G2 came into IEM Katowice as one of the favorites despite having played only 1 event with Aleksib. So far they have lived up to the expectations, except for the early Fnatic loss. Will they continue on this path?
G2's first foray with the new Aleksib lineup has resulted in a playoffs berth. As one of the strongest teams in the event, can they go the whole way? G2 skipper Aleksib definitely thinks so. One thing's for sure, at least they can't lose to NaVi in the Grand-Finals.
Esports.gg caught up with G2 during the IEM Katowice press conference. They spoke about
Q: m0NESY, you have been with G2 for nearly two months now. How has it been so far being a G2 member?
G2 m0NESY: It is great. Everyone on the team is so good. I love everyone. It feels great to be a member of G2.
Q: Are you surprised by the level of tier one Counter-Strike?
G2 m0NESY: Surprised. I don't know. I think it's the same. But they play a bit different CS than tier-three or tier-four. In the Academy League, they play different CS, so you just need to just use your skills.
Q: In our press session with Virtus.Pro, Jame said you're going to be the next s1mple. So what are your personal goals in the year 2022?
G2 m0NESY: I thought it would be YEKINDAR because I have good relationships with him, he's a good guy and I'm going to play versus him. I think I'm going to enjoy it. For my goals, just learn more. Just learn more from every moment.
Q: What went wrong in the game against Fnatic?
G2 Aleksib: We started well, but, going into the second map, they had a good game plan. And our coach told us that we weren't playing the same way as on the first map. We were still doing mistakes that were easily fixable, which was pretty tilting in a way that you lose a game and then you can fix small mistakes.
But that obviously happens with a new team. And the good thing is that they are easily fixable but it would also not be nice to lose. And then you feel like you tried everything and you just can't win.
But for us, we knew that if we're going to fix a couple of mistakes, we're going to play a solid CT side Inferno, for example. And I think we showed it yesterday when we played a 14-1 half.
"If we step up like we did yesterday we can beat any team there is." :G2 Aleksib
Q: Your next game is up against an on-form Virtus.Pro. Very different styles of playing the game. Thoughts on the matchup?
G2 Aleksib: I mean, reaching playoffs was the first goal and I feel like right now we're going to go one step at a time. I feel like Virtus.Pro is a great opponent to have, they didn't do a roster change recently so they obviously have a deep map pool.
But I feel like if we step up like we did yesterday we can beat any team there is. So I'm not scared to play VP and we need to beat anyone if we want to succeed.
Q: m0NESY, how is the LAN going so far for you? Now that you have qualified for the arena, are you excited to play on the stage or a bit nervous?
G2 m0NESY: I'm so excited. In the beginning, when we played against Fnatic, it was good. We did on the first map, 62 or no. But on the second map, they snowballed us at the beginning like zero five and I don't know, I had problems on this map and also on the third map.
I felt the pressure because the people are giving me a lot of attention. Somewhere inside of me, I thought that I need to play well to show the people that I'm really good. I don't know how to explain it and that was a bit more attention to me and I felt a bit of pressure in general. I excited. Yeah.
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"Somewhere inside of me, I thought that I need to play well to show the people that I'm really good." -G2 m0NESY
Q: 3 G2 players are currently in the top twelve for this event. Niko is obviously going nuclear. And you and m0NESY have been stepping up a lot. This is very reminiscent of what NaVi did at Cologne. Thoughts on G2's individual performance so far?
G2 huNter-: It feels good that we are stepping up, all of us. Jackz had a great day yesterday and even this before Alexis. Well, he's doing his job properly so far and if you want to be the best and if you want to win events, we need to all step up and I think we can do even better, especially for me and m0NESY.
Everyone is expecting a lot from m0NESY since the beginning and of course, it's not easy but I'm really happy that we secured the playoffs spot and this is a really good experience for him and especially that he will play in front of crowds as well on his first event for G2. So yeah, that feels good and I think we'll do better. Myself, I can do a lot better as well.
Q: If you guys beat VP in the quarterfinals, you're going to face NaVi, which would put you up against S1mple? Is this something that you're looking forward to?
G2 m0NESY: Of course, I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not scared to play versus S1mple. I always like to learn something more. It will be tough, but I'm not scared to play versus him and NaVi.
Q: Your squad now is pretty balanced, and you are showing great performance, but last year you didn't win any trophies. So do you think that if you could win in Katowice, it may kick start your team to a year of success?
G2 Jackz: I think it's going to give us a good boost to win a final because last year we didn't achieve anything. But we reached a lot of finals. For the confidence of the team to lift the trophy is going to be really good.
G2 huNter-: I mean, of course, winning trophies will boost our confidence, but we are going step by step. We are just in the quarterfinals. We cannot think yet that we will win the trophy, especially in Katowice, and we just need to go step by step. There is a lot of good teams in playoffs and teams that didn't do changes as well.
And last year we had Navi who was, for me, the best team ever for one year. They have great players, great individuals, and it was really tough to win trophies next to them, and we didn't have a chance at almost any event. So, yeah, this year will be different for them, for us, and I think we'll have some chances, more than last year. But step by step, it's just the beginning.
"I just feel like the team who wins the first gun round, has a good shot at winning the whole best of three because of the fact that I think the first map matters a lot in this series." -G2 Aleksib
Q: What are your thoughts on the matchup against Jame as an IGL? They didn't seem on point yesterday, but overall do you think there's something in the game that you can exploit?
G2 Aleksib: I didn't get to see the game yesterday. Maybe I'll watch it later because we were obviously playing the whole day. But in my opinion, I don't think it comes down to me or Jame. I think it comes down to all of the individuals who have an impact on the server because of the fact that we play in front of a crowd.
So I just feel like the team who wins the first gun round, has a good shot at winning the whole best of three because of the fact that I think the first map matters a lot in this series, but who knows? I mean, I'm going to prepare well. I think they will do their best, but I feel like if we show the same face we showed yesterday, it's going to be a good game for us.
Q: What you can bring to this lineup in terms of tactics? Are you pleased to have NiKo just killing everyone with a 1.50 rating?
G2 Aleksib: It's always a bonus if one of my teammates is performing this well. But at the same time, it's not like we don't understand what's happening. Everything NiKo is doing is something he's doing on practice or he's doing based off our setups. Obviously, sometimes we give him the keys to go take a peak somewhere or do his play somewhere. But we obviously know how to react if he kills an opponent or if he doesn't kill an opponent, which is important.
It's not like we go in the server just saying, NiKo, go kill, and we're just AFK not doing anything. But to your first question. I feel like there's still a lot XTQZZZ and I can implement into the game, but I feel like a lot of our players have a good understanding on how the rounds and the game overall should be played.
Like they have good protocols and really high multi-frag potential, which is something I've not worked with too often. So I feel like whenever they have the confidence to do anything, I'll just let them do It because it works so often. But yeah, as I said, there's still a lot me and XTQZZZ can bring to the table.
G2's Playoffs run starts against Virtus.Pro, the CIS squad has looked strong so the battle will be tough. If G2 prevail they go up against NaVi. Stay tuned to esports.gg for continued coverage and more interviews with the IEM Katowice 2022 teams and players.
