Before Day 5 of the 2019 MSI Group Stage was underway, our team met with Sjokz to share a short conversation. A familiar face that we see at every international event, the LEC hostess seemed especially happy this time around. Coming from Europe herself, Sjokz was proud and happy with how G2 has been performing. 

From her expectations of the tournament to her most memorable interview so far at the 2019 MSI, here is our interview with Sjokz.

How have you been spending your time here in Hanoi Vietnam?

Unfortunately, I've only been here [at the venue]... I got a little bit sick when I got off the plane, so I haven't been at 100%. But I did get a nice view of Hanoi when I landed - it's a beautiful city! I'm hoping to see more of it soon.


What's your opinion on this year's MSI? It's been really competitive so far.

Coming into it, I had certain expectations. I, of course, trusted that G2 Esports will do well. They're from my home region, and they just had one of the best splits that anyone has ever had in Europe. I also expected IG to do well because they're the World Champions! And finally, I had expectations that SKT will do well, but I felt that they needed time to improve over the course of the tournament. 


As a LEC hostess, what're your thoughts on G2?

Over in Europe, G2 was known for being a hyper-aggressive team. They played differently to every other team, had the best players for every position, and they would often play unorthodox compositions. The other European teams had a very difficult time playing against them.

I was expecting them to do very well. But we're here in MSI - you're no longer playing in your own region. You're playing against the best teams from every region. I think they had to discover that things are hard here and that you really need to put in more consideration when drafting. 

But at the same time, I love the fact that G2 trys things even if they don't work out. They picked Vayne top against Akali when playing against IG, and it really sucked. (Laughs) But I really liked that they tried it because I believe it's important for every team to find their strength in tournaments like this. I love the fact that G2 knows their strength comes from their deep champion pool and aggressive playstyle.


You've interviewed a lot of players so far this tournament. Were there any memorable interviews?

IG Ning! He's been really popular here at this MSI. He's obviously a great player, but it's hard to stand out while on a strong lineup like IG's.

He was giggling throughout the whole interview with me. When I asked him what IG should focus on moving forward, he replied, "it doesn't really matter if there are 4 players and a dog playing on IG, we'd still win." (Laughs) There were some people online that found his remarks really cocky, but I actually really liked it. These players give hundreds of interviews a day, so it's really great to hear unique responses like that. I can recognize when players are making a joke, and Ning's was hilarious.