G2 Esports kicked off its 2026 LEC Spring Split with a victory against Team Heretics in the 2nd week of the regular season. The young jungler SkewMond looked back on this meeting, the challenges of resuming after the First Stand tournament, and delivered his analysis on the meteoric progression of several young talents within the LEC.
A demanding return to competition for G2 Esports
After a week of rest following its international journey during the First Stand, G2 Esports returned to the LEC stage with a victory against Team Heretics. Jungler SkewMond spoke about the impact of this cut, the adjustments necessary to get back into rhythm and his vision of the current level of the league. Asked about the rather calm pace of this first meeting, which some observers have compared to the style of the Korean league, the Frenchman validates this observation: “Yes, I suppose. We just played slowly, playing on the drakes and trying to scale as much as possible. I guess so, it’s true. HAS”
The transition between the intensity of an international tournament, a week off, then the resumption of scrims requires a particular effort of adaptation. SkewMond details this process of getting back on track: “It really comes down to relearning what we learned during First Stand, for example. And I think it’s really about making sure you’re not mechanically rusty, really knowing and visualizing how you’re going to play certain matchups. Because after a week of rest and a few soloQ games, it’s really different playing scrims or on stage. This is where we need a little time to get back into it. HAS”
Despite this delay, he remains confident for the rest of the regular season: “That’s why I’m not really that worried. Obviously, I’m happy with the victory, it will definitely count in the long term. But yes, the split is going to be really, really long. So it will be important for us to keep the pace and see it as a marathon. HAS”
Opponent analysis: NAVI and the young talents of the LEC
The interview then focused on the NAVI team, first in the standings before its match against Vitality which closed this first day of Week 2. SkewMond analyzes the strengths of this formation, which it considers particularly dangerous when it applies its preferred strategy: “ If they play their own game by being disciplined, and playing a lot around the jungle, I think they’re a pretty strong team. […] I think the key to their success is when they play around the jungler, they manage to gain an advantage, and then the jungler helps the lanes. So like I said, if they are disciplined at this level and can accumulate the dragons, I think they will be a good team. HAS”
The G2 jungler was also invited to speak about the evolution of Rhilech, his counterpart at NAVI, whom he had already faced in the regional league: “I played against him in 2024 for only one split, and I find that he has really changed as a player. I think he’s a lot more consistent and more versatile in the way he plays. Before, he was really focused on farming, he was just looking to gain an advantage on his own. But I think he now has a very good vision of how to disrupt lanes. It’s quite promising. » Asked with humor to find out who had the better Aatrox in the jungle between the two, SkewMond bows: « Yes, probably him. That’s for sure. I also lost in the final against BDS Academy. […] I think he simply has a lot more games on it and probably better knowledge about the champion than I do. HAS”
The dominance of Naak Nako and the impact of the toplane
Another young prodigy caught SkewMond’s attention: Vitality top laner Naak Nako, whom he himself faced in the final when he played at BDS Academy. The jungler is extremely complimentary of this lightning progress: “I think they have both progressed enormously [avec Rhilech]. Last year he was a decent player, but from the summer he started to show good things. And during the last split in the LEC, he proved that he was a really consistent and very mechanical player. I think he’s probably one of the best players in the area, that’s for sure. To achieve this in the space of a single year is quite impressive honestly. HAS”
To conclude, SkewMond detailed his vision of the impact that an elite toplaner, like the Chinese player Bin, can have on the progress of a game: “If we want to talk about the best, like Bin for example, I think that their main strength is to know exactly their timings for roaming, to have the right tempo with the team to search flanks to the TP. Obviously I’m not a toplaner, I can’t really speak for them. But from my perspective, when I watch these guys really impact the map, it’s because they really think about tempo, they know when they are strong in their lane and use that advantage to play with the team. HAS”
