With their destinies taken from them, GIANTX and Patrik (Patrik Jírů) cling to hope as they eagerly await the result of the next LEC 2024 Summer Playoffs match. In this exclusive interview, the AD Carry sat down with Sheep Esports after his loss to Team BDS to shed some light on everything that happened this week. Patrik discusses his team's improvements, hopes for the future, and the ongoing meta.

How do you feel after your loss against Team BDS?

Patrik "Patrik" Jírů: To be honest, I feel pretty mad and sad because, as you said, looking at the matchup, a lot of people expected a 2-0 from BDS. But we were actually quite even today I think. And I don't know, we just fumbled individually in important moments, some decisions were pretty bad, and then we lost. But I don't know, it just feels like we could have won games 1 and 3. Yeah, it just sucks.

What do you think was the major contributing factor which led to your loss in this best-of-three series?

Patrik: I think in game 3, when Drake and Baron were both up, we were just too slow in making a move. We saw Zeri doing Drake at some point, but it was already almost dead even though she takes at least 10 seconds. If we had been five seconds faster in starting Nash and making something happen, we could have won.

How do you feel about GIANTX's overall improvement this season despite today's loss?

Patrik: I feel confident and happy because we've played together for one split and almost beat Fnatic and BDS. I hope we make it to the season finals. With a little improvement, we can probably take series from those teams. So yeah, I'm hopeful SK wins and performs well against KC.

Your run with Excel last year felt rather reminiscent of your time with GIANTX. What have you learned from last year's run that you've implemented this year with GIANTX?

Patrik: This year, we play a simpler game than before. Our play style doesn't change much from game to game; we do the same thing every game and have gotten good at it. Before, we tried a variety of things and did well, but sticking to one consistent strategy has helped us perform better.

You've long been considered one of the best ADCs to have never really won much. How do you view yourself as a player today, considering your long journey in the LEC, and do you still believe you can be one of the best ADCs in the league?

Patrik: It's tricky, right? Losing, of course, sucks, and it kind of brings my confidence down. But I would say throughout the splits, I just overall feel good. I still think I'm really good, and even though I've played for, like, 6-7 years in the LEC, I think I'm getting better every year. So just keep going, you know, keep trying. I think that's the best thing I can do.

Despite boasting some of the worst early-game stats in your role, most people still consider you as a pivotal member of GIANTX, especially due to your strong late-game performances. How do you view your role in this team?

Patrik: Well, my laning has not been the best. But I also want to say that I don't think we are necessarily drafting to win lane. I feel like we are drafting to either get a good 3v3 mid or just scale well into the game. We are playing around teamfights quite often. I think we just didn't play the best lanes most of the time.

Would you say that you are consciously taking more of a supportive approach to help enable Jackies for example?

Patrik: I think my role is mostly to be self-sufficient, like pick something that doesn't need too much attention. And, you know, if possible, scale well into the game, so we can take our 3v3s around mid and look to just scale up into the game. So, I would say that's mostly what I'm doing right now.

What do you think you need to work on to be able to compete with teams like BDS in the future?

Patrik: I mean, one thing is our decision-making in the late stages of the game, right? But I think we also kind of lose many early games. We like to give up stuff for free, and we don't really trade, or maybe our setups are not that good. So, I mean, for me, I think we should make sure that we don't get too far behind in the early game, you know? Some games, I feel like we start like 2k down or something at 15 minutes, and you know, why make it so hard if we don't have to?

It feels like sometimes you're making the game more difficult than it needs to be for yourself, right?

Patrik: Yeah. I mean, like, I think our team fighting is like the best thing we have. So now if we could only, like, team fight when we're ahead or even, that would be perfect, you know?

How do you feel about the current ADC meta with so many marksmen being played in different roles?

Patrik: I think this meta is a lot of fun actually because simply flexing things like Ezreal or, in our case, Zeri mid allows for a lot of flexibility and new champs. In the G2-Fnatic series, they usually had a lot of damage from jungle or top, so that allowed them to pick Jhin. I think it's just a good support champ to help out. Yeah, I mean, the meta is just a lot of fun. You can play almost anything, so it's good.

Are there any champions you would like to play in the LEC that aren't viable right now?

Patrik: I guess one of my favorite champs to play is Nilah. I don't know how you want to pronounce it, but she is just in such a garbage spot. Loses most matchups, doesn't have good items, so it's just pretty bad.

What do you think needs to be buffed about her?

Patrik: I think in general the easiest thing to buff is usually base stats. Especially for her since she's a melee champ, you know, if she gets like, I don't know, two armor and 30 HP, suddenly she might be pretty OP. So yeah, just a little 30 HP buff.