Once again, G2 Esports was able to finish the regular season of a split in an impressive fashion. A convincing 2-0 win against Fnatic capped the summer split of the European League Championship Series with G2, the defending spring split champions, again in first place heading into the playoffs.

Slingshot’s Alexandre “DrPuppet” Weber had the chance to talk to G2’s AD Carry Jesper ”Zven” Svenningsen about the games, the AD Carry meta, the upcoming patch and the team’s shot-calling.

Alexandre “DrPuppet” Weber: How are you guys feeling after beating Fnatic 2-0 and sending them to play Tiebreaker with H2K?

Jesper ”Zven” Svenningsen: It feels good. I mean, it always feels good to beat Fnatic 2-0, even though they aren’t the best team in the League currently. We already secured first place due to the results of Splyce earlier, so the game didn’t really matter for us, but it always feels good to win and get good games on stage. They are always worth it.

AW: Due to the results of Splyce earlier, how did you guys approach this game? Did you prepare properly for that, did you just use it to try things out or did you just take as a good practice opportunity?

JS: We decided as a team that independent if we already were confirmed first place or not, we would play the game seriously and just play to win. Just play our game and get some good practice on stage and even though I played Tristana for the first time, I think everything went well.

AW: Teams are picking up more and more Kog’Maw and Tristana lately, what is your take on those picks? Is there a slight shift in the meta? Or are Jhin, Ashe and Sivir still the higher priority?

JS: I think there is a lot of variety right now, so there are many picks that are viable. Kog’Maw for an example is good against teams that goes onto you, like Jhin, Rek’Sai jumps that are very static. Tristana for example is good against Kassadin and comps with low waveclear, where you can abuse the early game by pushing turrets and pressuring them all the time. While a champion like Sivir would work in a composition that wants to engage team fights and run onto you with champions like Vladimir and Hecarim. However, going into the next patch, I think strong laners like Ashe or Caitlyn will become really strong, because you probably won’t lane swap until five minutes at least.

AW: So could the Kog’Maw trend already die out in Patch 6.15?

JS: Kog’Maw is still a solid laner, but against Caitlyn and Ashe he gets pushed really hard and he can’t do anything, so I think the meta will change a bit in playoffs when the new patch arrives, so I’m not too sure about how it will change for now.

AW: But do you think there is a possibility, for an example, a lane like Lulu + Kog’Maw or in general a combination of a hyper carry with a strong laner could happen in 6.15?

JS: Lulu is ok in lane, but she still loses to strong laners like Karma or Nami, Caitlyn or Ashe, but when she gets through lane and finishes building the ardent censer, she has really good buffs for the AD Carry. I will have to see the next patch a bit more detailed before I am able to say what is going to be strong or not. However I think that the next patch will be a lot more about laning phase, making the lane dominant champions more prioritized. Like there are champions that are strong in laning phase and aren’t that strong after, like Caitlyn, but you could win lane so hard you would win because of being fed. It will be about picking strong against utility and middle ground champions in a 1-v-1 or 2-v-2 meta. It’s going to be good.

AW: What do you think about the turret changes in 6.15? Do you think they are good for the game?

JS: I don’t think they are good for the game, but good for the viewers. It’s a heavy change, and I think it is going to make diversity even worse. We will never see champions that are bad in laning phase without taking a risk in the laning phase. So it might kill off some champions. Anyways, the game is almost the same as before after the five-minute mark.

AW: Do you think the next patch will be good for G2?

JS: I don’t have a problem with laning at all, I’m very confident with my own laning and also very confident in the laning skills of my teammates, so I think we are going to be fine. But it kills off a very strategic part of the game, Lane swaps are not as some people think it is. So I don’t think they are good for the game, but I think G2 is going to be totally fine.

AW: Do you think you and Mithy are still the best bot lane in Europe right now?

JS: Yes, I think we are still the best bot lane in EU because we do more than laning phase. Many people think bot lane is only about the laning phase. It is still very important, but nowadays the game is all about pressure and playing the map, so it is always better to get a drake over a 10 CS advantage in lane.

AW: Do you participate in the shot-calling in your team?

JS: We don’t really have shot-calling in our team. In our team everyone knows the plan and someone kinda repeats it in game. As an example, “Play for Drake” when it is up. Everyone goes into their respective positioning so we can pressure the drake.

AW: So basically you guys simplify the whole shot-calling system?

JS: Yes

AW: is it because of Expect and Trick?

JS: No, both speak actually good English. Trick is speaking almost fluent and Expect is understanding really good already. When someone has a plan and Expect is in doubt, Trick tells him in Korean and everything is fine.

AW: So you basically just remind yourselves on your preparation?

JS: Yeah, basically that. For an example, let’s say I’m playing Tristana and I’m fed, I will say “Guys, I can hit towers alone and carry just protect me” or Perkz when playing Leblanc would say, “Guys I got 10 kills now, I can carry alone.” So basically everyone makes his own shot call in different games.

AW: So basically everyone gives their input to the game?

JS: Yes, but basically we already know what the game plan is, because we played it in scrims and prepared, so basically we just talk about adaptations to our initial plan. We are like a unit there.

AW: Do you have any shoutouts left?

JS: Yeah, I want to thank all fans that came to the LCS today and all fans that support me through social media. Its really nice to see that people support even after what happened some months ago. Today was an awesome day for us. Thanks to all of our sponsors Kinguin, Razer, Sehnheiser, NEED for SEAT, Paysafecard for their support.

Photos courtesy of Riot Games.