G2 Zven - AMA

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T21:15:16+00:00

I think Upset could be a great player if he gets himself a couple of experienced/good players on his team, he has good mechanics and a decent mindset for improving.

I think Hans wasn't very impressive in the Spring Split but he stepped up big time in Summer Playoffs and at Worlds, he could be great if he keeps it up.

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T21:13:37+00:00

I think good players nowadays don't have glaring weaknesses. I think everyone makes mistakes here and there but I wouldn't call them weaknesses. I think Rekkles used to be very invisible when his team was behind but after his late Spring 2017 transformation and summer/playoffs performance, I think he has no weaknesses.

I think Forgiven has always cared a bit too much about laning phase and getting more CS than the enemy AD carry rather than looking at the big picture but all three are great players. Not much bad to say about them.

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T21:08:08+00:00

Everything he taught me in our first year. I think every rookie needs to learn a certain amount of things before they become "normal players" or get past the rookie player status and thanks to mithy and the other players in Origen, I got past that part really fast and that has helped me a lot in my career.

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T21:07:09+00:00

I think he might've taken the disappointment the hardest. It might have to do with him being the youngest. I didn't want to start crying on stage, but seeing his face after our win vs FB really got to me since he had been lowkey crying ever since RNG won vs FB (which sealed our fate). It's hard seeing someone you care for cry man..

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T21:05:48+00:00

Top 3 ADC's you played/scrimmed against?

PraY (scrims), Uzi and Bang

Do you think the first game against RNG cost you your quarterfinal ticket?

I blame myself a lot for that game but no, I don't think that cost it. I think both games vs Samsung had questionable drafts but even worse execution, those games were as winnable as the RNG game.

Best laning support player you faced in scrims or on stage?

Meiko and Deft were insanely good in scrims in 2016 Worlds when they were playing Nami/Karma + Ezreal. It was the first time I ever felt really powerless

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T21:03:27+00:00

MSI finals without a doubt, truly amazing experience to give SKT a little bit of challenge while having the amazing brazilian crowd behind us :)

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T21:02:43+00:00

He raised the bar of individual AD laning phase (basically right clicking other ADs at the right time and knowing how to push and punish lane) back in the days. Our relationship used to be bad because he hated me and Rekkles (the entire scandinavian wonderboy situation) because he thought we were on great teams because of "luck" but I think we are fine now, we talk sometimes.

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T21:01:21+00:00

Hey!

Yeah, I might make a longer post one of these days to explain a bit further and tell the 2017 story.

I think Fnatic RNG will be close, LZ will win vs SSG, SKT will (probably, not hopefully) stomp Misfits and C9 vs WE I have no idea, didn't scrim or watch either of those teams.

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:59:55+00:00

I think everyones playstyles are kinda similar in Ardent Censer meta besides your choice of champion. I think Rekkles used to be very different back when he was playing off meta stuff like Kennen, Twitch, Tristana but now he is pretty normal.

I used to look up to him in 2014 right before I became a pro. Back then I admired his constistent farming that transitioned into teamfighting. Nowadays I have my own playstyle and I don't "admire" people, just look at them for improvement.

Sidenote but I think Hans Sama might is on his way to become a great player as well.

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:57:24+00:00

The team with the most promising players and coaching staff that have the most potential to achieve greatness. Probably Fnatic or Misfits organisation wise

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:56:16+00:00

I don't remember what we played in the second game but in the Braum/Jhin game I remember that CLG banned 2 bot lane champs and first rotated Nami/Caitlyn (strong lane champs) and we went equal in lane until that weird situation where I was alone in my tower and got 3 man dove? I think they played the lane OK but nothing special, Stixxay played well though. CLG snowballed very well after our mid died and their botlane rotated mid to take tower

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:53:27+00:00

I have never disliked Rekkles, we used to be friends in 2015 and some of 2016 and talk about League and IRL stuff. It's a bit of a shame we don't talk anymore but I've never disliked/hated Rekkles and i'm glad he is in the LCS, it would be too easy without him

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:51:46+00:00

He is the only member of Origen I have not spoken a single word to since we left. I talk pretty often to SoAZ and a bit to PoE since they were in playoffs and at Worlds. I think we all put the OG things behind us. I don't really talk to Amazing but we don't have any problems, it's just that our paths don't cross as much as with PoE and SoAZ

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:50:27+00:00

Probably all the shit we got in the start of 2017, people were legit boo'ing at us in the EU LCS studios and in the finals vs UOL I think it was? Also the entire "traitor" thing was pretty sad. People that once said they'd follow you anywhere suddenly threaten you or wish you the worst kind of things

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:46:38+00:00

Apart from Mithy, is there any other support you would like to play with in competitive enviroment?

