"I'm In The Best Form of My Career" — Zoelys Before the EMEA Masters UB Final
Photo Credit: Elliot Le Corre / Webedia
Galions face their nemesis Solary today in the EMEA Masters upper bracket final, with a direct spot in the grand final, and the EWC Qualifier on the line. RFT.GG sat down with their support before the match.
Galions arrive at EMEA Masters in top form — just one defeat in groups, against UCAM — and are about to face the one team that consistently gives them trouble: Solary. RFT.GG spoke with Zoelys before the match, covering the season so far, his confidence on the bot lane, his Rogue regrets, and what comes next.
How are you feeling right now?
I feel really good. Honestly, I say this quite a lot but right now I genuinely feel it — I think I'm in the best form of my career. And as a team, I think we're probably in the best team I've been in terms of cohesion and how we play together. We're reaching a really really high level. Very confident.
How do you feel about the 2v2 with Harpoon? You push a lot through bot lane, you almost always have the lead.
I feel really good with Harpoon — we've been playing together for almost a year now since he joined last Summer. At the start of the year our playstyle was very bot-focused and we were pretty predictable on that. It's something we really worked on improving, and now you see games where we can play multiple styles. Our playstyle has genuinely evolved. But obviously it remains one of our strengths — the 2v2, the bot lane, in terms of pure mechanics together. Very happy playing with him, I think we're really very strong.
Where would you rank yourselves in the ERL?
We're the best in ERL by far, I think. In the LEC, we're like top 5.
By far? And who do you see behind you in ERL?
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Piero and Aetinoth — I think they're in a similar tier to us. Maybe a bit more coinflippy, very high highs but also very low lows. Then Hype and Way were very strong I think, but we won't get to face them for now since they're on separate teams. The two of them together were honestly better. Losing the Korean duo is always going to hurt. And after that, the rest drops a full tier immediately.
What changed when Harpoon joined? Because the bot lane seemed to come back to life overnight.
Honestly, the change wasn't my idea at all — I was even against it at first. I remember being sent Harpoon's VODs and not being very sold on him. But in the end I wasn't really given a choice. What changed is that I'd come from seasons with three ADCs who had a lot of LEC experience — so naturally, they were the ones taking the lead on how we played. Then they brought in this young kid and it kind of flipped the dynamic.
Photo Credit: Galions
I feel really good in this leader role. I'm the one who decides what we play, I have much more freedom in the game, and there's more trust placed in me. As a support, that's rare — but I have the feeling that the team plays for me, and that puts me in very comfortable positions.
That's a bit what was happening at LDLC in your first split, where you were named MVP — right?
Yeah, exactly. Those were lane-swap-free metas, laning metas, where you could make the difference mechanically. I'd lost a bit of that with the lane swap. Now I'm back to what's always been my strength and I can really exploit it.
The whole roster changed around you this off-season. How did you experience that?
We were still in EMEA Masters last year when the first names started coming out. Honestly, given my season, I thought I was going to the LEC — so I didn't participate in the recruitment at all. In my head I was 100% out of Galions, and I think in their heads too I was out. And in the end, when it didn't happen, we kind of came back to each other saying — ok, your team looks pretty good, we think you're good too. I was the last one to join. Very happy with the lineup honestly.
You had a near-perfect regular season. Except for Solary, who keep giving you trouble. You're 1-7 against them overall. What's the issue?
I'm not entirely sure. In the regular season we did beat them once. But the final — that's clearly not to take into account, some of us were individually choking. In the other series, they were just better, with a playstyle that catches us off guard. They're very aggressive. And the problem is we can't really practice that style against anyone else — even French Flair, the third LFL team, the level drops a notch. Solary are genuinely the only ones who give us a hard time, so when we face them it surprises us.
What's going to make the difference against them this time around?
We just need to get the 'nemesis' idea out of our heads and treat them like a normal team we know well. I think some players might have that a little bit in their heads, but for me it's genuinely just a normal team and we don't need to be afraid. And also — they're coming back from a short break, we haven't had one, and right now that's making us really sharp. We're in good form. I honestly think we go in as favourites. Clearly.
You've only dropped one game since the start of EMEA Masters. Are you at your peak right now?
I'd actually say EMEA Masters is almost easier than the LFL playoffs — we've faced teams that aren't very strong, and Solary haven't really had serious opponents either. It's kind of crazy to think we're in the upper bracket final and these are the first real opponents we'll face. So yes, we're peaking — and today is where it really matters.
Any other result than a win at these EMEA Masters — would you be disappointed?
Definitely. It's the only ERL title I don't have yet — EMEA Masters. And I really want to play against LEC teams, I think it'll give us a real mental boost. I'd be really disappointed if we missed out.
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Your time in LEC with Rogue — looking back, do you think it was too early?
Rogue had already contacted me before the second LDLC split — I was originally supposed to leave after the first split. In the end it didn't happen, the buyout was too high. Then after the bad LDLC split I lost a bit of confidence and joined that project. Looking back — not a single one of the five players is in the LEC anymore. It's pretty rare that you join a team and a year later none of them are still there. Individually we weren't the best, and it didn't work as a team either. It's definitely a choice I regret.
The alternative was KC with Caliste?
I had that option, I had pretty much all the teams, but KC was clearly the best by a long way. And I'd already played there for the Coupe de France just before, so it was an org I had a really good relationship with. With hindsight, I should have gone there. But you can never know at the time. I'll probably get another chance in the LEC, and I'll choose better next time.
Would you take any LEC offer, or are you more selective now?
I'd rather win in ERL than lose in LEC. At my position, I might only get one more shot. So if it's a bottom team, I won't go. I clearly want to make international events — that's the goal. If I feel a team isn't good, even mid-season when they contact me, I don't project myself into it. I just stay here.
And against LEC teams at the EWC qualifier — confident?
Yeah, clearly. Going all the way to the top will be tough, the top 6 there is pretty strong. But the bottom 4, I'd feel really good. And I want to face them. With the form we're in right now, with this group — we have it.
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The ENC — the support spot for France is pretty open. If they call you, you're there?
For sure, I really want to participate. But I'm hearing rumours that it might not even be a support going in that spot. I won't hide it — that would be a bit shocking from my point of view. The ego you'd need to think that as an autofill you'd be better than players who were in the LEC a month ago... Not even talking about me here, but Stend for example. Honestly I don't know more than that. But if they call me, I'd be very happy to go, and I think with France we could have a really strong team.
Nice zoelys, toujours inspirant et pret a gagner