SHFT Sheo: "I'm not playing at my prime — I'm just playing average/below average"
Beaten once again this weekend, this time by Razork's side, Shifters have seen their last playoff hopes disappear. Three games remain in this LEC Summer Split, but they no longer count for anything: mathematically, the run is over.
In this interview, Sheo speaks frankly about leaving Heretics, the lack of a shared game vision at Shifters, his own level and an off-season in which every contract expires. LEC or ERL, he isn't closing any doors.
Hello Sheo, how are you feeling?
Very sad about the results, but we're trying to keep smiling despite all these defeats, which is very hard.
What's the morale like within the team? How do you all feel generally?
We knew our playoff chances were very slim before this match. It was a fairly important game, with very low chances for us. So we still tried to keep a fairly positive mindset and believe in ourselves.
For you individually today, it was a bit of a complicated game. What happened? What made your games so hard?
That's my bad, I played badly today. GG to Razork. They have good synergy in their team and they know why they want to play. I think we have a few problems on that front in our team. I think that's what helped them control the game and take a lead in the jungle.
What's the difficult part in terms of… being on the same page — what makes it complicated? Is it a communication issue with the Koreans? Is it between you, that you don't have the same ideas?
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A bit of everything, probably, I'd say, but it's complicated — I think when you're on a team with very bad results, it's complicated.
LEC 2026 Summer Week 5 Day 2 (Flickr LEC)
I've seen in recent years you never missed a chance on social media to take a jab at them (fnatic). Was it linked to the rumours where you could have joined them, or nothing to do with it?
When you're strong, it's fun to banter because you're winning. Recently, I can't say much, but I find that banter adds something extra to the games. It's always cool to flame guys light-heartedly for a laugh. I have nothing against Fnatic — I used to do it back in the day against everyone.
Right, I wanted to come back a bit to this season with you. I want to know, because I don't think you've talked about it much yet: what happened with Heretics this year?
Heretics, I think they wanted to make changes because of the budget. I think I had a big salary there, so they saw that either way we weren't performing, and I think they wanted to cut me that way. Because in any case we weren't going to make playoffs, and they threatened to bench me, etc.
So then I decided not to play for people who don't want me to play for them.
But when you say they threatened to bench you — on the bench you'd still have been paid the same salary or did you have clauses?
Yeah, I would have had a different salary. That's why it suited them to either bench me or send me to the academy team. So that was a bit their goal, I think, in terms of salary.
When you joined Shifters, did you expect you'd be starting from that far back in terms of gameplay? I imagine you obviously expected better than going 0-6, but did you expect to be starting from that far back, or to be there right from the start?
I didn't expect that, because on paper they're better players individually, but they had very bad results in Winter and Spring — you can have good players, but if it doesn't click together, it doesn't click together. And I think with Stend we tried to bring that synergy which could have helped the team, but the whole thing doesn't work together.
Are you still convinced that, individually, you're all good players? You think there's no individual issue, no skill issue? You think it's really a question of synergy, of how the team is built?
No, there's no individual or mechanical issue. I think we've all shown we had the level to play in LEC. It's just game vision, how we see things in-game, making quick decisions to impact the other lanes. I think that's more what puts us at a disadvantage.
And with the results, do you still manage not to blame each other, not to point fingers at certain players? It stays fairly good-natured between you?
Well, it depends if someone trolls or whatever, or if there's a pattern. If there's a pattern of a guy inting, you'd have to point it out and make sure you help him play better. But I think we try to do a mix of both — good relations outside the game, but if a guy trolls in-game, we try to call it out. And Striker is very much like that too. So we try to operate that way.
I heard that in scrims, in preseason, things weren't going very well. Do you feel you let go a bit, that you maybe also lost motivation?
I don't think it has much to do with motivation — I think it was a new patch for the botlane above all, which took some time to adapt to. Even for the jungle, everything was new, it was a new game because of the botlane meta. So let's say we adapted less quickly than the others, maybe.
Do you personally feel you still have the level of the top junglers in LEC? Are you still confident about that?
Yeah, I'm still confident about my level. I think in Winter I showed some nice things, in Spring it was a bit whatever because we were losing often with Heretics. I think my EWC was pretty good with Shifter, but now in Summer it's a bit hard to get going and play properly all together, it's a bit complicated.
And you don't feel you've regressed over this split or this year? You think it's really a collective thing, then? And environmental, for you?
No, I don't think there's an environment problem — we do good work precisely to have a good environment through our performance coach Mew.
Yeah, when I say environment, it's not necessarily Shifters, it's more like the in-game environment you're in, you see.
But I don't think I've regressed — I just think I'm not playing at my max, I'm not playing at my prime. I don't think I'm even playing at a high standard. I think I'm just playing average, slash below average.
Would you say LEC teams are maybe stronger than back when you were playing with BDS in 2023 and you were reaching the top 3?
The individual level of players has gone up. As for whether teams play better or not, I don't think so. G2 is still G2, and KC is kind of the new team that changed that and plays very well through their individual talent. And otherwise KOI is a bit flippy, I find. I'd say there are two top teams, but otherwise the rest is based on individual players across plenty of teams.
LEC Spring 2023 - Finals (Flickr LEC)
On a maybe more positive note, Striker told me that when he got you back this year, he found a much more complete player, that you took up more space in communication, in the team's leadership, etc. Would you say your time at Team Heretics, even if the performances were difficult overall for the team, taught you that too — to put yourself forward more, to have more of a voice in a team?
My experience at Heretics, despite the ending, remains positive. We always made playoffs, more or less, so for a mid-table team that's something commendable. And since we were a very jungle-centric team, I was kind of the only veteran in the rosters every time, so I had a strong voice in communication and in the playstyle. I really had the whole team playing for me. We didn't perform because I'm bad (laughs), but I think it helped me.
You mention the meta — do you feel something slowed the progression curve you had in your career? Is there a moment or a period, looking back, where you think "maybe that held me back"? You were on an upward trend with BDS Academy, BDS in 2023, and even last year people rated you much higher than in this split.
It's hard to say, but in my career I've often moved forward, and it's quite rare in esports careers for things to always be positive and only get better and better. A lot of players have somewhat rollercoaster careers, and it's kind of the first time this has happened to me — really experiencing very disappointing results. It's going to be up to me to take it on the chin and, going forward, adapt better and learn from a split like this.
Everyone's contracts end this year. Striker was telling me it's either the roster performs, or everyone, staff included, is out. What are you expecting for this off-season if it doesn't work out in LEC? Would you see yourself trying your luck in the ERL again? If it's not LEC, would you not go?
I'm still motivated to play, I still want to play. Of course LEC remains the priority, but when you come out of difficult splits and people might hear things about you, maybe that doesn't help. If I can go to a top ERL, I'll go; if I can stay in LEC, I'll go.
Do you have maybe a final word for the fans and for the French viewers watching us, as we close out this season and might not see you for a while?
Thanks to everyone for the support, even if the results aren't there. Honestly, we gave what we could to try to make the team work, but sometimes it doesn't work out. So thanks for all the support, and see you maybe on stream or next year.
