G2 will begin their playoff run at EWC in Paris, marking r1nkle's first playoff journey since joining the team. The European squad has experienced both highs and lows since r1nkle's arrival, but coach sAw believes these issues can be resolved with a bit more time.
"It's actually a matter of experience," sAw said in an interview with HLTV after his team finished the group stage. "There are situations like being overly aggressive with pushes, or some details not handled well, which need match experience to gradually refine. I think as long as he can keep learning throughout this process and truly integrate into our system, it will be a very positive thing for us."
This Finnish coach believes that with time, r1nkle has the potential to grow into a more well-rounded player than SunPayus. sAw said he is a young, aggressive sniper with strong individual skills, excelling not only in rifling but also with pistols and other firearms. To some extent, he can become a more complete player.
Q: Congratulations on advancing to the knockout stage and making it to the top 16. You faced some challenges in the match against M80, and also on the second map. Can you talk about that process?
sAw: The season has just begun, and we've recently changed players. Many things are still in the adjustment phase. In that Mirage game against M80, most of the time was under our control. Although the score seemed close, we maintained economic pressure on the opponent throughout, so the pressure wasn't that high.
Today we played BIG. Did well on Cache and Inferno, but it was a bit rocky on Ancient. Started off pretty well, but toward the end of the T side we made a series of basic mistakes. After switching to the CT side, we had to claw our way back bit by bit. We finally reached match point, but couldn't close it out in regulation and lost in overtime.
Overall, both matches were pretty tight, but we managed to make it to the elimination rounds, which is satisfying. Two matches went smoothly, while two were more intense, but our overall performance was decent. We just need to continue improving step by step in the upcoming matches.
Q: I'd like to ask about your overall off-season and the decisions you made during it. First off, regarding benching SunPayus, can you share the reasoning behind that decision? Why ultimately decide to make the roster change?
sAw: With roster adjustments like this, it's usually not driven by a single reason—there are definitely multiple factors at play. Ever since I joined G2, the team's overall level has been in a relatively stable range without major breakthroughs. We've never truly reached the heights we aspire to. So when evaluating this roster, a question lingers in our minds: Can we continue down this path and improve further? Or should we make changes? What's the future of this lineup? What's the ceiling? These were the questions we were grappling with at the time.
So we went through each member of the roster one by one, considering what we needed, what we could do, and where our potential lay. I am well aware that SunPayus is an exceptional player, and we are very familiar with what he brings to the table—his voice, his experience, and the difficulties he faced while adapting to CS2. I believe that if he joins the right team and fits into the right system, he can still showcase his value.
But for us, we need something a bit more radical—because there are already several other rather passive players on the team. It's not that they don't sacrifice for the team, but they really aren't that proactive. It's not like you have to have a sniper who sacrifices themselves, but if you can have an aggressive sniper like r1nkle, who dares to make more plays, proactively takes space, and secures first kills, then that can bring something completely different to our matches.
I believe r1nkle, as a sniper, has the potential to take his game to the next level and carry his team in future tournaments. Of course, I also think he might be inconsistent for a considerable period. This takes time—he needs to adapt to us, we need to adapt to him, and we also need to adjust our system around such an aggressive sniper. So it's a process, but he’s young, aggressive, and exceptionally skilled individually. He’s strong with rifles, and his pistols and other weapons are equally solid. To some extent, he could become a more well-rounded player.
Additionally, when we brought NertZ in, he was also a more vocal player who replaced malbsMd at the time. So now we have NertZ, SunPayus, and huNter-. And with huNter- as the in-game leader, we already have three voices on the field giving commands. From this perspective, we don't need r1nkle to play the same role as SunPayus. This is actually an adjustment in direction, converting the extra "authority" into other areas where we might have been lacking.
Of course, this is also a venture into the unknown. But I feel that the previous lineup's potential has been mostly exhausted in Cologne, with little left to extract. Perhaps, from a certain perspective, we could indeed stay the same and maintain the status quo, and everyone would be quite satisfied. But I believe trying new directions and giving it our all is also perfectly fine. The results will show in the end. What we need to do now is train hard and strive to align our rhythm as quickly as possible—these are all standard procedures, right?
Q: You mentioned earlier that your team has relatively many passive players. But from my perspective, this seems almost opposite to the impression G2 gives. NertZ is a player who can create opportunities, and MATYS also likes to take initiative. So where do you think the balance should be found? Should it start with huNter-? Or do you think certain positions need more aggression added?
sAw: Yeah, actually a large part of that also needs to come from huNter-. He is the leader, especially on the T side, responsible for leading the charge forward. We've been working on this since last season, and will continue to do so.
