League of Legends
G2 Esports has been one of, if not the most interesting, organizations to enter the League of Legends scene because ever since they joined LEC (EULCS back then) in 2016, they’ve always been in headlines, sometimes with their drama, sometimes with their success.
G2’s Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle, the returning support, expects a lot from this iteration of the team; this includes going further than the 2019 roster who won MSI and went to Worlds finals. In the wake of all that has changed for the team, we will see how far this roster can go with the aim of stepping out of 2019’s shadow.
We spoke with Mikyx about winning against his former jungler, the fluctuating bot meta, reuniting with his former bot laner, upcoming Bo3 and Bo5 games, and more.
Aykut Sapaz, BLIX.GG: Thank you, hello, and welcome, Mikyx. Congratulations on the very fast win. I want to start with the question that’s on everyone’s mind: How was it destroying Jankos in the fastest game of LEC so far?
Mikyx: It was quite satisfying. I actually felt a bit bad for him. They already had enough losses, so it would’ve been more hype to do it against like Vitality or someone. So I felt a bit bad for Jankos, but also, at the same time, it felt pretty good, you know, because it’s Jankos. So, yeah.
BLIX: He talked on stream about camping you or Caps, and now… This was a really good matchup. And besides being very fast, you guys actually took everything on the map that was available at the time. What are your thoughts on the game?
Mikyx: Yeah, the game was pretty straightforward. I mean, we got a really good trade bot, and then they were actually diveable. Actually, I think we killed them before Elise got there, and then we dove Elise and the Nami.
So I think, at that point, the game was kind of over. And then, yeah, when we got to level 6 it’s really hard for their bot lane to play. And even if they get Heralds, there’s not much they can do with it because I think if they want to win this game, it needs to be their Viktor or Lucian ahead but if the Draven is more ahead then they just kind of played.
We were like, we just won a bot lane fight and we’re really far ahead and the second Herald was spawning. And we just so happened to discuss ending the games before 20 minutes with Bel’Veth and the second Herald and then I think I said in comms “Oh, I don’t wanna be that guy but I think the second Herald is spawning and we have a Bel’Veth.” So, they’re like “Oh, okay, let’s end the game with second Herald.”
And so, we let them get our bot tier 1 so the more the minions stack, so Bel’Veth gets her passive. And then we just pushed on both, yeah. So, we already prepared all of it, like, two or three minutes in advance so that was pretty nice.
BLIX: Wow, you took the brutal way. You even planned- that is- wow! I don’t want to say cruel, but that is definitely cold. I respect that so much. But yeah, with like the Hans sama Draven and the bot dive, the game was over after level 3, possibly. How is playing with him again? How is the reunion?
Mikyx: It’s really nice; he’s even better than I remember him. He talks way more, so it’s also very easy for me to play the game. Like, he’s like the puppet master, and I’m just a puppet. He micromanages me, so that’s really nice. He gives me a lot of good ideas for what I should do. Like, for example, even just stopping bases, like if you remember the Fnatic game where I just went to ignite the Zeri. That was like Hans saying basically, “Go, try to stop their base,” or whatever.
And I was like, “Well, I guess I have ignite up so I’ll just ignite him to stop the base.” And he’s very vocal about what he needs and what he wants to do, especially around bot lane. So, it feels really nice to play. I think we’re also just really good at 2v2. So, yeah, all in all, very nice.
Image by Michal Konkol/Riot GamesBLIX: Yeah, seeing the synergy is very fun to watch. I wanted to ask; I was gonna get to that, but what are the comms like in the current G2 roster? Is it chaotic? Is it, like, streamlined? How does it work?
Mikyx: I guess you could say it’s a little bit chaotic, maybe. I mean, I feel like we have a good mix of everyone talking, and everyone is good at listening as well. I think that’s a very important part of teams. I think other people in many teams don’t actually listen; they want to talk. But in this team, I think we actually listen. So, if someone is talking, other people tend to be quiet and listen. And I think in the early game if we have strong bot lane champs or play on bot lane, we have Hans talking a lot.