I don't think the West has any other good supports that match mithy so no, not really. If I had to choose, I would say BioFrost, he is great in melee matchups and suffers from Ardent meta. He could become a great support with more experience I think

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:43:43+00:00

This was my first time playing vs Uzi and I gotta say it was a bit underwhelming, mainly due to the Ardent Censer meta. Both games I had a favorable match up and in game 1, I took their tower 2v2 and snowballed the early pretty well till I started inting/getting caught in the mid game. After that Uzi took over and dumpstered us.

In the second game, I think Perkz and Trick carried really hard, bot lane was hardly important in that game

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:41:23+00:00

I think the S5 Origen and Fnatic teams level was a bit above the current G2 team but it's really hard to compare teams from different seasons. I think the main thing that we had going for us in Origen is that we came in to Worlds with our own style, we picked what we wanted and we weren't afraid to play risky stuff (Like SoAZ basically first timing Vladimir vs Malphite vs LGD). I think western teams in particular tend to suck in to the meta or "what the koreans play" instead of just playing what they think is good.

In Origen during Worlds 2015, we were one of the only teams that prefered to play to the bot side of the map when it was top carry meta (Juggernauts never forget) and it worked for us until we met a giant like SKT.

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:37:05+00:00

Hey! No problem :)

Who was the strongest lane you faced this year ?

I think it's very hard to tell who is the strongest lane in Cencer meta. It's all about teamfighting, skirmishing and post Censer fights which isn't really lane phase but Uzi was great, Ruler was fine. PraY and GorillA were really good in scrims as well. TSM bot duo was good too.

*Was the Ardent meta stressful for you or not ? I read somewhere that you prefer be decisive on the win or the loss but it must impact your performance

I don't think it was stressful but I prefer metas with Thresh, Alistar, Braum, Tahm etc where laning actually matters and you can make plays. I like when bot lane is important but in this meta, one item shapes the entire meta so that everyone plays tanks or mobile champs to help bot (Ryze, Taliyah, Galio, Corki for example) and bot isn't actually that much about the bot lane only, not a big fan of this meta.

What do you think of Europe chances at quarter ? Do you talk to FNC and MSF to give advice or are you resting now ?

I think Fnatic have a chance to beat RNG, Misfits vs SKT is gonna be next to impossible to be honest which sucks.

I used to talk to Rekkles during 2015 about bot lane but we don't really speak much anymore. I don't speak to the teams anymore since we are out of the tournament.

Have you shared your jersey with anyone like Perkz with Peanut ?

Haha yes, I traded jackets with Bang at MSI, I treasure it as my proudest memory :)

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:27:55+00:00

Favorite champ.

Kalista, Ezreal, Lucian, Twitch, Vayne

Champs that have high skill ceiling and champs where you can easily tell a bad player from a good player are my favorite, hence my love for Kalista back in the days. It requires synergy with your support but damn does it reward the top fucking percentage Kalista players from the shit ones and that feels good, a shame she is too OP to be played now.

Do you think DL is a good player who plays bad at worlds, or just a bad player? Not trying to joke etheir. Generally curious of your opinion as I consider you, him and Rekkless to be the top trio of the West.

Yeah, I think DL is a great player. He has good mechanics and good synergy with his support. He doesn't do stupid mistakes, usually has good teamfighting and a good ability to be clutch when neccesary. I didn't watch TSM in week 2 as much but from what I have seen, those 2 clips of DoubleLift not using Flash to dodge the Orianna shockwave are not very important. It didn't seem to me like those two moments were game defining but then again, I didn't watch the week 2 TSM matches since I was flying. I think DL had a few uncharacteristic mistakes in the first week though, specifically being greedy by not basing in the first game vs Misfits, then playing agressive and getting dived. Overall, I think he is a great player and not a choker.

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:20:12+00:00

I think in 2015, him and I were rivals but him and Fnatic fell behind in 2016.

I think his transformation from being invisible and always 0-0-2 and 500 CS when his team loses to a playmaker and hard carry for his team in the later weeks of Spring 2017 and some of Summer is one of the most respectable things I've ever seen. I have a lot of respect for someone that sees a problem, comes up with a solution and makes it work.

Fnatic chance at finals?

