G2 Esports have spent the better part of this season hovering just outside the results they know they’re capable of. For MATYS, the journey has been as much about personal growth as team success, navigating new roles, anchor spots, and the pressure of underperforming against top five teams. We sat down with him to talk about what’s changed, what he’s learned, and why he’s more confident than ever heading into the Major.
G2 has always been known for its aggressive and confidence-driven style. How would you describe the team’s identity right now compared to the previous rosters, especially after replacing malbsMd with NertZ?
I think we knew there was gonna be a difference compared to what malbsMd was bringing and NertZ, but we knew personality-wise they are a bit different. I’m not saying one or the other is better. No. We just had to fit in more exactly how NertZ is used to play and also what system we have.
Basically, make ourselves comfortable, but also him, obviously, because he has an important role in the team on every map. So we had to have both. But I don’t think there is an insanely big difference in system or playstyle. I just think recently, at least since the last two events, where we made playoffs, but we could have gone deeper, as everyone knows obviously. Especially us as a G2 team. I think we managed to better a lot of details since then. So let’s see if we’re gonna show it in the Major or not.
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What has been the biggest improvement in the team’s chemistry and communication over the last few months?
Probably the biggest improvement in the last few months is the understanding of each other, to be honest. Yes, we changed only one player, which is NERTZ, but when you change sometimes an AWPer, IGL, or a space taker, it can fully change the dynamics, even though it’s only one player. One out of five players in the team is still a lot. So I would say the biggest improvement was actually to understand each other, what NERTZ is comfortable with, and how to mix it basically with our system.
Every G2 roster seems to develop its own personality. What makes this current lineup unique behind the scenes?
I think the big difference with this roster is trying to be very flexible when it comes to set stuff, so everyone understands what’s his role in specific rounds, but also at the same time trying to play some free rounds so people can have space. If we do one of those rounds, some free defaults, then people need to speak up on their spots if they need support in this moment or they need something extra. It’s basically the responsibility of all of us to build it together. So I would say the answer is flexibility between set stuff and combining it with the stuff that people actually want to do free on the run, but we need to connect it very well to make it comfortable for all of us.
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Tell me about the role of SunPayus. Even as a stand-in IGL, he produced some really good numbers. How has his identity developed on the team?
I think he learned a lot since the moment he became IGL in Rio, especially when it comes to confidence. Obviously, we know how good he can play, but when it comes to consistency, he has been very harsh on himself. Maybe from outside it looks like he is a very bad player sometimes, from what people say. I can kind of understand maybe sometimes, but it is absolutely clueless from what’s actually happening inside the team.
We know how good of an improvement he made since that tournament, and he learned a lot. That’s why he has been playing way, way better since becoming IGL when it comes to everything: confidence, less hesitation, communication, ideas, and hesitating way less as a person. He improved a lot on it, so I’m very happy for him.
There have been several tournaments where G2 finished in the 5th–8th range. What do you think has been the biggest obstacle stopping the team from reaching semifinals and finals consistently?
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I think so far we needed the experience from the last two events to hit the playoffs together. The positions also changed a bit when it comes to feeling pressure in those moments, with me playing more anchor roles, which I didn’t do very well over the last two events.
I think that made a big impact on why we didn’t reach semifinals or finals. But as I know myself, I worked very hard from that moment to do the best I can on my spots, and already I can tell I got way more comfortable. That will help us in the near future 100%. When I am confident and comfortable on the anchor spots that I was put in, I can already tell we will show a much better version of me individually again as a MATYS player.
Your playstyle is very confident and explosive. Where does that confidence come from when playing on stage?
I would say there is not a direct answer, but I like to play in front of the crowd. For me, it helps me reset way faster. I’m a very emotional guy, but it helps me in a much better way playing in playoffs in front of the crowd. It helps me a lot with focus and not getting stuck on past rounds if we fucked up something up or if I fucked up something. It just helps me more towards focus, confidence, and everything basically. It makes me more aware of my surroundings and myself, and what’s happening around me.
Your individual numbers have been very strong at several events this season, especially tournaments like IEM Rio and ESL Pro League. Do you feel you’re currently playing the best CS of your career?
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That is an absolutely easy answer, and the answer is no. I have way more to learn, especially now since NertZ came in and with some of my new spots, especially the anchor spots. As I know myself as a player, sometimes even though in theory I know something is good, I need to experience it first as a player, and then I completely understand that it’s a very good play or some consistency on the spot that I can repeat more.
Then I become very good usually. So it takes longer for me maybe compared to other players if I’m doing something consistently uncomfortable. Maybe last season I was playing decent, but it was a bit of a different role compared to this season, and I had a lot to learn again as a person and as a player.
Even in some tournaments where G2 struggled as a team, your individual rating stayed consistent. How important is consistency to you as a player?
For me, consistency is everything. Even though sometimes I’m not playing as best as I could, especially compared to my role, because on T side there are gonna be games where maybe I will not have the proper duels because of my role. I’m entering sites a lot with huNter-, and sometimes unfortunately in-game you cannot clear triangles or four angles at the same time.
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You need sometimes to bet and be a bit more lucky. My goal is to understand this and not get tilted about it. Then if the side switches, I can be reliable as an anchor and build my confidence, be consistent, and stay consistent even if I have a bad half on T side. That’s what I’ve been looking for over the last few months.
Your recent ratings at tournaments like PGL Astana and BLAST Rivals were lower compared to some of your earlier events this season. Do you see that more as a temporary dip in form, or were there specific issues affecting your game?
I think these two events are where I learned the most as a person and as a player. I learned what to check in more detail, where to stand, how to stand, when to push, what to say, and when not to say extra stuff. These events helped me a lot, even though I’m very harsh on myself and I remembered these two events for a long time.
But I put the effort in after those events to fix what I could, and I fixed a lot. That’s why I am very confident in myself and in us. Even if teams try to abuse something where I am, I’ve already been one or two steps ahead. That’s the way I see it.
Outside of practice and official matches, what’s something fans would be surprised to learn about you?
I live kinda on a farm, to be honest. For a lot of years, we used to have sheep and goats. My father and mother used to take care of them a lot. Now we have rabbits, chickens, dogs, and cats. People in Czechia and Slovakia know me for living kinda on a farm. That can be a fun fact. We also had Chinese pigs.
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The Major is coming up soon. How different does the atmosphere inside the team feel compared to regular tournaments?
I think everyone on our team understands the importance of this event. If we’re gonna play very well, which I believe and know we can, then we can boost up pretty fast in the VRS system or HLTV, and people will maybe start to respect us more. But that’s not the important thing. The more important thing is that we’re gonna start to be even more confident beating those top teams. Usually we beat teams that are top 10 or top 20 comfortably, but we started to struggle recently against top-five teams, and always something was missing.
If this becomes a breakthrough, and if it’s gonna be at the Major, it’s gonna be a big confidence boost. As I said before, we were working hard during this bootcamp to make those details fit for every one of us. If you break through against those kinds of teams and matches, it can change very fast in your mind. We lost to Vitality twice by one round. We choked. It happened against MOUZ too. If you break through against those teams, you can become way more confident in those details. When you were losing before, it was actually the opposite.