This is indeed a very delicate balance to strike. As you said, we lack a natural entry fragger. NertZ isn't that traditional entry fragger, MATYS isn't, huNter- isn't, and HeavyGod definitely isn't either. And it's not like we can have r1nkle do the entry work (laughs). So this balance will remain a challenge for the foreseeable future, but it's something we have to figure out how to piece together. We've actually been aware of this issue all along.
Interestingly, when malbsMd was on the team, he was a natural entry fragger, which everyone knew. We played the way we did back then precisely because of him. Every lineup adjustment we made wasn't random (laughs)—we always had expectations in mind. But striking the right balance is indeed difficult, as too many factors are involved. It's not about getting exactly what you want; it's about helping players adapt to new roles and grow in their new positions. When NertZ joined, I actually knew very well what he could bring to the team.
Q: Don't you think MATYS is the most natural replacement for malbsMd's role? Because when NertZ replaced malbsMd, everyone's first reaction probably pointed in this direction. Although your subsequent moves did align with this direction, you made many balancing adjustments along the way. Could you discuss the considerations behind this decision?
sAw: We did have MATYS try out some entry fragger roles, but not all of them. Because the role of an entry fragger varies across different maps—some are more straightforward, while others require coordination with props and involve a bit more "gimmick," making them more calculating to play. So we can't generalize. NertZ excels at those entry fragging tasks that require calculation and judgment.
And as for MATYS, he's not the type to rush forward mindlessly or charge directly into the bomb site. He's not a "bulldozer" style player. He's better suited for a gameplay approach that allows for slightly slower pacing, where he can gradually find opportunities for duels. Of course, if he's used as a trade fragger following huNter-, playing the secondary entry role into the site, that works quite well too. He definitely has his strengths, as well as his weaknesses.
I wouldn't really classify MATYS in the same category as malbsMd, to be honest. Their styles are quite different. MATYS's individual mechanics are definitely top-tier, but that kind of "top-tier" differs from malbsMd's. malbsMd excels at creating space, often pulling wide to initiate conflicts proactively. MATYS, on the other hand, leans more towards a "calculation-based" playstyle in this regard. I'm not saying he isn't willing to sacrifice for the team—he is—but stylistically, he and malbsMd are two different types of players.
Q：I'd like to continue discussing some of your thoughts on r1nkle that you mentioned earlier. During his time at NIP, he didn't quite meet the early expectations people had for him—his aggression and explosiveness weren't consistently delivered, and his performance fluctuated quite a bit. So, what potential do you think he has that you can bring out?
sAw: As I mentioned, I think from a personal skill level, he is a very comprehensive player—whether it's gunplay, movement, or positioning, his fundamentals are solid. If we can integrate him into the system and let him play in positions where other team members are already proficient, then r1nkle can naturally slot in and fill some gaps. We don't need him to worry about how his teammates play or how the overall strategy is controlled; he just needs to focus on himself.
Of course, the premise is that he must not make the kind of mistakes that would cost the entire team. What we need from him is that "X factor" in critical moments—the clutch factor, the big-play ability. When he finds himself in outnumbered situations like 1vX or 3vX, if he can secure even one extra kill, it could very well turn the tide of the round. Conversely, if he loses that kill, it might just hand the advantage to the opposition.
From this perspective, experience is indeed very important. Issues like pressing too deep and insufficient attention to details need to be gradually corrected as match experience accumulates. I think as long as he can learn in this process and truly integrate into our system, it would be a very good thing for us.
Of course, as I said, we don't need him to command or issue orders, but we do need him to manage himself—knowing what he can do in a round, how to start the game, how to handle the mid-game, and how his teammates can coordinate around him. So it's not just about saying "I'll go to A" or "I'll go to B"; it needs to be a bit deeper than that, but without requiring him to control the CT side entirely. This is something that needs balance, but I truly believe he can bring that extra value to the team.
Q: Do you think the "voices" in the team are more balanced now? You mentioned earlier that NertZ and huNter- can make decisions together in the mid-round. Based on the matches you've played so far, have you noticed this change?
sAw: Indeed, it has this kind of impact. When you remove one voice that’s directing operations on the field, the overall atmosphere becomes more relaxed, making it easier for everyone to reach a consensus. There’s also less chaos with people competing to command or speak up. However, on the flip side, you do lose some things, such as certain strategies and ideas, as well as small details like economic calculations. SunPayus is really exceptional in that regard.
So after these two matches, I can see some benefits, as well as some shortcomings. I think more time is needed to observe through further training and official games. By then, I will have a clearer view of the impact these changes bring, and I will make adjustments based on the actual situation.