

Labrov: It’s definitely a nice thing. In the long run, it can be very beneficial, especially once some time passes and the ladder stabilizes. Right now, even if you’re challenger, you don’t fully play in challenger lobbies since it’s early in the season, which is normal. I also just really enjoy playing duo queue with Hans.

Labrov: Well, it’s the start of the year, so it’s hard to judge the overall level. But so far, for example in the first week, seeing everyone beating everyone on stage has actually been really nice to watch. It shows that every team can win and that the level is strong. I think it’s good for the overall competition and environment. So it’s hard to say exactly, but I definitely think the LEC can be strong this year.

Labrov: Busio is a very good player, and it’s nice to play against him more. In Europe, he does some things that not many people do, and it’s fun playing against him a lot. I feel like it also makes the overall support player pool stronger for sure."