Despite being widely considered primary candidates for a place in the bottom of the league, Giants Gaming have surprised the community and are now preparing to face H2K in the LCS playoffs.
And the Swedish newcomer Oskar ”G0DFRED” Lundström, who’s had a successful rookie season in the LCS, says it’s their opponents who’ll have to handle all the pressure tonight.
– Nobody is expecting us to win against H2K, so we can put all the pressure on them, Lundström tells Aftonbladet Esport.

After a tough spring split, where Giants Gaming ended up ninth and had to qualify to survive in the LCS, few considered them more than a bottom two team before the summer. But with new Swedish support player Oskar ”G0DFRED” Lundström in the team, Giants defied all expectations and are now in the quarter finals against H2K.
– It feels amazing. I had never expected it to turn out as good as it has considering I didn’t have any experience whatsoever before. Of course it feels good to disprove people, but it really doesn’t matter as long as we’re playing good and winning our games, G0DFRED tells Aftonbladet Esport.

”Their style is a counter against ours”

Since qualifying for the playoffs, him and the team have been scrimming as usual and putting their main focus on reading H2K. And Giants will need a change of pace tonight, since their previous encounters in the league ended 0-2 in H2K:s favor.
– It’s a really tough game for us. Their early game is very strong and they put high pressure on their opponents with dives and stuff like that. I’d say their play style is a bit like a counter against ours. Looking at the past games this season, we’ve had a really hard time against them.

What will you have to do to break them tonight?
– We can’t end up too far behind in the early game, when they like to put a lot of pressure by teleporting and diving.

You had a tough finish in the LCS split and only won one game in the last four. Have you focused on something in particular after that run, that you’ve wanted to improve?
– Generally, we have to play more as a team and handle our teleports better. We’ve also worked on alternating our play style a bit more since we’ve mostly played a poke/split composition earlier, which isn’t always that good against teams like H2K. Those comps require more time to be effective and if you end up behind early, the chances of winning are really small since the opponents can force you to fight.

”Don’t think anyone can threaten Fnatic”

How much pressure do you feel coming into the quarters tonight?
– I don’t feel like we have any pressure at all. Nobody is expecting us to win against H2K, so we can put all the pressure on them.

Seeing their incredible run in the summer split, can any team in Europe threaten Fnatic right now?
– The way they’re playing right now I don’t think any team can threaten them. Maybe if someone gets an early lead and somehow builds on it without letting Fnatic back into the game. Because if you let Fnatic back in the game it’s most likely game over.