SK Skeanz on the LIDER switch: "We really didn't see the game the same way"
SK went down 2-0 to Fnatic, a defeat that stings for a side chasing playoffs at 2-4. But Ducan "Skeanz" Marquet isn't losing faith — a month-long bootcamp and SlowQ's arrival have changed this team. RFT.GG spoke with the SK jungler after the loss to talk about a squad that plays without pressure, the mid-lane switch, his duo with Mikyx, and how far he feels he's come.
How are you, and how do you assess your start to the split, as a team and individually?
I'm doing really well, honestly — I'm in good shape, and the mood with the team is great. In terms of level, we were very confident before the split started. We had a really good progression curve during the bootcamp we did beforehand, which lasted about a month, and it was going well — much better than the two previous splits. We felt it in the matches too. The first one was against GIANTX, that went pretty well and we were fairly comfortable. Even against G2 when we lost, those were 40-minute games and we played okay. All our games have been okay, apart from one that was more my bad. Individually I'm quite happy with what I'm showing and how I'm playing — I can obviously do better, but I'm happy with most of my games. Apart from that Vitality game where I'm the one giving it away, let's say. Otherwise, individually, I'm pretty proud.
How do you explain today's result — what went wrong?
I feel like we were a bit shakier everywhere. Our early games were a bit worse today. I don't know if some players were ill or what, but I feel we were a bit sluggish — information was travelling more slowly. We were just slower, I think, and we had some problems in the laning phase too. In the jungle, in the early game, I think he played better than me in game one as well. So yeah, I'd say that's it.
Your games are pretty chaotic in general. I imagine that's not a deliberate playstyle?
It's not deliberate, no — we never sat down and said "okay, we want this playstyle, we're just going to fight." I think it's just that we have players who are fairly experienced, and we play exactly like we do in scrims. Whereas I think other teams fight a lot more in scrims and take a lot more risks, we end up playing the same way in officials, because
We don't have any pressure — nobody expects anything from us, so we play without pressure.
So it's really not something we set out to do; it's just that as soon as we see an opportunity, we take it.
Photo Credit: Michal Konkol/Riot Games
I asked Upset last week whether Fnatic's bot-heavy playstyle had become too readable, and he called it a misconception. Having just prepared for and faced them, do you go in expecting a game played around bot?
Not necessarily, no. I think that was the case back when they had Oscarinin or Empyros top — they really played a lot around bot then. But since they've had Soboro, I think they can play both sides, and today they didn't only play around bot, they made plays top too. So we know Fnatic like playing around bot, but we know that since the change at top, they can play top as well.
On SlowQ's arrival — it's clearly brought stability and wins. Concretely, what changed in the way you play around mid?
It's very different. Before, we had LIDER, who demanded a lot of resources and played a fairly different style from others — he needed the support and jungle to be mid a lot. With SlowQ it's a bit calmer, we're a bit freer with Mikyx.
We can play more around top, bot, mid — we're less forced to be mid, and we don't have that constant pressure to fight mid. That's what's changed.
In Spring, Mikyx pointed to drafts as one of your problems. Does having a more classic mid who can play everything help there?
It's easier, because as you said, he plays a bit of everything and he's less demanding in drafts. You can give him almost anything and he'll be happy. But yes, drafts were a big problem last split. This split I think we've had a couple of drafts that were really — I remember one that was very bad, where the game was genuinely unplayable. Apart from that, I think our drafts have been playable.
Photo Credit: Sasha Safronova/Riot Games
How was the decision made on the mid-lane change — were the players consulted?
Every player was consulted, on the departure and on SlowQ's arrival. Everyone gave their opinion. Before the end of last season we played the EWC, and that's when we started playing with SlowQ a bit — in scrims and at the tournament — just to see how it felt. From that moment we were already thinking: SlowQ matched really well with us, whether in mentality, in how he plays, or in how he sees the game. So it happened very easily.
And tell me if you can't answer — what were the main reasons the change was needed?
Honestly, it's just that we didn't see the game the same way. I think that's really the biggest problem: we really didn't see the game the same way, and that's it.
Yeah — I said that because when we started scrimming with SlowQ, a month before the season, we honestly weren't very good. We were even losing to ERL teams, which was a bit strange, but it was the very beginning. And we progressed very fast, really very fast: after a month we were already playing much better, we were beating the teams we'd been losing to, and then we started playing against good LEC teams. So I was very confident in our progression. It's a shame we couldn't start with that, because we really progressed well and we haven't had much time compared to other teams who've been playing together for a while. But honestly, I'm very happy with the progression — we could see it in scrims, we learned things and they stuck.
What's the area where you progressed the most?
Just seeing how we play as five.
Last split was a bit of a zoo, let's say — we played a bit randomly, there were a lot of calls, it really was a zoo.
Now it's about seeing that clearly. Honestly, we've progressed in every aspect of the game, I think.
This meta suits you better, with more freedom for the jungle-support duo. How do you see your duo with Mikyx today?
I've learned an enormous amount from Mikyx. It's going pretty well, honestly — I think we play good games together, so I'm super happy. He's very easy to approach, Mikyx is a really cool guy, very easy to talk to, very easy to discuss the game with. So it's going really well.
You look much more fulfilled in game since the start of Summer. When you joined SK in 2025, you said the most important thing was proving you had the level to play at the top of the LEC. Is that mission accomplished, or do you still have things to prove?
I still have things to prove, obviously — first of all I'd like to make playoffs; it'd be annoying not to. But individually I'm quite happy, because I can see I'm able to match the good junglers. That makes me really happy.
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I've come back from a very, very long way. Individually I'm super happy, and team-wise I still have things to prove, because I'd really love to make playoffs.
How do you feel about your playoff qualification?
Playoffs were the first objective, of course. And I always feel good about it — I'm sad, because I think if we'd won today it would have set us up extremely well for playoffs.
A lot of people saw you as a team that could potentially make playoffs, and players have told us SK could surprise.
That comes from scrims, I think, because overall I feel we play pretty okay. We're not insane or anything, but I think we play well. So I still see playoffs, I hope so at least. I think we can beat Team Heretics, and I think we can beat MKOI. KC is a bit complicated, honestly — I think they're really very good, but you never know. So I'm still confident: with Team Heretics and MKOI left, I really think it can happen. Sad about today, because if we'd won we'd have been in a really good spot and it was clearly winnable. But honestly, I still believe in those playoffs.
