G2 Esports Talks First League of Legends Worlds Loss and Pressures of Being a Favorite

G2 Esports came into the League of Legends World Championship as a favorite to win it all and has managed to maintain those expectations with a nearly perfect record throughout the tournament. The esports organization was handed its first loss in the Groups Stage at the hands of Griffin and faced another loss immediately after that cost them the No. 1 spot in their group, though they're still in a spot to secure the championship as the Semifinals draw near. Despite having their perfect run thwarted, G2's owner Carlos "ocelote" Rodriguez said the team handled the losses with "incredible positivity" and hasn't let the pressures of their fan-favorite position affect them at all.

Rodriguez spoke to ComicBook.com over email about the pressures of Worlds and how G2 handled its first losses in the tournament to give some insights into the mindset of G2. While it's easy to assume a team would have their confidence shaken by going unbeaten for five games only to experience back-to-back losses, G2 viewed the situation as a teachable moment and appreciated the challenge.

"The losses to Griffin were unfortunate in that we didn't secure first seed of our group," Rodriguez said. "The games were valuable for showing us the areas we need to work on for the next stages. Whenever we lose, our team reacts with incredible positivity. They LOVE being challenged, and when a team challenges us, it forces change and improvement across the board. Our team at large loves growing and upgrading the way they play. This is one of the many reasons why we're always seen smiling and having a good time, even in the direst of situations."

Considering their performance so far and their first-place win at MSI 2019, the losses have done little to lessen their spot as a favorite to win. With only four teams left, G2 is the last contending European team following the eliminations of Splyce and Fnatic, so all eyes from that region are on them. Rodriguez said this type of pressure and events like Worlds and other competitions don't phase G2 much and equated the players' performances to ones we'd see from other athletes or artists.

"To the team, even an event like this doesn't bother them much, instead of feeling pressure they just get excited to play against the best in the world," Rodriguez said. "As competitors, they want to prove to everyone they are the best so the only way to do that is to play the best. They enjoy playing League of Legends the same way an artist enjoys painting, a boxer enjoys sparring and a musician enjoys performing. This is what makes us some of the best at this enormous video game."

G2's next Worlds 2019 match takes place on November 3rd at 3 a.m. PT when the team faces off against SK Telecom T1.