G2 Yike: “I’m just trusted by my whole team, my staff, etc they all put their faith in me which is why I can play this carry style”

From the ERL's, to LEC champion, to dominating on the international stage. Martin "Yike" Sundelin is quickly rising as Europe's next superstar as G2 Esports dispatched fellow EMEA squad and Spring split champions MAD Lions. In what was touted as a closer match-up, G2 made quick work of MAD, taking the series in a convincing 3-0 fashion.

Following their series, Yike spoke to Esports.gg in an exclusive interview. Yike discussed the trust G2 has in him to step up to the plate on more aggressive champions, his nerves playing on the biggest stage of his career, and more.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today Yike! Great bounce-back win after the Gen.G series, how were you able to pull it off? 

G2 Yike: "Yeah, it was a bit sad losing to Gen.G. But we took one game from them, which is something I guess. Today it was much better. I think we were much more confident and we played really well with both the drafts and the communication in games. So I'm really happy with our play. I'm really proud of myself and the team."

Going into the MAD series, how much did you have to adapt? You have played them many times in the LEC so was it just going back to old strategies that worked?

G2 Yike: "Yeah we usually win versus them [laughs], but we did lose the last best-of-five versus them in the playoffs which was really bad. I think we didn't change that much because we all know the winning recipe against them and we held on to that because we know for sure that we can play better than them."

Were you able to detect early on if this was the same MAD Lions that you have faced many times in the LEC? I know when you get to international events teams can perform quite differently even against opposition from the same league. 

G2 Yike: "I think with MAD It's a bit weird because of the history of how they play internationally. Something seemed a bit off with them. I don't know what it is. But something has seemed off because they can for sure play better than they did. And I feel pretty bad for them because it must feel s**t to lose like this. I just feel bad for them. Hopefully they can do better for both summer split and then Worlds."

Do you think one of the advantages you had over them in this tournament was the ramp-up time from the Play-ins? 

G2 Yike: "It could be that. I think the Play-ins are actually really good. I really liked it because we got some more games on stage. And that's something they didn't get. They got had to go straight into playing T1 in their first stage game straight which must be stressful. I think we got the edge with getting to play in Play-ins and for sure Play-ins is really helpful to most of the teams. I think maybe would have changed for them if they went there."

On the Gen.G series, what learnings did you have from the best-of-five? Like you said you took a game off of them, the only Western team to win a game this week for a fact. 

G2 Yike: "I think we just went all in with the drafts and we did a bit too much. We realized that you know in the game we won with Poppy, we know that we can change it up. I think we just adapted worse. I think now we're much more confident with that. We're playing much better and drafting really well."

You’ve said in the past you definitely feel the nerves before each new stage of your career, how were your nerves going into MSI? This is the biggest stage you’ve played on and you’re going up against the best players in the world.

G2 Yike: "So for my first game in the Play-ins against LOUD, I didn't feel that scared. Before the game, I was really nervous, but when we walked on stage it felt really good. Whenever I walk on a stage, it feels amazing for me because I see the fans cheering and all and I get so much excitement from that and I lose all my nerves. So that's really nice.

But when we played versus Gen.G, I was a bit more scared [laughs]. I was very nervous that day and it kind of showed in my game plan. I think in the first game I could have carried that game so I'm not happy with how I played. I think it [nerves] comes and goes sometimes, it depends. Probably because I played my first Korean team and it's the best team in Korea. So I think that likely made me a lot more nervous than I should be."

We have seen teams still lean towards the tanks like Maokai and Sejuani but your team and coaching staff have put their faith in you to play the carry matchups each game, does it add to the pressure that you are the one that has to put the team on your back. 

G2 Yike: "I don't really think so much about it. I feel like I'm just trusted by my whole team, my staff, etc they all put their faith in me which is why I can play this carry style. And Caps can even go to the Nautilus or play Annie and try to help me carry.

I think that's really good because he's really good at adapting to them. And I think it's very good of him and all the other teammates and the staff for trusting me and trying to play around me because it kind of succeeds [laughs]. So I think we're all happy with it."

When listening to you on the broadcast you said you were not happy with the Western team's performances because you felt they are better than what they showed, what is your general assessment of the Western teams because you may not get to face an NA team this tournament?

G2 Yike: "It's a bit sad with this bracket because it's just EU vs EU, Korea vs Korea etc and that's a bit sad, but it's fine. It doesn't really matter because we have to beat the best if we want to win it all. Obviously, it would have been nice to play NA but I think they're actually not that bad. I think they've shown some good skills. They also went 0-6 [laughs] but I think they've shown some good performances, and they've been close to winning games."

Final thoughts looking ahead, you will face BLG or JDG, what are your thoughts on them?

G2 Yike: "I think the biggest chance to win is probably playing BLG. They are also the second seed and they have shown more weaknesses than JDG.  I think it's a pretty good chance that we're gonna play BLG. It's going to be interesting because it's going to be the first Chinese team we play against. They're for sure really good, but I really think we're gonna beat these guys."

This interview was conducted prior to the JDG vs BLG series.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest League of Legends news and updates.