G2 Caps on being a leader for G2 and living up to the 2019 legacy

Esports.gg caught up with the midlaner of G2, Rasmus "Caps" Borregaard Winther to ask for his thoughts on Annie going midlane, whether the team lived up to their 2019 legacy, and being a pro player supported by his family.

Despite the doubts some fans had, G2 made going through the Mid Season Invitational (MSI 2023) play-ins look like a breeze and were headed to the bracket stage to hit the stage once more. The Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region's second seed bracket run kicked off against the League of Legends Champions Korea's (LCK) first seed of Gen.G. Gen.G players were known for their for strong talent and even stronger performances on the international stage.

Question: It seemed like a very dominant set of matches from Gen.G. Were you expecting them to be so aggressive and play so fast?

Caps: It definitely caught me off guard, the early laneing especially. I messed up pretty badly early on so they did catch us off guard. In the later part of the series, we were able to get a bit more comfortable with it, but unfortunately, it was still a loss. But now we have a few days to try and bounce back and overcome the lessons we’ve learned from this series and beat the bar they have set.

Question: What was your reaction to managing to get Annie for game two? Especially after she had been so persistently banned in other matches?

Caps: I was definitely excited to play Annie, especially as it could be a bit of a redemption match as we had previously lost with it in spring against MAD. Unfortunately, we lost our first one with it here, but we turned it around for the second one. I was happy we got it, but could have done better with it. But we move forward and will know for next time.

I for sure think Annie is really strong right now. That’s why we picked it again even after we lost with it, I mean. Luckily, the second time around, we won with it. Annie is definitely quite strong on the patch and it’ll be interesting to see how the priority for her changes across the tournament.

Question: In game three, there were strong glimmers of hope for the G2 side. What was going through your mind while playing against Gen.G?

Caps: I was definitely happy and excited about the game state, but we were more just thinking about our next steps to ensure we could close it out. Like, getting some good fights that would allow us to end the game and close out properly and not throw it away.

Although we are lower bracket now [after the series went 3-1 to Gen.G], we can still go and win the whole tournament if we play hard enough. We just have to turn things around for sure.

Question: In game four of the series, you brought back your signature Aurelion Sol, which you first became known for. Why did you want to bring this in?

Caps: Definitely because it would be strong in our draft and they had the flex Tristana, so I thought it could do well against both. And that would mean I could compete against all the carriers, but we didn’t really get to that part.

Question: You have been with G2 for so long. Do you feel pressure to be a leader and take a leadership-orientated role on the team?

Caps: I'm not sure that I'm taking on a leadership role right now, but because I have a lot of experience, sharing that experience and knowledge with my teammates is important. Either by being a part of G2 or being at international tournaments, LEC finals, etc.

Question: The 2019 roster obviously did very well. How do you feel this version of G2 can replicate these results and better them?

Caps: I think every year, we have the opportunity to win just by getting on the stage and playing on the rift and it just depends on how hard you practice, how smart you are about that prep. This year, we have definitely been trying our hardest to get to our strongest, but we are not there yet, but we still have the opportunity.

But with 2019 and our performance then, it’s done and we can’t change what happened in that year. But there is a lot we can do now to get better results, to do better. And it’s on us to ensure this happens.

Question: How did your in-game name come about?

Caps: Caps started because I needed an in-game summoner name, and I was looking around for ideas to come up with something. I saw the caps on the keyboard and I was like, 'That sounds pretty decent. I will go with that.'

Question: How did your dad support you with pursuing League of Legends?

Caps: He didn’t really know about League until I went pro because that was the first time for him really seeing how big League was and can be. That was back when I was playing in TCL and we reached the final and he came to that and saw these 10,000 people screaming and being passionate about League. So that was when he got an introduction to it. Since then, he’s always been so supportive about it and always tries to come whenever he can for our stage games.

Question: What is your favorite thing about MSI being hosted in London?

Caps: MSI in London is great to have in Europe, to have the amazing fans, and to have so much support able to be here for us. And it’s still home soil because it is Europe so we can see the fans supporting us. And I'm super happy for all the support.

Question: We've been asking everyone this even though it is a bit weird, but with MSI being in the U.K. this year, it seems fitting. Have you tried British food yet while here and did you enjoy it?

Caps: I like English breakfasts, so that is nice, but other than that, I haven’t really gotten to try too many things.

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