Sheep Esports – G2 Caps: “If I ever feel like I can’t win Worlds or I can’t compete, I will retire”
“Now that we are here in the quarterfinals, I will give everything to finally get there”
They did it…G2 Esports broke the curse of 2025 Worldsqualifying for the bracket stage for the first time in five years. Kings of League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), the Samurai finally gave hope by taking revenge on FlyQuest, winning their ticket to Shanghai and escaping the Swiss Stage. In an exclusive interview, star mid laner Rasmus “Caps“Borregaard Winther sat down with Sheep Esports before the quarterfinals to discuss his team’s historic qualification, the current state of G2 and his goals after nearly nine years of competing in the LEC.
How does it feel to finally return to the Worlds stage after five years, especially considering past near misses and facing BLG again?
Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther: “It feels really good. We were pretty close, especially the last two years, but we came up short. This match was very close, but we got the best result in the end, including beating BLG, the team that sent us home the last two years. I’m happy with the result, of course, and I just really want to get the most out of these Worlds.
I don’t know if we necessarily felt cursed. I definitely think Europe was a little weaker than in 2019-20, and it definitely seemed a lot harder to break out of groups. It was a bit difficult, but we managed it in the end. It will still be difficult to beat most LCK teams and some LPL teams as well, but we will do our best. We have plenty of time to prepare each team, and it’s best-of-five, no fear. So we’re going to look to create some chaos in the games.
In your opinion, what is the current level of European teams?
Caps: I don’t know if I would say we’re quite back. It was difficult for all the European teams. Obviously I have a lot of confidence in MKOI, but it’s definitely a difficult path. Every series will be a struggle for us, but in the end we will do our best. We have a week to prepare and, if we really study our opponents and make the most of our training, we can definitely beat anyone.
We arrived at this World Cup quite far behind many other teams, but we were already catching up on many concepts. It was the same thing with MSI: there too, we were very far behind. But at the end of the MSI and the beginning of the CEE, we caught up with a lot of concepts. If we can continue like this, we can definitely beat everyone we face in the quarters. It’s just about getting back into routine.
Both teams seemed less proactive at times during today’s match. Why do you think this happened?
Caps: In general, we’re just not a very proactive team. This is one of our biggest struggles, among other things we are working on. The situation has improved a lot this summer, but when you’re in a very stressful situation, it’s easy to become a little more passive again. This match was particularly stressful for us because we were facing FlyQuest, we really wanted to beat them. They knocked us out at MSI, and we haven’t beaten them yet, but I hope they bring in someone tough now. Or I guess we could play them in quarters too – that would be fun too.
Basically, we just picked up some of our bad habits and we definitely could have played a lot more aggressively. There were many opportunities that we didn’t take. I’m just happy that in the last game we took some good opportunities and found some good fights.
With G2’s recent history, was this bracket qualifier even more stressful than a quarterfinal?
Caps: Without fail. Plus, considering how the last few years have gone – losing to BLG in the last game, very close, and also losing to NRG – we really wanted to win today. Obviously we still had one chance left, so it wasn’t all or nothing, but I definitely think best of five gives us a few more chances and a lot more time to prepare. Right now it was very chaotic in terms of what we want to play and what they want to play. We don’t have as good a read as we hope for the quarter-finals.
With your recent matches (victories against BLG, MKOI and FlyQuest, but defeat against TES), how ready do you feel for the bracket phase? Have you been tested enough to face the best teams?
Caps: It was definitely an easier path than the last two years. We had some really tough years, facing a lot of LPL and LCK teams. This time we only had two. Two is still decent. We managed to beat BLG, but we were trampled by Top Esports.
The fact is that most of our games had very bad starts. Even this series, and our MKOI game too, we were late from the start. Our first games definitely need some work. As you mentioned, we’re a little too passive, and that’s something we’ve improved a lot this summer. All we have to do now is take this to the international stage. Teams are playing much more aggressively and confidently; everyone shows it in the game. It makes sense that our reaction is a little more passive at first, but we really need to keep the action going and get them to fight. We cannot let them do what they want, because then, I agree, we will lose. But I believe we can beat anyone.
Many fans have criticized Rudy “SkewMond” Semaan and Labros “Labrov” Papoutsakis this year. Do you think today’s performance gives them a much-needed confidence boost?
Caps: Many thanks to SkewMond and Labrov. I think they’ve improved a lot this year, and we as a team have improved just as much. It’s never about one guy, it’s about the team as a whole. Like I said, we improved a lot of things this year and became a lot more proactive. But we were definitely a little more passive on this show, and it’s not just on Skew, it’s on everyone. It’s up to everyone to make solid plans, really read what our opponents are doing, predict and react, and come up with crazy counters.
You have been the European star for years and remain a central figure in the LEC. What do you think of your level at this World Cup now, especially after so many years? Do you still feel at your peak, like you did maybe five years ago?
Caps: It’s always very difficult with League, because it’s so team dependent, as I mentioned before. All it takes is one bad call and I’ll die. Maybe someone doesn’t flash, or someone else prepares me really well and suddenly I have a great game because of it.
As a team we may not be at the highest level compared to other years, but I also think Fearless caused a bit of chaos. To be honest, everyone is just a little worse off, as they face more uncomfortable champions. We are aware of it, we know that we are not very comfortable with certain choices, and sometimes we do not know what our opponents will play. This shows in the matches: the teams are not playing as well as in previous years.
For me individually, I still feel very confident. I came to LEC in 2017 with the goal of winning Worlds, and if I ever feel like I can’t win Worlds or can’t compete, I’ll just retire. That’s why I play. And now that we’ve reached the quarters, I’m going to give everything to finally get there.
Do you have any final words for G2 fans?
Caps: Many thanks for all your support. It’s amazing to have so many people cheering us on. Even in the crowd today, I was surprised by how many G2 fans were there. Thank you to everyone who supports us online and in person: we really need it. Next week could be a tough series, depending on who we draw, so any support you can give us will be appreciated. We will do our best to meet all your expectations. »
Header photo credit: Yicun Liu/Riot Games
– Armand Luque –
