The stage is set, and only a few hours remain before the Equal Esports Cup (EEC) finals at Gamescom—the culmination of one of the most influential events in the League of Legends women’s scene. G2 Hel and Solary Académie have answered the call. On one side stand the giants of G2 Esports, determined to cement their dominance over the competition. On the other, the outsiders of Solary, who captured the hearts of fans and teams alike against all expectations.

In an exclusive interview, Sheep Esports sits down with Rym "rym" Salloum of G2 Hel to discuss the young midlaner’s journey: her life before going pro, her aspirations as a professional player, the looming finals against her former team, and what lies ahead with the upcoming Game Changers season.

How does it feel to have made it to Gamescom and the Equal Esports Cup finals?

Rym "rym" Salloum: It feels amazing, but I would never be satisfied with top two. Everyone in our team has this desire to win the trophy. But that’s not really what I’m excited about, because I’m really confident we will achieve it. When I get to the finals of these kinds of events, what I’m most excited about is meeting my team, because I really like everyone and they’re all so funny. So that’s what I’m most excited about—just hanging out with them in a new place that I know nothing about. They’ve told me Cologne is very pretty, so I’m most excited about that.

Sheep Esports: You have to be careful though, Shiina (Marta Mesas Garrido) said she was going to kill you...

rym: I think I made it up to her. I made her a drawing. She’s pretty happy with me now.

In the finals, you’ll face your old team, Solary Academy. Do you have any special thoughts about facing them and your former organization?

rym: Honestly, I didn’t think too much about it. If anything, I’m a bit sad about it because I really like Solary fans—they were so nice to me, they’re so cute. It’s honestly heartbreaking to have to go against them. But I mean, that’s how it goes, right? It’s a competition.

You’ve had a quick rise—last year you were still competing in Latin America, then moved through smaller teams like Celestial Blossom (later Paradox), joined Solary in late 2024, and now you’re with G2 Hel. How do you feel about this fast evolution in your career?

rym: It feels rewarding, especially since I know that I earned my place here. Because I started quite literally at the bottom. Since no one pays attention to smaller teams, you really have to stand out. The fact I got them to notice me, that feels good. I’m proud of that.

At what point did you realize you could make a career out of this? Was it surprising when G2 reached out to recruit you?

rym: It was surprising, but not for the reasons one might think. I’ve always been a person who wasn’t really confident about myself. I’ve always had some talent in League of Legends—since I was 14 years old, I reached Challenger in my server, coming from Venezuela. I always knew I had some talent for the game, but I never really thought about going pro because I didn’t believe in myself. I just thought I would freeze every game, not be able to press any buttons, not be able to do anything. That kind of insane anxiety never let me even pursue the thought of joining something like that.

That’s why it was so perfect that I did everything so gradually. I literally started from the very bottom, even in my home server, and I even did it anonymously. Being hidden behind another identity made me more comfortable. I was still very anxious, and I still messed up a lot of times. I did this so many times. And now, I’m still anxious, but I think that’s normal. At least now it’s at a level where I don’t freeze, I don’t forget what I have to do, and stuff like that.

So that’s the part that I found surprising about my evolution—that I was actually able to come to this point. But I didn’t really question much if I could join an organization like G2 or not. The question was whether they were ever going to notice me. That was the concern. I believed in my skills. I just didn’t believe in myself being able to pull them off when it mattered.

What did you do to overcome self-doubt and impostor syndrome? Do you still struggle with it, and does anyone on G2 help you with that?

rym: Honestly, the most important thing was just doing things over and over again. But I also did a lot of research—like things that help with not feeling so nervous before a game or ways to get some confidence. Sometimes they work better than other days. I don’t know why, I still haven’t figured out the pattern. Some days I just feel extremely nervous, and other days I’m very confident. But at least it’s playable, let’s say—it’s manageable. I do have resources. I don’t really talk to anyone; I figure these things out on my own.

What made you move from Venezuela to Europe? Was it for esports or more personal reasons?

rym: Well, that’s only because Venezuela is one of the hardest countries in the world to live in. It’s not playable. It’s really bad. My family wanted to move from there for a very long time, really.

Sheep Esports: So you moved with your entire family then?

rym: Yes, we all moved. I’ve been here for like six years now. I wasn’t really competing; I was just studying art.

Can you tell us more about your early relationship with games? When did you start playing League of Legends, and did you play other games before? Were games always a part of your life?

rym: My first memory of touching a laptop, I was like three years old. I literally learned how to write and read through computers. I remember when I wanted to access websites, and I would ask my father to write the letters on paper, and then I learned like that. I started League of Legends very early, when I was 9 years old. My sister downloaded the game, and she was like, “Hey, look at this.” I have this memory of us discovering the game, she was at the fountain, and we couldn’t figure out how to move our champion, she just pressed all the buttons. That was a really funny memory. I just watched her play the whole game, sitting beside her. Eventually, I created my own account. I could play one to two hours a day on her PC or something like that.

Sheep Esports: Does your sister still play League?

rym: No, she’s always like, “I’m sorry that I showed you this game.” She tried to get me out so many times. My family now doesn’t say anything since I joined G2 and all, but they were always like, “Please stop playing.” All of my family—literally my five siblings—played League at some point, and one of them still plays from time to time.

