After Gen.G dismantled Cloud9 (C9) during the Worlds 2021 quarterfinals, the victorious players spilled all about the series. In the post-match press conference, Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong discussed picking Aatrox into Luka “Perkz” Perkovic's Yasuo and poked a bit of fun at C9's reaction to the knockout draw. Meanwhile, Gen.G's bot lane duo also previewed the semifinal matchup against EDward Gaming (EDG).
Gen.G players talk Worlds knockout matchups
Bdd reveals reason for Aatrox pick
Back when the brackets were decided, Cloud9 famously exclaimed they were heading to World Championship finals “for free.” The LCK squad, too, got caught on video cheering after finding out about their quarterfinals opponents. It was all good banter, though in the end, Gen.G had the last laugh with a clean 3-0 stomp.
“Since they (C9) hadn’t played against us, it's understandable that they reacted that way, but seeing how today’s match turned out, they shouldn't have,” Bdd expressed in a translated post-match interview on Inven Global.
Against C9, Bdd put up some amazing numbers, playing one of the best series of his career. Of course, it may seem easy to shine when the entire team is doing well. But Gen.G's mid laner certainly pulled his weight in the quarterfinals. He provided peel with an Aatrox pick in game one and landed game-changing Zoe bubbles to shatter NA's Worlds hopes.
In the past, Bdd received criticism about his champion pool. Even at Worlds, he hasn't necessarily picked the “strong” or meta champions compared to other mid laners. On his seemingly unorthodox champions, he thought that “the angle was right,” and he ended up performing well against C9's Yasuo-centric knockup-heavy comp. For that matter, even when the LCS team tried to shut him down, especially in game three, Bdd still came up huge at the most crucial moments.
“It seems that everyone thinks that our champion pool is limited…but we have a lot of champions prepared,” he said.
Looking ahead to the semifinals round against EDG, Bdd explained that since the two sides are not far apart skill-wise, the “conditions on the match day will be really important.” Meanwhile, his teammates down in the bot lane felt “confident” going into the matchup.
Ruler and Life brim with confidence against EDG duo
While EDG's bot lane is considered among the best in the tournament, Gen.G's duo are no slouch either. AD Carry Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk especially is often regarded as the player to put the team on his back in the late game.
“When I saw their (EDG's) matches, they were parts where they were good, but they also made mistakes. We’re also not that perfect, so I think it’ll be fierce and interesting. It’ll be fun to face EDG’s bot duo,” he added.
Ruler's lane partner, Kim “Life” Jeong-min, shared similar sentiments. The Gen.G duo themselves built up strong synergy with Life taking over CoreJJ's place in 2019. Gen.G fans will be happy to see the support's growth and will hope they can hold the duo own against the LPL bot lane.
“EDG’s bot duo is really good, but I remember Viper losing a lot to Ruler and me,” Life shared. “I’m confident that we’ll win in the semifinals.”
Should their expectations come to fruition, then an all-LCK finals awaits. The other side of the Worlds bracket features defending champions Damwon Gaming against T1, ensuring at least one Korean representative in the last round.
“I think the LCK proved through this Worlds that the LCK is better than the rest,” Gen.G head coach Ju “oDin” Yeong-dal said.
The three LCK teams still in contention for the Worlds title had all swept their quarterfinals opponents, suggesting a return to dominance for the region. EDG could play spoiler, though, and prevent the crown from heading to Korea. The LCK-LPL semis clash is set for Sunday, October 31.
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