KC Busio on making it out of play-ins: "There's no reason not to believe"
Right before the start of MSI 2026, RFT.GG sat down with Karmine Corp support Alan "Busio" Cwalina for a chat about the team's preparations and tournament ambitions.
We're just the day prior to the event, so the first thing I want to ask you is: how are you feeling?
Yeah, feeling good. You know, first international with this team. I think our trajectory has been pretty good recently, I'm just excited to get that experience and play.
Do you feel your experience helps you manage the team at international events, for example maybe dealing with egos when facing the best teams?
A lot of my learnings from internationals are more for myself, they're not really shareable because everybody reacts to the international environment differently. I'm more experienced, soI'm more confident in that regard.
How are scrims going? Did you face any good teams?
Yeah, very well. We faced good teams. Some scrims went well, some scrims didn't. That's just how it goes.
I don't know if you saw it, but Kameto said on stream that you faced an LCK team and it went great, then faced a top LCK team and... learned a lot.
That stuff doesn't have that much to do with us facing a good teams versus bad teams. I think we just had a good day and then a bad day. If we had our good day against the good LCK team, I think we would be very happy, but that's just how it goes. And overall, scrims are pretty good.
Loading comments...
How are the tactics going? Against LCK teams?
The tactics are great. Very tactical.
very tactical against the best LCK team as well...
Nah, we were lacking in other tactics in that one. Not gameplay tactics, just...yeah
Tomorrow you will face DCG, which is a team that plays very much with instinct, did you have the time to scout them?
Yes, I did. I watched their finals against Team Secret Whales, if I'm not mistaken. I saw what you mean. A lot of fighting, just very, very bloody gameplay, for sure, instinctual.
Since explosive teams have given you trouble before — Repeared mentioned that's part of why G2 was so hard, making the game too explosive to follow — do you think tomorrow could be a tricky match?
We're at an international. We have to respect every team. Even though historically you might be facing a team from a less successful region internationally, it's 2026. All the teams here are good, they're the best of their region.
We'll respect them just as much as any other team. And I believe we're gonna win, but it's definitely not gonna be easy. They're a good opponent.
You mentioned explosiveness, like versus G2 the first time we played them. But that was just a tactical gap by us. I wouldn't say G2's explosive in the early game in the same way this team is gonna be. G2's more of just really playing for jungle and vision and pressuring with invades. That's kind of their main strat. While this team is fighting on all fronts. So it's just very different from G2.
Do you think maybe the mechanical aspect will be more important than the tactical aspect against them then?
The mechanical aspect will be important, and the tactical too — it's both part of League of Legends. Both will be very important. Even if you have bad tactics, if you outplay somebody mechanically, the tactics might not matter. And vice versa: if they're better than you mechanically in a certain situation, but you're always doing the right thing — even though they have better mechanics, if they do the wrong thing once, you can still win the game. So it's just gonna depend, it comes down to who plays better.
Loading tweet...
Coming back to your playoff run last split, the improvement from your first G2 match to the final was really tangible — so what happened for you to improve that fast?
After we lost to G2, we had two weeks of practice before we played next. We identified some weaknesses that they exposed in us, which is why we lost so hard the first time. Then we just worked on those things day by day, and built a lot of good habits, we just levelled up as a team because we had so much time to improve after a singular loss. So it was just a very clear path to how to improve. That's why the improvement was so tangible.
What do you think were the aspects where you improved the most — the ones you pointed at and said "that's a weakness, we need to work on it"?
Versus G2 it's just the early game. We seem to do good in team fights and mid game against G2, and all the problems we have are in the early game, and that's their main advantage over us.
Are you more confident going into the final today, even in the early game — would you say that's where you've improved the most as a team since the start of the year?
No, from the start of the year I think we improved in all aspects. It's really hard to say which one's the most. But in the most recent time, I guess it would be the early game.
Since you started the boot camp at T1, do you think it was a clear focus for you still?
The habits we got from the whole playoffs improvement, we need to make sure we keep doing those so they stay as a habit. You don't want to make bad habits. But internationally, the meta is changing. It's also international, you have to improve in every aspect, as you're playing against generally better players than you do domestically. We're focusing on everything at the same time.
Loading tweet...
I want to know your thoughts on the support meta
The support meta is different. There has been two patches. So a lot of changes. Playing fearless, as the games go on, the champs get crazier. it's just gonna be a different meta.
Also, the international meta is a bit different than the European meta. The European meta was prioritizing more kind of ranged champs bot lane. While on this patch there's more of a mix. The ranged champs are still very, very broken, but there's just more of a mix on the current patch.
To reach the bracket stage you have to get through play-ins and beat T1, who arguably have the best bot lane in the world right now — so what are your thoughts on T1's bot lane?
Their bot lane, I mean, of course it's good. They're a top LCK team.
Have you got the chance to watch LCK this year?
I watch more LCK than LPL because you can watch LCK replay files. I'm watching on the YouTube stream and I'm like, "well, what happened here? I want to see exactly what happened bot lane" if I want to focus on lane then I can watch it. So that's why I watch a good amount of LCK.
Do you feel like they are the best botlane in the LCK then?
Yeah, for sure I'd say.
Keria is The GOAT support. But I don't think they're unbeatable, because I see a weakness.
For example, comparing Keria to other LCK supports: he's very much a playmaker, very instinctual, and kind of very dynamic with his gameplay. He does many outplays and crazy plays and very pressuring things. But at the same time, those kinds of players also tend to maybe overplay sometimes. So it's a double-edged sword. The upside is very high, but sometimes there are holes in the gameplay if you do the proper thing. So that's something I can think of as a potential weakness. But as I said, he is probably the best support in the world. So yeah, the whole team is world class.
Do you think you have a good chance to make it out of the play-ins?
Yes, we're playing. We gotta believe. There's no reason not to believe. If we're playing well, I believe we can win, make it out.