If you’re playing on the top lane, it’d be BB talking a lot. Otherwise, I guess if Caps can do something with his champion, then we play like- he talks a lot. It just depends on the tools we have in the draft, I guess, for who talks.
BLIX: So, it’s generally, like, whoever’s highlighted that game talks.
Mikyx: Yeah, I mean, it usually depends on the draft, but whoever has the tools to do something, then he gives options of what we can do with it. I think that’s how it should be as well.
The ADC support meta
BLIX: On the draft topic, we are seeing a very interesting bot meta with all AD carries on the table right now. Especially in support of LCK right now. That is very weird. Like, Ashe? Okay, I understand- Like Kalista and Caitlyn… Do you think those will come here? What are your thoughts on those types of bot lanes?
Mikyx: I don’t think they will come here. I think Keria is kind of playing for fun and he picks whatever he wants and just wins. So, yeah… I think Ashe, you know, makes sense- has utility, pushes lane and all that. I think Kalista makes some sense. I think Caitlyn that’s a bit- that’s pushing it a bit too far. Yeah, I’ve also tried some picks in solo queue and, yeah…
BLIX: Did it work?
Mikyx: Depends. I mean, it depends on the game, right? But I don’t think we will see these picks very often because if they don’t- I don’t know. I think they’re just useless, yeah. That’s kind of it.
BLIX: I think we’ll see them; there is a higher chance of us seeing them at the Bo3s and Bo5s since they’re longer, room for more surprises. Are you excited about the LEC Bo3s and Bo5s this time around?
Mikyx: Yeah, I’m very excited about them because, well, I don’t like Bo1s. Because I feel like, Bo1’s, you can lose whenever. But in Bo3’s, you can actually adapt and always come back. Or on Bo5’s as well, right? But, like even, for example, our loss [against SK], you know, if it was a Bo3, at least we would have a chance. That game was lost quite early, or at least they had a really good game plan; they executed it well. And then we just lost, right? And then, I mean, it was like, “okay, well I guess we lose without any other chance of coming back.” But we can adapt in a Bo3 or Bo5, and I like that a lot. So, I’m looking forward to it, yeah.
BLIX: If anyone knows that there is always a chance to come back, it’s G2. We’ve seen it all time, and we’ll have a chance to see the rematch of SK G2 in the groups because they’re also quite highly ranked. A lot of teams are doing very great; who do you think will be the top three in the best of ones?
Mikyx: I guess Vitality, us, and I mean, now that SK has kind of picked it up, maybe them. But I’m not actually 100% if they’re gonna be- I think KOI is probably gonna make a little comeback and win most of their games. But I’m not actually sure, yeah. Yeah, I could say SK. Yeah, I will say SK, sure.
Read More LEC Interviews: VIT Neon: "If this happens then I’m Einstein, so let’s say Fnatic [will be eliminated]."
Out with the old
BLIX: We’re almost done with the season, like, we’re halfway done, we’re halfway there. Only 4 matches left.
Mikyx: Yeah.
BLIX: Does it feel fast for pro players on adaptability? How does the adaptability to the meta feel?
Mikyx: Yeah. I mean, it feels very fast-paced, like the three weeks, especially the Bo1s, basically. Because you also only have three days of practice and scrims in between the weeks. And a lot of times, you don’t actually have enough time to practice something completely different, I feel like. A lot of teams will stick to the same things on the patch, which could be very rough for some teams that can’t adapt fast enough.
I think a lot of teams, for example, don’t really play Heimerdinger which is quite strong. And I don’t think they will pick it up in the next week either, so… Yeah, it’s pretty fast, but I like it. I think it should be like this, so every game actually matters. I guess maybe the patch is a bit awkward, but, uh… It actually makes sense, so- I like it.
BLIX: We’ll see what people get in the Bo3s and Bo5s. Until we get there, do you have any messages for the fans, for the excited G2 fans out there?
Mikyx: Well, thank you for supporting us. So far, I think we’re doing pretty well, and I hope you can; I mean, you should expect a lot from this year’s G2. Because I’m expecting a lot from this year, I think this will be the best one so far- in my career, at least. So, I’m looking forward to it and so should you.
