With G2 Esports' first match in Munich on the horizon, Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle is soaring with stunning confidence as his team prepares for a rematch against MAD Lions KOI. Still climbing the lower bracket, the team appears hungrier than ever to claim another title in the LEC 2024 Season Finals. In this exclusive interview, Mikyx discusses his upcoming opponents, the current League of Legends meta, his playstyle, criticism, and more.

How are you feeling ahead of your match against MDK, especially coming from the lower bracket?

Mikyx: Yeah, I mean I feel a bit better and more confident going into it. After the last three games of the BDS series—if you completely ignore the first two—I think we're on a pretty good path to do the whole loser bracket run. In the last three games, we actually got our stuff together and played some good games. I'm feeling confident for now. I think we're a bit more on the same page, more disciplined, so yeah.

Do you think G2 experienced some burnout after playing continuously throughout the year? How do you feel about the team's current state, given this long and challenging year you've had?

Mikyx: Yeah, it's definitely been a long and... stressful year. I think we didn’t really have much of a break at all. Maybe in total, throughout the whole year, there was like a week or two off. But without actually playing the game, maybe only like a week, because after the first half of the week off, you have to start playing again to prepare for the next split. So, for sure it was a bit rough, and yeah, I'm looking forward to next week where I’ll actually have some time off, because it's been quite stressful. But yeah, I think right now we're on a good trajectory, so I'm looking forward to it.

How are you preparing to face MAD Lions KOI, a team that recently defeated you and is known for their unpredictable picks? Do you feel confident about this matchup?

Mikyx: Yeah, I feel like it can’t really be worse than how it was last time. I think we’re also a bit more prepared now and have more options from our side. When we faced MDK, we didn’t have much time to prepare for the new patch because it was right after the summer finals. We were quite limited and went with a one-strategy approach, like picking Kennen most of the time—full engage, go in with Nocturne and stuff. When that didn’t work, we were like, 'So what do we do now?' It was a bit doomed, but MDK also had a lot of stuff prepared that worked well for them.

Now, I think we’re more well-rounded, and we also know what they’re going to bring out. They have a very specific playstyle, and now that we’ve learned that, I’m pretty sure they won’t really be standing a chance.

What’s your prediction for the match—3-0, 3-1, or 3-2?

Mikyx: Yeah, I think we get over it quickly, yeah, 3-0.

How do you feel about the upcoming Worlds Patch (14.17) and the changes it brings, especially for the support role? Have you started analyzing it yet?

Mikyx: I haven’t really looked too much into it since we’re focusing on 14.15. But I played some solo queue, and there was a lot of Senna—I had to ban it at some point because everyone was picking it perma, and it was really annoying. But now she's nerfed, so I hope the pick is worse and we won't see it so much. I also got a bit annoyed that whenever I try building Warmog's Armor is so fucking expensive now. Maybe we'll see less Warmog's rush at Worlds now.

For support, I don’t think the meta will change much in terms of picks. It mostly depends on junglers and mids. If there are AP junglers like Zyra or Brand, you’ll probably keep playing Nautilus, Leona, Rell for engage and frontline. The same goes for AD mids—you'll have more options for champions that get countered by Mercury's Treads. For example, if you play Leona with an AP mid, it’s probably worse than with an AD mid.

Do you find the current meta a bit boring, or do you still enjoy it?

Mikyx: I think it’s been the same for a long time. I wouldn’t mind a little change. It's been practically the same since Summer. We’ve been playing the same three support champions over and over: Rell, Nautilus, and Leona. That’s pretty much it. There’s some Braum and Rakan here and there. It's always fun to get a Rakan game in—it feels like I can actually enjoy the game. But overall, I think mids and junglers need to change to bring more variety.

How does the current state of the ADC role, which has been pretty broken for a while, impact you as a support player?

Mikyx: I mean, there's like Ashe and Miss Fortune that have high priority because they’re very strong in lane. It’s definitely annoying to lane against them since they’re oppressive champions. They’re hard to punish due to their long range, and if you make a mistake, you can get run down and die. That happens to me a lot. Ezreal is also too strong; his Q doing a hundred something damage at level one is a bit crazy. But yeah, I’m looking forward to some shake-ups—maybe seeing some Samira or Nilah; those are fun champs to play with. I also hope that we see more of Xayah and Rakan soon.

How do you feel about the criticism of your play style? Some people say you’re inting while others defend you, claiming you're creating space and all. Do you feel like some of the criticism has been justified?

Mikyx: Carrying on Hylissang's legacy... I think some of the criticism is justified. For example, in game one against BDS, some of the things I did were completely disgusting. Some of it was due to team decisions, but a lot of times it was me being caught, it was just me being AFK or not knowing my limits. That was the worst one for sure, like me forgetting to Q the wall (as Nautilus), that was just trolling.

But I feel like the narrative is blown out of proportion. In the BDS series, game one was bad, but in the other four games, I think I played well. The consensus seems to be that I had a bad split, which is weird because last year was the opposite. I could have a good 2-3 games and then grief one, but still win and get MVP. The difference isn’t that big; maybe I didn’t die as much in lane last year. This year, I feel like I’m in the right places and making better engages than before. It’s a bit crazy how the narrative shifted from being the best player in the world at one point, to now being considered the worst. I think I’m just the same.

You play Genshin Impact. Are you excited for Natlan, and what are you most looking forward to?

Mikyx: I'm just looking forward to new characters. Capitano, the First Fatui Harbinger, looks very cool. I hope Varka gets released too. Varka is the grandmaster of Mondstadt, and I heard he’s on an expedition in Natlan. So that’s what I’m looking forward to. But I’m definitely not excited about the surfing thing. I tried the trial character, Mualani, and I couldn’t believe how lame it was. But yeah, Natlan looks cool though.

What anime are you guys currently watching?

Mikyx: We're watching Demon Slayer, but we’re really behind. We’re only on episode 4 or something. We'll have more time after Season Finals.