[EXCLUSIVE] "I think we just have the best players in every role" G2 Mikyx speaks on G2's dominance in the region, their international success, and his legacy

G2 Esports Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle sat down with Strafe Esports following their victory against Fnatic in the Playoffs Upper Bracket. He spoke on the team's dominance and success within the EMEA region, their challenges internationally last year, as well as his legacy as remaining 1st generation support.

[Interviewer] Congratulations on win today. I wanted to get started by just talking about the drafting for today’s series. What was the game plan heading into this series against Fnatic? Did you have a specific sort of draft in mind that you guys wanted to try out?

I mean, it was kind of drafted like for strong three vs threes on both sides. So, we played Volibear two games I guess, and we also thought they were going to have higher priority on it because we also had the stuff prepared against it. But it looked like we didn’t have to pull it out because I think Volibear was banned against Fnatic quite often.

So yeah, I was a bit surprised with the first pick Rumble in Game 1. I believe we didn’t really account for that one, and the flex pick. but I think the flex pick didn’t really work since it was kind of like their Blue side. So, they couldn’t flex it to last. So yeah, we kind of got away with it pretty free because we were kind of first timing the matchup and it sounds a bit scary in theory.

They could have just dived us and stuff, but as soon as we survived early, I think the game just ends. And then game 2, I just went for Jinx-Thresh, because seemed like a pretty good in 4-5, and we already had Volibear again. So Thresh is pretty good with that, and yeah, it turned out it was pretty solid game.

[Interviewer] One of the most common trends that teams have when they face against you guys is always the first bans, 1-2 is always Draven-Kalista. Is this something that gives you a lot of freedom when it comes to the pick-ban phase? Because you guys know that Hans is just going to eat 2 bans on his own.

Very right. Yeah, for sure, it helps a lot. Preparing for their drafts is much easier because they usually have 2 locked bans. So yeah, I think […] I guess usually when we get Draven we just win.

So makes sense. I guess 1 game we got Kalista we lost that one. So, not sure how long people are going to keep doing it, but it definitely makes it easier for us to draft when they only have one like ban. We can predict […] or at least we can talk about scenarios depending on what band they do. So yeah, pretty neat.

[Interviewer] G2 is also one of the only teams right now that’s running Rek’Sai top as well. Can you talk to me a little bit about your theory on why it’s been working for you guys and why other teams haven’t sort of picked up on this sort of tech as well.

Yeah, I’m not pretty sure why people don’t play it as much as we do. Because I think it’s just like a very simple, pretty strong tank champion that just like wins lane. It’s very hard to actually snowball against Rek’Sai. She’s like pretty safe, can push like most matchups, just hard to kill.

Like, even when I was first timing it in Solo Queue, I was just smurfing. So, that must mean it’s very f**king easy.

And then yeah, I don’t know where people don’t do it. Maybe they’re just a bit close-minded. But yeah, usually fits into a lot of comps as well.

[Interviewer] Ok, so G2-Fnatic is a classic matchup of course. Across all iterations of the two organization’s different rosters. You guys have been playing against each other for years. Do you have any like sort of specific expectations when you go up against a team like that? Or do you just approach it like any other LEC team?

Hmm, I guess it depends. But sometimes we put a bit more details or effort into the preparation because it’s just like a hype matchup and we also respect Fnatic because they always usually do well.

So, even in the comms, every game feels like we’re just talking about every possible scenario. Especially today, I feel like we talked about everything. Like the communication was very good throughout both games. We didn’t really give them that many openings. So, I guess the games just feels more serious. Everyone is more hyped because also the games are more hyped.

Like for example, when I get to mid with Nami, when Caps just flew at him and I threw my E and then we killed [Humanoid]. He usually doesn’t like […] he chills, like yea, good job. This time, he was very hyped.

[Interviewer] Speaking on that confidence though, how is the confidence level like heading into MSI? Because obviously you guys have locked it in from winning Winter Playoffs. So, how is the preparation going? And what are you guys expecting heading into MSI?

I mean, I’ve very excited to go there and actually see how we do this time around. Because I felt like last year, we were really unprepared. But I think this time around, with [Duffman] coming in, we actually got much better in like all aspects of the game, just like as a team.

I’m quite confident, and I think the expectation would be to at minimum – win a Bo5 against an Asian team – as I alluded to last year. Last year was like a bit delusional because I wasn’t aware how bad we were. But now I’m aware how bad we were. So, at least [this year] cannot be worse. And I think we can win it. So, I’m looking forward to it.

[Interviewer] So, coming on 10 years then, can you speak a little bit on what has remained as your motivation for competing at this highest level? What’s your driving factor personally?

Well, personally, winning Worlds is still something I haven’t achieved. So, that is the main motivation and well, I guess that I will be that, if I don’t, if I’m not playing League, I don’t know what else I would be doing.

So, I kind of got only this one thing going on. So, I might as well do something with it, you know. I might as well win. But yeah, winning; winning is a big motivation.

[Interviewer] And again, you’ve been playing for nine years now. Do you still consider yourself the best support in EU. What do you think separates you from the rest of the supports in this region?

Currently? I wouldn’t say so. Maybe if you count all the years together, I could, you could make a case. But then again, I feel like it’s quite hard to judge Supports or like their level because I think it’s sometimes it’s not very apparent. But if you’re winning, you’re usually going to look good. If you’re losing, you’re probably going to look bad.

And then I guess some players can make the team lose. Like sometimes, I int very hard and almost made the team lose in the finals last split for example. I guess [Hylissang] is another example. But also, I think we’re pretty good at finding some crazy plays that can just win the game solo as well. So overall, I don’t know. I mean I would probably put myself at least like top 3 in Europe.

But I think, yeah, much more than that, it’s hard to judge. Actually, you need to have quite a good deal of knowledge to actually see what the supports are doing on the map. To see if they’re good or not. So yeah, and it’s also way different for every team right?

Like depending how much of a job Support does around, playing around bot lane, or just like playing around vision, how to do it – all that stuff. Like I’m not going to go around solo-killing people like a solo laner.

[Interviewer] Alright thank you very much for your time Mikyx, best of luck with your next set of games.

Thank you. Bye bye.

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G2 Esports will next play against Team BDS today, bringing an early rematch for the Winter Playoffs Upper Finals. This series is for qualification/seeding for MSI 2024. If G2 wins, they will have an early chance to secure the top seed heading into MSI.

If BDS wins, they bring themselves one step closer to securing a ticket to MSI. For the latest updates on the LEC, follow the official Twitter/X here.

Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games

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