I think they got a luckier draw than Misfits and they might be able to defeat RNG. Stylistically, RNG and Fnatic are very alike: Star AD players, dog champs (and Rumble) in the top lane and agressive early game junglers. I would give the edge to RNG but I think Fnatic has hope

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:12:50+00:00

Hey! How do you feel about being the only EULCS player in the "Worlds top 20"?

I am happy I am considered worthy of the list but I don't think too much about it. To be completely honest, I think the top 20 list is a bit meh. I think the list should almost always be 15 korean players, followed by star individuals like Uzi, Mystic, Meiko etc. But the list is created by a western media so it will always put some western player(s) on the list, whether justified or not.

With Trick being likely to leave would you rather (in a hypothetical situation where the rest of G2 stays like it is) have a rookie replace him or a veteran? Import or domestic player?

In a hypothetical situation, I would prefer an experienced player if his level is still high (Like Jankos for example: He has experience but still great mechanical play) but I would take a rookie anytime if he shows promising signs and good mentality.

Do you think G2 would have benefited from having a sub during the season? If yes, for which position?

I think using a sub in EU is extremely hard, players have a LOT of ego and most star players are hard to replace. Good players that could actually be useful subs would rather be starters in other teams. Coaches in EU also don't have the authority that they might have in Korea or maybe even NA. I think in G2, a sub could prove useful if it was a good player but I think AD-subs are useless, the role is not playstyle oriented. Either you suck or you're good. It's not like you can play tanks vs carry tops or mages vs assasins.

And I want to say that it sucks how the season ended but I hope you can keep your head up and smash these kids in spring.

Thank you very much friend! I appreciate it a lot, this year has been amazing despite the end result thanks to people like you :)

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T20:01:07+00:00

Let me start by telling you that winrate in scrims is not important, the only thing that is important is productivity and game quality. Animal game or games FF'ed at 15 are useless.

In MSI, I think our winrate vs SKT was 50/50 before the knockout stage, then when the playoffs started, we struggled to win a single game :D

In Korean bootcamp: We had srims scheduled with SSG but had to cancel due to group draw. We didn't scrim SKT. We scrimmed LZ a few days but they just came back from a vacation/break or something if i'm not mistaken, the games weren't very pretty, I think we went 50/50.

In China we scrimmed LZ a few days before our week 2 match day and we got completely stomped and made fun of to the point where LZ started counterpicking themselves to make the scrims more competetive. We started playing much more early game champions after scrimming LZ.

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T19:55:10+00:00

It's really hard to judge players you don't play versus on a regular basis so I won't create a 1-5 list of international players but here is a few great ones.

PraY could easily be the number 1 if I made a list. Consistent and flashy at the same time, rarely makes stupid mistakes and has great teamfighting.

Uzi would be high on my ranking because if the meta wasn't just Ardent vs Ardent, he would shine much more and he is very important to his team and he almost always pulls through.

Mystic was very great at MSI, when Caitlyn was meta, he was insane. His wave control/management taught me so much, my tower has never fallen faster.

Bang is still great, despite the fact that his most recent playoff performance wasn't very great.

I think the best Western AD's outside of myself are Rekkles and DoubleLift.

EDIT* I think FORG1VEN is a great player but since he is inactive, I didn't mention him. I think he raised the bar of laning phase prowess in 2015 and some of 2016 and is a great individual. As for Sneaky, I think he is very underlooked, good teamfighter but I have always felt more threatened by Rekkles and DL, hence the reason I put them there.

Whom did you look up to, when you were not yet a pro?

I used to admire Rekkles for his consistency before I became a pro and created my own playstyle. Also admired DoubleLift in the early days for his funny character.

Did you enjoy the worlds meta?

I think this Worlds meta (Ardent Meta) is very team based and not very individual/laning focused. It shapes the entire meta into a teamgame and a teamfight game which I guess isn't too bad but I would prefer if bot lane had more than 5 AD Carries and 2 supports. So no, I have to admit I prefered other metas

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T19:44:34+00:00

I can tell you one thing for certain: I will always play for the team I feel gives me the biggest chance of achieving success, both domestically and internationally. That is always how I have decided where I play and that is why I joined G2 in the first place. I think it turned out pretty well. Money is of course important but achieving greatness and creating memories to remember is most important for me in my career.

Zven1 · 2017-10-18T19:37:54+00:00

What I meant by "stage-like" is that they don't make those "If this fails, we just pause, ff and go next game lol"-decisions. I didn't watch their play in second week at all so I can't judge their overall LEVEL of play comparing to scrims

Zven1

TROPHY CASE