Going into the RLCS S5 many fans thought of Ghost as a favorite for the top spots of the North American region. With Matt coming in to replace Klassux they made a decent impression at Dreamhack Leipzig and were by all accounts a candidate for the top 4. However, after five weeks of league play Ghost finished on 6th spot and with a 2-5 record.

The team still has a chance to make LAN, but it’s a tough road ahead. This weekend, when the Regional Championships will take place, they will have to win against Cloud9 to be invited to the World Championship. We spoke with team captain Treyven “Lethamyr” Robitaille about the challenge ahead, his analysis of the past weeks and his “Savior of the Season” award.

Crazy to think if we lost any of the overtimes in Week 4 we would’ve dropped to 7th… How does it come down to the wire every season? pic.twitter.com/yGuwpJz75X

— Ghost Lethamyr (@Lethamyr_RL) April 15, 2018

Lethamyr, Ghost finished league play with a 2-5 record and on 6th spot. Going into the season you probably had expected a bit more. In post-analysis, what made league play so tough this season?

Going into League Play we definitely expected a much better finish than 2-5. We feel our schedule definitely had some part in how the weeks turned out. League Play was pretty hectic with having NRG and C9 in the first week, then throughout the week before playing Rogue and EG, we were in Las Vegas competing against Rogue in a LAN environment, with barely any scrims to prepare for the RLCS matches. The rest of the weeks was us trying to recover from major losses, so the fact we made top 6 was amazing at that point.

“If it doesn’t happen, so be it”

You still have a chance to make LAN. How are you currently preparing for the upcoming challenge?

We’re just practicing as much as we can. Can’t really do much more than that. The series could go either way, sort of how the series against C9 went in the first week when we looked our best. Our mentality is to just push for the first win. If it doesn’t happen, so be it, we were lucky to have the chance to fight for LAN in the first place.

In order to make LAN, you’ll have to beat Cloud9 and I guess that you’ve studied these guys in and out. What is their biggest weakness from your point of view? And what is their biggest strength that you have to be aware of?

I would say their biggest weakness is getting used to having control in the field, and by that I mean they are very comfortable when they have possession or pressure, but maybe aren’t so comfortable if the pressure is reciprocated. This was definitely showing in the final week of league play against both CLG and NRG.

I’d say their biggest strength is their accuracy on shots and passes. Basically we just need to be aware of them and cut them off before they happen.

“I’ve never felt pressure”

Before league play started, Ghost were ranked among the favorites by many. Would you say that this put a bit too much pressure upon you or are you able to fade out these expectations from the outside?

There was no pressure involved at all. For Dreamhack, Matt felt he had to fill the shoes of a 3rd teammate, but after that we were just an ordinary team. Personally I’ve never felt pressure given my past experience with performing in front of live audiences as big as 10,000 people. I know nerves can play a part in our gameplay but never pressure to do well. If anything, we pressure ourselves to do well because we expect the best.

Your roster change prior to league play with Matt coming in and replacing Klassux was discussed at lengths. Do you think that you guys might have needed a bit more time to get familiar with each other’s playstyles or does this have nothing to do with your results?

From what I’ve discussed before, I don’t think we needed more time. One bad week put us from 4-3 to 2-5 in our heads. Would’ve changed everyone’s perspective if one week’s results changed.

“I’m good at looking at the shooter’s car rather than the ball”

On a positive note: You’ve been named the Savior of the Season averaging 2.12 saves per game. What’s your secret to great defensive play?

Being Savior of the Season is a great accomplishment, but it also means our team gets pressured a ton which isn’t so good. My 1v1 experience (which I don’t really play anymore) lets me space out accordingly to save any individual shots, and I’m pretty good at looking at the shooter’s car rather than the ball to paint a clear line between the ball and the spot in the goal it’ll fly towards. So I just place my car in between that line and angle my car as if it’s a wall so the bounce goes safely into a corner.

Lead Photo by: Zeebo