G2 Esports' First Stand 2026 campaign ended in heartbreak in the grand final at the hands of Bilibili Gaming, but the LEC kingpins struck a defiant tone in their post-match press conference, with Caps thanking the European faithful and pledging that the loss was merely a chapter, not the conclusion, of their 2026 story.
The G2 mid-laner addressed an LEC fanbase still hungry for an international title from one of its hometown teams. 'Yeah, I mean, definitely big thank you for all the support,' Caps said. 'We came into the tournament with not the best performance at the start, but a lot of people were still cheering for us, especially here in the arena. It was awesome to see everyone keep supporting us, and it means a lot to us. It definitely helped us turn our game around.'
The Dane was emphatic that the LEC's wait for international glory was not about to deflate the squad. 'Just because we lost today, it doesn't end our year. We still have a long way to go and we will keep grinding and putting in the work so that one day we can actually be the best.'
Much of the post-match discussion focused on the BLG bot lane, which had repeatedly troubled G2 across the tournament. AD-carry Hans Sama and support Labrov both nominated their Chinese rivals as the most challenging duo they had faced.
'From this experience in First Stand, I would say BLG bot was for sure the hardest,' Hans Sama said. 'I think we had our chance to beat them, but throughout the series — for example today — they were getting more confident and better. That would be the bot lane that, well, makes sense since we lost to them, but was the hardest bot lane to play against.'
Labrov echoed the assessment and praised the Chinese pair's champion pool flexibility. 'For me, it felt the hardest playing against the BLG bot lane,' he said. 'In both our series, in the first series it was definitely very hard, but I think the BLG bot lane is also playing a lot of weird champs as well, like Anivia and these type of champs that no one else has the confidence and skill to pull off, maybe besides Korea. It's definitely very exciting and challenging playing against them.'
Caps was reflective when asked about lessons G2 could carry into the rest of the season, drawing direct parallels to last year's MSI and Worlds runs.
'We have learned a lot, especially from last Worlds and MSI, and I think this tournament just kind of further showcased how important some of the concepts that we learned before are,' he said. 'Sometimes in Europe, maybe some of the things are not as relevant or it doesn't happen as frequently, so it's maybe hard for us to maintain. But we definitely need to find a way to keep practising on these things and getting better and better, because they are super important in these tournaments.'
Hans Sama struck a personal note about confidence after his rough opening series against BLG. 'Your individual form matters a lot going into the tournament. The first time we lost against BLG, I felt like I was very outclassed in that first series, and then I put a lot of effort into reviewing the games and becoming stronger. Confidence, being aggressive, being able to have a strong mental and help your team — that's what BLG only did in this tournament, and that's what I will look to do for the future.'
Although G2 fell short of the title, their First Stand campaign was widely seen as a significant step forward for an LEC region that has spent the back half of the decade chasing the LCK and LPL. Caps' parting message was clear: another shot is coming.