G2 BrokenBlade on his mindset: “Right now I’m thinking about destroying the opponent in front of me.” – LEC Versus Playoffs Interview

After a difficult regular season, G2 Esports have transformed in the playoffs, first securing a win against Team Heretics, then claiming a dominant best-of series against Karmine Corp (KC), and doing so in style. Following the 2–0 victory, the Samurai’s top laner, Sergen “BrokenBlade” Çelik, spoke with us about the completely crazy ending to Game 2, his matchup against Kim “Canna” Chang-dong, and how he evaluates his individual level this year.

Ilyas: After a difficult regular season where you weren’t really the favorites coming into this match.

At what point did you feel the opponents starting to crack? And what did we just watch in that second game?

BrokenBlade: Once we started getting the groove of the game, especially in the first one, I felt really confident that we were going to win because of how well my champion scales. I was doing really well and we had a good early game. In both games, we had a really solid early game. That’s where we got the upper hand against KC.

THE BASE RACE pic.twitter.com/yz3ubH3VHI

— LEC (@LEC) February 20, 2026

The second game was very cool to play. There were many instances where I thought we might win or we might lose. These kinds of games are what I live for. They’re really fun. If you win those games, you’re really happy. If you lose them, it’s safe to assume KC isn’t happy with that one.

Canna is widely regarded as the best top laner in the league. Today you completely crushed Game 1 on Gwen. How did the laning phase play out for you against him?

BrokenBlade: Today, I felt like I had the upper hand on Canna. Usually he’s very strong, but today I had the edge. I had a better matchup in the first game. In the second game, I was playing Rumble, who is also winning lane 1v1 against Galio, so it’s a bit harder to say. But I do think I played well. I’m happy with my performance.

Game 2 had a lot of fights and kills. You took the lead but struggled a bit to close it out. Did you ever have moments of doubt or feel scared?

BrokenBlade: There’s no doubt in a way, but obviously it’s not easy when things like that happen. You need to stay locked in and focus on what you can do to win the game.

I was saying to Caps (Rasmus Winther), “Let’s just go through sides. We haven’t gone through sides a single time.” Then they were looking to kill us top lane and we got away very luckily. If he dies there, we probably lose the game. But we got a lot of summoners, so in the end, that was very advantageous for us. That was a key moment in how we won the game.

Obviously, we don’t want to have to outplay the opponent to win the game, but it really came down to that. I was happy that we stayed proactive and allowed ourselves to take a risk even when the game had already become so crazy. That’s a good sign as a team, being willing to take risks when the game shifts from one where you’re clearly winning to one that’s no longer in your control.

Ilyas: G2 has always been seen as a team capable of pulling out very off-meta picks and surprising both opponents and viewers.

This year we’ve seen less of that. Why?

BrokenBlade: I can’t specifically tell you why. I mean, I did play Lee Sin and it just failed. But speaking for myself, I’ll play those champions when I think they’re good. If the situation doesn’t arise, then I won’t do it.

So far, those situations just haven’t come up in [the] draft. If I get the chance and it’s better than the alternative option, then I’ll probably go for it. I’m someone who likes to play those kinds of things, and they can be good. The right moment just needs to be there.

Can we expect to see your Warwick anytime soon?

BrokenBlade: Unfortunately, Riot Games nerfed Warwick top lane. So right now, Warwick is waiting. He’s in the freezer.

Ilyas: Last year, you were the best team in the West and one of the few LEC teams to keep the same five players.

Yet the team has struggled a bit more this year. In your opinion, why?

BrokenBlade: When you keep the same five players, there’s always a chance you get too used to each other and we had a bit of that. But I don’t want to say it’s just because of that. I also think the league has been getting better.

I say this every year, but especially this year, I really feel it. Look at teams like Vitality, NAVI ,and GIANTX in the regular season. Those are teams that were usually more mid-tier and they were doing really well. So there’s definitely been a level-up.

For us, we had to relearn some of the basics of the game and it took a bit longer than it should have. None of us is happy about that. But we’re getting the flow of the game back.

We’re getting the old G2 back. It’s still nowhere near our peak, but I’m happy with the process we’re going through.

Ilyas: On Monday, you’ll play against Movistar KOI for a spot in the final in your first best-of-five of the year.

What do you think of MKOI and Myrwn this year?

BrokenBlade: KOI looked weaker at the start as well. They beat us in our first stage game, but neither of us had the best start. It’s kind of iconic because we both had very similar regular seasons and now we’re both at the top of the league. It’ll be cool to see who developed the most in this best-of-five.

About Myrwn (Alex Pastor Villarejo), he has Alphari (Barney Morris) as a positional coach right now, and I used to have Alphari as my positional coach. So obviously, I want to be better in that matchup. There’s a bit of a storyline there, which is cool for the fans. I also really like his champion pool. He reminds me of myself in terms of the champions he’s willing to pull out.

How would you rate your individual level this year?

BrokenBlade: In the regular season, I don’t think I was playing that well. Toward the end of it, I started playing much better. I was playing very reserved and not with a lot of confidence, which isn’t my usual self.

I leveled up a lot in how I approach stage games. I’m very happy with how I’m playing right now. I don’t really care about the past, but it’s still part of me. I’ve taken the good things from the regular split into playoffs. Right now, I’m happy with my level and I’m looking to do even better.

You mentioned not being confident in the regular season. Is there a specific reason you want to share?

BrokenBlade: There’s no particular reason I can explain. I just had this feeling after games that I could have played much more aggressively, but I chose to be more defensive and be okay with just going even in lane. Today I didn’t do that. That’s the mindset shift.

Right now I’m thinking about destroying the opponent in front of me.

In the regular season, it was more like, “If I’m even, that’s good enough.” That’s a terrible mindset and I don’t want to think like that again. That big shift made it very clear for me.

Anything you’d like to add to wrap up this interview?

BrokenBlade: Thank you for watching us. It’s been a bit tough for G2 fans. They’ve probably taken some hits on social media because we haven’t been doing great. That makes sense. But now you guys can hit them back a little bit. I’m a bit off social media at the moment, so I’m not really looking, which is good because I’m grinding. Thank you guys for being part of the journey.