GX Oscarinin on what's at stake for him: "It's a do or die split for me"
GIANTX were swept 2-0 by an untouchable Karmine Corp, another low in a Summer of wild swings. RFT.GG caught up with GX top laner Óscar "Oscarinin" Muñoz Jiménez after the defeat to talk about the consistency problem sinking his team, the confidence he lost during a brutal year at Fnatic, the KC fans who still haven't forgiven him, and a split he knows could decide his LEC career.
What are your first thoughts on the match? Did the team have what it takes to beat KC, or were they simply further ahead in terms of teamplay?
I think they're for sure way better than us right now. But I also think we played pretty badly in the last two games. It's both things combined — this week we played really badly, and on a normal day they're really good too. So it's hard when both things happen.
What went wrong on your side today?
We're just not playing the game the way we normally do. From the early game we're already behind, and if you're behind early it's hard — if we don't click our buttons well in the laning phase, then it is what it is. And if we go to the mid game against a very good team, they usually don't make many mistakes. So yeah, our early games are bad right now, at least this week.
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It's been a strange start to Summer for GX — very high highs, like where you played amazingly, then strange showings like , or today . Is consistency the main thing to fix?
For sure. We have to be way more consistent, starting in practice, because we have high highs and low lows there too, and I guess that translates to the stage.
There's no way we look like a top-four team one week and top ten the next — that cannot happen.
At the start it's normal to look bad, but once you get some momentum and you actually know each other, you should improve consistently. High highs and low lows happen to every team, but here it was just too exaggerated.
I want to come back to your last year in the LEC. What went wrong at Fnatic? Did you feel like almost every problem the team had ended up being pinned on you?
Inside the team, maybe not every problem, because we had many. But yes, I did feel that a bit, from the outside and from the team. Not that I was the only issue — everyone was an issue on that team at some point. I think we also didn't trust each other, so it was very hard from the middle to the end of the season. We didn't stop the problems, and they became too big to actually solve by the end of the year. We just let them happen — and if you do that, it's easy for it to end that way.
How do you rebuild confidence after a period like that?
Honestly, it was pretty hard for me after that Fnatic year. I struggled a lot with confidence and I didn't find myself in League of Legends. I wasn't trusting myself as much. I think it affected me more than it should have. But it is what it is — sometimes you just have to deal with it, and some people deal better with emotions and those situations.
Coming into this Summer, would you say the LEC is stronger than it was last year?
Yes, I do. At least the middle of the pack and the top teams are closer together. Before it was much more marked — the top three or four of the LEC. Now there are more teams contesting and competing. Even the lower teams, like Heretics or SK, where people maybe don't think they can do much — I think they're actually competing, they're actually pretty decent. Everyone improved from last year, honestly. So the LEC feels pretty competitive compared to last year, in my opinion.
You might not be aware, but you're one of the KC community's biggest traumas, because you beat Canna convincingly in that Worlds qualification last year — especially game four on Gwen. Did that come to mind before facing him today?
[Laughs] Yeah, but I knew it wasn't going to be the same, of course. I did try to think about it to motivate myself.
Photo Credit: Michal Konkol/Riot Games
I'm clearly aware of the trauma I created — I mean, if someone screwed up my Worlds qualification, I'd be tilted too.
So I did like thinking about it a bit, but it's something that doesn't matter right now anyway.
More seriously, is that the kind of performance that makes you believe you can be at the level of any top laner in the league?
I do believe I can be at that level, but I have to be way more consistent and find how I want to play. My consistency right now is definitely not there — but I believe in myself in that regard. We'll see.
Isma described you as a very aggressive player — sometimes going too far, but he likes it. How would you describe your own playstyle right now?
Honestly, I'm not even sure how I'd describe my playstyle right now.
I'm trying to change many things for myself, so I don't even know who I am.
Has it changed since your Fnatic days? The gameplay isn't the same — there, you were weak side most of the time; at GX you're freer.
I do think I'm more aggressive than before, and more demanding. And I've improved a lot in my communication with the team, macro-wise. I obviously like being strong side — I think everyone does. So yeah, I'm now way more communicative and demanding in the laning phase and mid game.
Does this feel like a second chance in the LEC — something where you have to perform, or the door might close for the next few years?
Yeah, for sure. It's a do or die kind of split for me. I need to keep improving and doing better in officials, because if I don't do well, I'm probably not going to be here. So I want to do everything I can.
Last question. How do you see your playoff chances — is expecting GX at Worlds realistic, or too much for a roster that's been together less than a month?
It can be realistic, but we have to improve a lot. When we played well, I did feel we could be a pretty good team — but as I said, consistency affects us a lot. I had a very good feeling about us when we're all communicative and we're not having disaster early games; I think we were pretty decent then. So I'm not sure, you never know — but I do believe we can get to Worlds.
