SkewMond on G2’s level: “If you’re a good team, you’re going to get through anyway”

It’s a BO1 and there are more to come, but that one still stings. How are you feeling?

Honestly, it’s just annoying. I don’t have any other word to describe the situation. It’s a shame that we throw games like that. On the other hand, I’m not that surprised, because in general, after a long break like that without playing competitive games, you’re not necessarily the sharpest. Obviously we still showed some good things. I also think they choked quite a bit on the other side, so we got some advantages that we shouldn’t necessarily have had. Still, I hope things go better in the future.

What was the problem today? My impression was that you struggled to snowball your lead, they chipped away at it bit by bit, and then they were the ones winning the fights around objectives.

I think it was a bad game plan in terms of macro, in terms of how we wanted to play on this or that lane. They played a very simple, slow game with a Ziggs, and they played the side lanes really well, since their side lanes are stronger than ours. They just waited to scale properly and find a good opportunity to fight. It’s a shame, because we were really quite far ahead, so we clearly should have sped the game up, but we didn’t really manage to save the game, so in the end they played better than us.

Losing games like that isn’t characteristic of you. All split you’ve been the best teamfighting team, often falling behind early and then coming back. Do you feel less confident in your mid-game now?

Not at all. I honestly just think we weren’t 200% focused. I think the fact that we actually had a bit of a lead in that game maybe gave us the impression that we’re going to win anyway, so we don’t need to do anything extraordinary to win. We couldn’t accelerate the game the way we should have, even though we clearly had all the tools, we were way ahead to do it. We got chipped away bit by bit in the side lanes and we just lost.

Europe went 2-0 against the LPL elsewhere. You’re playing LCK teams, so it’s different, and from what I’ve heard the LPL isn’t doing very well in general, even in scrims. Is there a bit of disappointment in seeing the other two win when you didn’t?

Honestly, yes and no. To be completely honest, I obviously wish all the teams good luck, MKOI and KC in the tournament. But I put myself ahead of the other teams first and foremost, and I’m very glad they won. I hope they can go as far as possible, but for me the most important thing is how I perform as a team and individually.

Do you see yourself as supporting Europe? Because some players are in more of a rivalry mindset — they don’t want it to be the others, they want it to be them.

No, no. If they play well and they beat China’s first and second seeds, who are very good teams, they fully deserve to win it. Obviously, once again, it’s a BO1. But our BO1 today, we clearly had it in our hands and we threw it, so we’re going to have to pay the consequences, no matter who we face. We’ll see how the tournament unfolds as we go.

How do you see this Swiss format in general? You only get three games of safety net, and once you’ve lost two you can’t lose another. Is today alarming, or were you not that worried because a BO1 is a bit of a flip?

Honestly, a bit of both. Personally, I find that the format — it’s not going to change, but it’s a little questionable. It’s very punitive in the sense that no matter how you win, as long as you win, you move forward and the other team is in a bad position. That said, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to be eliminated. Obviously we still have our chances to climb back through the Swiss, and we’re going to give everything to make sure we climb back.

Would you say you prefer the MSI format? A lot of people say the best team wins there, because it’s all BO5s with a lower bracket.

Yeah, most certainly. Honestly, there’s no doubt about it. There really are a lot of teams that can go very far in BO1. Obviously there will be exceptions, and they’ll potentially even lose their BO3s afterwards. I remember DAMWON in 2024 beating two teams — an NA team and a European team, 2-0 — and then losing three BO3s in a row, because in the end they face the best teams. But there are still always teams that get through here and there. Even us, our run last year: when you look at our opponents, let’s not kid ourselves, apart from BLG obviously, we beat FlyQuest, BLG and MKOI. So, two non-Asian teams. You can make the argument that we got pretty lucky with the draw. There will always be a bit of luck, that’s certain, but it’s the same thing every year. If you’re a good team, you’re going to get through anyway, so it’s up to us to prove it.

How do you explain the fact that you’re always slowstarters? It’s recurring — in spring, in summer, you have complicated regular seasons before exploding in the playoffs. Are you just more comfortable in BO5?

In BO5, yeah of course. I think just when you get into your game, you know you’re going to play at least three games, so you have the time to adapt, and so on. That’s the first thing. I don’t even think it’s a question of mindset. I think we’re all ultra motivated, we know that… it’s Worlds. Like I said before, despite the fact that they’re BO1s, you have to win them, everyone goes through that. There isn’t a single team that dodges them. Gen.G are going to have to win those BO1s to get to the quarterfinals. I wouldn’t really know how to explain it, but I think we’re clearly stronger in BO5, that’s certain. But it’s up to us to correct course and make sure we have good preparation for the BO1s.

What did you learn from last year’s Worlds that you can use at this one? Brokenblade said that at his first Worlds, seeing the names on the other side made things harder for him. Do you think you’re past that stage?

Yeah, no matter who we play, we’re just playing characters in a video game, and it’s up to us to click well. The guys on the other side are all human. I got the confirmation of that thanks to the fact that we just won against quite a few Asian teams, and I can confirm that. If you play well and you’re well prepared, you can beat anyone. Personally, I don’t have that stress that BB described.

And what I learned is that everyone is beatable, and it’s just a question of how badly you want to win. And all those teams, the LPL for example, who all lost — I hope for them that they come back with a revenge mindset and that they’re really strong in the next matches, because if you have a defeatist mindset from the first loss, it’s going to be complicated for you for the rest of the tournament.

And you, how badly do you want to win?

I want to win very badly. I’m very frustrated that we lost today. Yes, I really want to win, so I’m really going to make sure to review everything we could have done better, individually and collectively.

Do you have a message for the French fans?

Thanks to all the fans who follow us, whatever the time. I don’t know, I think it’s going to be during the night. Thanks to everyone who supports us, wherever you are in the world. I hope we can climb back up during this Swiss Stage and make you proud. And on our side, we’re going to work very hard to make you proud.