Though the map count was 2:0, EG’s victory over G2 was a tight battle. We talked with JoshRT, the latter’s coach, to get his thoughts.
G2 Esports has had quite the road to VCT Americas. But they are here now and are looking to make the most of it. Even after a close loss to Evil Geniuses, coach Josh "JoshRT" Lee firmly believes this team has what it takes to hang in the league.
Following the win-and-your-in series against EG, we spoke with G2's head coach. JoshRT gave his thoughts on the match up, the team comps they faced, and how he pushes his players to better themselves in the face of adversity.
JoshRT discusses G2's loss to EG and how he hopes it motivates his team
"Two insanely close maps. We’ll start with Sunset where you had a huge lead at first. I’ll ask simply what you think happened that allowed EG to come back and win it in overtime?"
JoshRT: "I think our game plan was sound. We let certain moments slip by against us, and then it's like a momentum game really. Once they were able to come back in, they were able to string a few rounds together.
"We really couldn't press the advantage, in a sense. We're up 7:0, and ended the half at 8:4. I think it should have been more of a 9:3, even a 10:2 at that point. From there, they were able to call back and they were able to capitalize on the 3v3's, the 2v2's, and even some clutch scenarios."
"When you’re ahead like that and the opposing team just continues to push back, what is the discussion like during timeouts?"
JoshRT: "It's more trying to tell them what exactly they're adjusting for, and to anticipate, and even call, a strategy to counter it. At halftime, and in the second half timeouts. it's more about mental resets, in a sense of trying to help us refocus.
"Because we just lost a very close 2v2 or 3v3. Like, 'Hey guys, let's just tighten up this thing, and let's just run this setup. And let's maybe be more proactive on this area of the map.' It felt like we were in a position to win, but like I said, we couldn't close out those rounds that we needed."
"And when a team is basically brand new like EG, what’s the game plan like when you don’t really have any footage to prepare from or knowledge of what they might cook up?"
JoshRT: "Well, in scrims, we've been facing a lot of different compositions. The meta has been all over the place. There hasn't been one single comp that ruled a map, like ruled Sunset, for example. So, when we saw that comp, it's actually a pretty popular comp on Sunset at least. You just have a general game plan against a double Initiator, Cypher with Breach, and we just ran our game plan."
"That brings me to Icebox. No Duelist from them. Gekko and Deadlock on board. Did that team composition catch you by surprise?"
JoshRT: "No. I kind of expected a Deadlock comp from EG actually. I kind of heard from the rumor mill, that EG might be running something weird, to catch people off guard. We actually faced Deadlock in some of the scrims.
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"So, we had a good game plan as to how to play against a double Sentinel, Deadlock comp. But it was still pretty tough to execute, since they had so much passive and info gathering abilities. It kind of stressed my IGL out a little bit. on trying to navigate this.
"I feel like we didn't hit certain timings that we could have capitalized on, and put pressure on the opposing team to get out a lot of util. I feel like we adjusted well in the half, but again, some of the moments kind of slipped by against us. We couldn't close out some of these big rounds."
"And of course, you know this team probably better than anyone. How do each of the players respond to a tight loss?"
JoshRT: "I always preach that the longer and tougher road is probably better for us. That's a lesson, even from our last year, as everyone knows. We went through Ascension, and grinding our way up to this league. I think just taking the longer road, even taking these small losses, these tight losses, close losses, will just give us better lessons, and we'll just have bigger takeaways. Then we'll just apply it for the next game."
"When it comes to valyn, I spoke with him after the KRU victory. He said the two of you are really focusing on developing his own IGL style that’s essentially one-of-a-kind. How has he evolved in the IGL role from the days in The Guard to now?"
JoshRT: "I feel like he evolved in a couple ways. In emotional leadership. He's still a young guy, so he has to be a leader of men in the server and outside of the server. So, he's always working on that. And as far as the strategy goes, he's been more and more a problem solver within the game.
"Which is something that I've been trying to push for, because the meta and the comps will always change, as you know. Riot will always throw little curveballs. So, it's all about the skill of breaking down the problem and looking for solutions. I think Jake (valyn) has been growing really well as an IGL."
"I’d like to know your mindset when it comes to coaching this team, who is new to VCT Americas. Are you more lenient with the team because of that newness, or do you treat them as if you’d been in the league the entire time?"
JoshRT: "Oh, there's no leniency. I feel like I expect the most of this group. And I think they appreciate that. Otherwise, they won't grow as much. We know we're not the world beaters that everybody expects us to be. Like, we're not at the level of FNATIC. Or have that experience under our belt.
"So, it's all about me pushing them to try to achieve even more. Instilling a certain discipline, so that they can come together as a group and really surprise teams with how tight knit our coordination is. Right now, we're not really there yet, as there are just some kinks to iron out."
"My final question then is about the rematch against KRÜ. With a rematch, playing the same team you’ve beaten again so close to the first time, do you look to keep things fresh or is it kind of a 'don’t fix what isn’t broken' approach since you got the victory?"
JoshRT: "It's a combination of both. We obviously examined how they won their rounds and what we failed to do. There's a lot of moments in the game where we had a protocol or the strat to deal with it, but we didn't execute or think of calling it at that moment.
"And then it felt like in the first matchup, we let KRÜ dictate the pace a lot. Then Keznit was able to farm us, being in such strong positions. But in this next matchup, we're not gonna let him have that."
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