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G2 Esports witnessed an early exit from VCT 2022 Masters: Reykjavik. After entering the playoffs as EMEA's top seed, G2 were held back by consecutive defeats to LOUD and Paper Rex.
G2's Lower Round 2 fixture witnessed them crumble against PRX. After claiming a 9-3 lead on the first map, Split, G2 conceded 10 second-half rounds, claiming only one in the process. The matchup on Bind ended in a similar fashion as PRX came off with flying colors.
G2 had kickstarted their VCT 2022 Masters: Reykjavik campaign with a victory over Zeta Division. However, they were hit with defeat upon facing LOUD, the newcomers from Brazil. Ultimately, an encounter with APAC's top representative Paper Rex sent the Europeans on a flight back home.
Mixwell comments on G2 Esports' exit from VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters: Reykjavik
While in conversation with Sportskeeda Esports' Adarsh J. Kumar, G2 Esports' Oscar "mixwell" Cañellas shared his experience in the tournament, detailing his team's performance at the VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters: Reykjavik.
Q: G2's run in the VCT 2022 Masters: Reykjavik came to an unfortunate end today. Did you expect PRX to come all guns blazing like they did today, and where do you think G2 faltered?
Mixwell: After we saw PRX's games, we knew they were a really good team. Their mental fortitude seems to be like they have a lot of fun and don't care about external things. Their comeback was expected, to be honest. If we don't play well, they can always comeback.
We knew that they were really good after seeing their first performance in the tournament. They deserved to win.
Q: The matchup against Paper Rex was G2's first official encounter against an APAC side. How different is the playstyle of the APAC region when compared to teams from EMEA?
Mixwell: I think they play much more aggressive. They take a lot of fights, they want to feel the game a lot more. When they're hitting their shots, it's like a super snowball effect. They take every chance they have and kill you. They also have some really good players like f0rsakeN, who played really well today. Props to him and congratulations.
Q: In your first matchup on Split, G2 managed to seal the first half with a promising 9-3 lead. However, PRX's attacking half saw a fairly one-sided performance that witnessed G2 concede 10 rounds at the cost of 1. What do you think went wrong for G2 on the map?
Mixwell: I think we lost some crucial rounds. We could've won the pistol-round 3v2 and then we also lost a 4v5 in what was their bonus round. When we took A-heaven control, we didn't trade properly, we were not compact, and we made simple mistakes.
And then when they got the Operator, f0rsakeN was getting an entry in every round. So it wasn't easy to play. One round after another, we started losing and we didn't have an answer today.
Q: Yoru is an Agent that is yet to build an active presence in the pro Valorant meta. Do you think the unpredictability of playing against a Yoru and PRX's set-strategies around f0rsakeN on the Agent helped them win the matchup on Bind?
Mixwell: I think the Yoru pick can catch you off-guard really hard. To be honest, if f0rsakeN played anything else, he would've dropped 30-kills anyway because he was hitting every shot. But the Yoru-pick catches you off-guard.
Not only the Yoru-pick; it's their comp in general. They have a lot of flashbangs. It's hard to fight for long because they can rush long and escalate every utility.
We needed to change how we played since we usually try to counter long pressure. If you put too many people on one side, Yoru can always teleport back. So there are a lot of things going on at the same time. If you're not playing at your best level, Yoru is going to control the game, and that's what happened.
Q: Due to the success of EMEA teams throughout VCT 2021, EMEA has reigned over Valorant as its most competitive region. After a subpar performance from EMEA teams at the VCT Masters: Reykjavik, do you still think EMEA is the best region in Valorant?
Mixwell: Without a doubt. I think EMEA is a really strong region even though we didn't play well this tournament. The circumstances were not good for EMEA either.
I think FPX would have done a really good job in this tournament. Fnatic was playing with two stand-ins, and we didn't play how we could have, at least compared to our practice matches or how we played online.
So if we get better with the mistakes that we made here and if we keep working, we will come to the next event much stronger.
Q: Despite the results, G2 will return home with a top 6 finish at the Stage 1 Masters, thereby leading the EMEA circuit standings. How would you describe your experience at the tournament?
Mixwell: I think for me it's a disappointment. We had a chance to win the event. I feel like we were coming into really good shape, but we didn't take it and we didn't play well enough to deserve it. I still believe in my team. We will keep working, we will go back home and we will do what we have to do.
Being professionals, we can't just give up because it's just one tournament. We have the rest of the year ahead of us. We have the most points in EMEA, so we have a really good chance of making it to the VCT Champions if things go right.
Q: What can we expect from G2 Esports in Stage 2 of VCT 2022?
Mixwell: As far as I know, a new Agent is coming. We need to see how the Agent adapts to the game. We will also try to change some stuff so that we're not predictable; maybe changing up some comps and the way we work to be more solid in tournaments like this.
