CBLoL representatives RED Canids have found their way to the best-of-fives of the Worlds 2021 Play-In Stage. Though the team suffered a loss against PEACE on the third day of the international competition, an earlier victory over Infinity Esports proved to be enough for RED Canids to advance. Now, mid laner Daniel “Grevthar” Xavier thinks, is their time to shine.
Grevthar is confident that his team will drastically improve in the best-of-five phase of the Play-Ins. (Image courtesy of Riot Games)
Grevthar sat down with us to talk about his game against PEACE, and why he thinks his team will be victorious when they meet tomorrow for a rematch in a best-of-five series. Grevthar also spoke about what drives him to aim higher every game, and why he wants to end up in the Group of Death if he makes it to the Group Stage.
Hotspawn: Welcome, Grevthar. Unfortunately, you lose the game against PEACE, but you’re still in the race for the Group Stage. What do you think about the performance today?
Grevthar: We came today, and we come in every day, saying that, no matter what, we leave with a smile. [Laughs] No matter what happens, if we lose or if we win. I’m really proud of the team, no matter what. I know that our team is better in best-of-fives, by the way. In best-of-ones, anything can happen. You can make mistakes in the early game that compromise the mid-game.
Some of those mistakes happened today, but it’s ok. Tomorrow, we have a best-of-five. Our minds and heads have been focused on this. We stopped focussing on what happened today.
Hotspawn: So heading into the day, you already assumed that you would make it to the best-of-fives?
Grevthar: Pretty much, yeah. We knew that Infinity would face a strong team, LNG. They’re a really strong team. But we came here to win, of course. That’s the main goal. Every day that’s the main goal. Either way, the results and the luck were with us today, so we’re going to the best-of-fives. I’m happy about it.
Hotspawn: You’ve had a feel of all your opponents now and you’ve probably watched games from the other Play-In group as well. How do you feel about the overall level of competition?
Grevthar: The level is pretty high, even though it’s Play-Ins. It’s really good to play against the other teams. The way that they play here is similar to how we play, I think. I’m really happy about it, I’m comfortable with how to play. One thing that’s different, is that they play much faster. If you make a mistake, they punish you. And they don’t stop punishing you. You need to be one hundred percent focused in the entire game so you don’t drop the ball. It’s really nice. It feels really good to play these games. [Laughs] It’s fun. You can’t make mistakes.
Hotspawn: No disrespect to the CBLoL, but I imagine you get a lot more freedom to make mistakes there.
Grevthar: Yeah, of course. The problem with CBLoL is that, sometimes, if you make a mistake, you don’t get punished. You get used to this. But when you come to Worlds, when you come to face these kinds of teams, you can not mess up. [Laughs]
Hotspawn: You’re going to get a rematch against PEACE tomorrow, this time in a best-of-five. You already mentioned you feel confident about it; what gives you the confidence?
Grevthar: Our team’s coach, Coelho, is really good at best-of-fives. He knows what the teams like to play. He can adapt the draft to their style really well between the games. That’s why, when we’ve got best-of-fives in Brazil, we did so well. We had two 3-1’s and a 3-0 in best-of-fives. It was really clean. He makes it easy for us. He’s an excellent coach. So, I don’t know, maybe it’s a ghost of best-of-ones that haunts us. [Laughs] But our best-of-fives are really, really good.
Hotspawn: In this Play-Ins meta, we’ve seen a lot of experimenting with champions. In best-of-fives, teams usually like to experiment even more. Are we going to see more wild picks?
Grevthar: Of course! It’s the kind of meta that I love. I love to play different champions, I love to play the crazy ones. I love to play Doinb-style. I love to play Sett mid, Kled, Poppy, Yone… anything you can play. It’s really fun to play. I hope the game never stops to have this crazy meta. [Laughs] I want to play the crazy champions. It’s really fun to play.
Hotspawn: You’ve played against a bunch of good mid laners already, such as Chovy and icon. How does playing against these players help you?
Grevthar: When I knew that I could face Chovy, everyone was like “group B, please go in group B!” so that we wouldn’t have to play against him. But when I saw it, I wanted to go into group A. I jumped up from my chair when I saw that I was going to play against him. That’s what I aim to do. I aim to play among the best, against the best. When I got the opportunity to play against probably the best mid laner in the world for the laning phase, I couldn’t be happier.
I’m not dropping that ball. I want to play against the other ones. I want to go to the Group Stage. I want to play against Doinb. I want to play against ShowMaker. So, if we make it, I want to be in Group A. I want to be in the Group of Death. I want to play with the best.
Hotspawn: CBLoL’s history at Worlds isn’t very decorated; what would it mean to you to make it to the Group Stage?
Grevthar: I don’t think I care much about this. It’s just a title for me. I just want to not stop playing League, you know? If I lose here, I can’t play anymore. So, I want to keep playing the game that I love each day.
Hotspawn: So, there isn’t much regional pride for you?
Grevthar: It’s kind of selfish, maybe. But it’s one of my dreams to do this, so I think I can say it.
Hotspawn: Still, Brazilian fans always loudly cheer for their representatives. In any esport, no matter if it’s LoL, CS:GO, or something else. Though you’re here for your own goals, does that support still help you?
Grevthar: Of course, of course. Especially for us. We’ve been underdogs since the Playoffs in CBLoL. Nobody had faith in us. But when we started winning, when we won in the finals against Rensga [Esports] and we came here, everyone was cheering for us. I couldn’t be happier. It’s really a good feeling that you have a whole nation behind you. Even though we’ve lost against Hanwha Life and LNG, the fans are really supportive. So I really want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. I couldn’t be happier. They’re really special.
RED Canids play their next series against PEACE on Friday, October 8th, at 6 PM CEST. You can watch it live on the official LoL Esports site.