Was it difficult to convince your family to let you play so much and pursue high-level competitive gaming, especially considering societal expectations?

rym: It wasn’t easy, especially since we’re Arabic and the expectations are so high—they want you to be a doctor and stuff like that. All in all, they are actually pretty supportive. They just tried to ignore the fact that I wanted to play; they weren’t happy with it. They would scold me from time to time and tell me what’s better for me, blah blah blah. But I just ignored it, honestly. I kept doing my thing. It didn’t really bring me down that much because I’m a very focused person. I don’t mind people scolding me or yelling at me or stuff like that. I just keep doing my thing.

You were studying art—what would you have done if it wasn’t for League of Legends?

rym: I would have been a comic artist or an illustrator, but my favorite thing is making comics. I would still like to do something with that eventually.

How does it feel that many people now consider you potentially the best midlaner in the scene?

rym: Honestly, I try to ignore it because if I think too much about it, I would get really nervous, since I don’t feel like that. I don’t think about it; I just try to do my best every time and hope that that’s enough.

What are your long-term goals as a player?

rym: That is kind of similar to my last answer. I haven’t looked too much into the future. I just focus on what’s ahead of me right now and try to do my best. Wherever that gets me, I think I’ll be fine. I’ll just keep doing my best. I don’t really have a plan. I just want to win everything I’m playing, honestly.

Do you see yourself eventually moving from women-only competitions to the mixed scene, potentially contending for an ERL team or beyond?

rym: Yeah, definitely. I didn’t think too much about it, but I can definitely see that. It would already be possible right now. I might end up there, definitely.

How far do you feel from reaching your full potential as a player?

rym: I definitely can get a lot better. Maybe I’m crazy, but I feel like each week I just become better. Every time I learn something, I feel like a whole new world opens for me. I feel like there’s so much more that I don’t know, and each week I’m learning about it. It makes me feel kind of stupid sometimes, like, “Why didn’t I think of this before?” or “Why didn’t I do this before?” Things like that. Because I experience that so often, I can only imagine there’s so much more for me to learn. So yeah, I’m not really close to anything.

How has it been for you in G2 this year, and what’s the biggest difference compared to your previous teams?

rym: I’ve been very lucky because I’ve really loved all my teams, and I haven’t had issues with anyone. The difference I’d say is the dynamics. Every team has different dynamics—different people in power, ways to play, or ways to see the game. So yeah, I’d say that’s the biggest difference. And of course, the skill. I have very, very talented teammates. Everyone on my team is insanely talented, so I don’t feel this pressure that I have to carry every game. I just have to do my job, and that’s enough most of the time. So yeah, that’s really amazing.

Do you get to interact with the G2 LEC team or staff, or not really?

rym: No, that’s not really the case. I’ve only seen them once, but they didn’t even see me. I said hi to BrokenBlade (Sergen Çelik), but that was it. I wanted to say hi to Caps (Rasmus Winther), but I tripped in front of him, so it didn’t happen.

How confident are you heading into Game Changers? Do you think anyone can really contest against G2 in the scene?

rym: Maybe for Game Changers—it’ll be a big thing. I’m sure a lot of new teams and players I didn’t even know about will join the scene soon, and people are going to invest in it. For the EEC, though, I don’t think anyone can contest us. But for Game Changers, who knows?

With the introduction of Game Changers, what’s the next step to further professionalize the women’s scene and help it grow positively?

rym: One season of Game Changers won’t be enough. We need to keep promoting these kinds of competitions, and eventually more people will take an interest. I feel like one reason there aren’t many women is that, in general, not many compete. For every five girls whose dream is to compete, there are thousands of men pursuing the same thing—and you don’t see thousands of men succeeding, you see five of them. Because of this ratio, it becomes unlikely. If we get more women interested in competing, show them it’s possible, and that there is space for it, eventually it will happen. I feel like anything could happen. Thanks to that, I can see this growing and more women joining. I can only hope for the best, honestly. I’ll try my best as well to be a positive influence, because I would really love to see this grow.

If you were stuck on a desert island and had to take one teammate with you, who would give you the best chance to survive, and who would be the worst?

rym: The best one would be Caltys (Maya Henckel), because she’s pretty wild and I’m sure she would do whatever it takes to survive, no matter how disgusting or hard something might be. She might even eat me if it comes to that.

Sheep Esports: Well then, that wouldn’t give you great chances at survival, would it?

rym: She's not the worst case still. The worst one would be Colomblbl (Ève Monvoisin). I don’t think you can walk with heels on an island. She’d probably think everything on that island would be disgusting. She would be like, “No, I’m not going to move from here. This is disgusting,” or “I’m not going to touch that,” or “No, eat this first.” So yeah, I would say Caltys and Colomblbl. That’s why they have such insane synergy—they’re so different from each other. It just makes sense that one would help me survive and one would help me die, ironically, the support.

If you could be granted one wish, what would it be?

rym: Ever since I was a kid, I never really wanted anything from life. I just wanted to be happy and have a peaceful life. My only wish would be to bring back someone from the dead.

Do you have any final words you want to say?

rym: To Solary: I’m really sorry, I really like you. I like everyone, but I have to win, you know? It’s nothing personal. I would cry if I lost. If you care for me, you can also let me win so I don’t cry.

And for my G2 fans: just keep watching. We’ll try to end the games fast and not give you heart attacks like we did during the Liga Nexo split. Every game was so hard to watch for you—I’m really sorry. We’re working on that.