G2 have a bit of a bone to pick with the Major, after disappointment in the IEM Rio RMRs they turned themselves around and became the best team in the world. With a new Major to play here in Paris, the team are determined to go far and live up to expectations this time around.
So far, everything has gone to plan for G2 at the BLAST.tv Paris Major. With a relatively comfortable 3-0 qualification from the Challengers Stage, they’ll now have a few days off to get even better before the Legends Stage begins.
After their 2-0 game versus Apeks, we got the chance to talk to HooXi about the series and the journey the team has been on since Rio.
You're the first team to go 3-0, how does that feel?
We feel good. It was a bit of a walk in the park in the second map so it feels good not having to sweat too much. I know that my mom and sister are always watching and they like when the score is like this so they don't get nervous [laughs]. I'm really happy.
Let's talk about the disparity between the two maps, were you surprised by how Apeks played on Anubis?
No, we practiced against them not too long ago on Anubis and got a bit of a beating, so we knew they were a strong team on the map and it's not one of our strongest. We don't have much official experience on it, so I wasn't that surprised. It actually played out how I expected.
Is Anubis a map you've been focusing on?
Yeah we're trying to figure out the best way to play the map as every team is. It's a new map and the meta is still developing so we're trying to figure it out.
It's never nice to bring up the past but with everything that happened with the last Major, does that make going 3-0 feel better?
To be honest, Rio is far out of my head at this point. It was mostly at the RMR I was thinking it would be a disaster to do it twice in a row [laughs] but now that we're here, we just have our eyes on the Legends Stage now.
How are you feeling about the Legends stage?
It's a tough stage, even without knowing all the teams yet. The teams who are confirmed are really sharp and to win a Major you have to win all the best teams so I'm not surprised it's that way.
Are you confident of another 3-0 performance there?
I don't know about that, I feel like with BO1s anything can happen but I'm confident we'll be in the playoffs.
Back at Katowice you ended up 21-0, you were in the form of your lives, are you feeling back at that level now?
Not yet, but I think we're building towards it. I hope we keep building throughout the tournament so we don't peak too early. I think it was good for us now to be here and get some games under our belt.
If you do well in Legends and again in playoffs, is there a dream final match for you?
That's a long way in the future. I don't know, there's so many teams that deserves to be there, have the ability to be there so I can't think about that. I already have a lot to think about, you know?
A year ago, you were overachieving with Copenhagen Flames, did you ever expect a year later you would be in this position?
Haha, definitely not. I think there's a bigger chance of winning the lottery than being in this position after being in Flames. This is why you start playing and start grinding though, to play at these stages and to do it with these boys is so good.
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