Team Vitality came into LEC Spring playoffs as the regular season leaders. They leave the upper bracket after a 0-3 against MKOI that Linas "Lyncas" Nauncikas himself calls a reality check. They now face GIANTX this Sunday, and if they win, the winner of NAVI vs KC on Monday. Three best-of-fives with no safety net to reach MSI. Lyncas sat down with RFT.GG right after — self-critical, unbothered, and convinced the real Vitality hasn't shown up yet.
We got stomped in gameplay, got stomped in draft. Everything was — I even tweeted it — everything was kind of dogsh*t. Just a reality check, I guess.
I think I could have adapted differently. But I also think he actually made a mistake himself — that's why it looks like I didn't adapt. He took all my top side camps and then went back to his bot side, but no one was covering the bot side. I checked the replay — I could have just walked over and taken all those camps. I don't think it's fully on me, it's more on him that he messed up, and then my adaptation looks bad because of it. But my mid gank wasn't good either, so it goes both ways.
I think game three gameplay could have been better. For example, we just got ganked mid when we knew he was there — that should never happen. I think we were aiming to have the push and have strong drafts, but we couldn't manage it. I just had hard games. I'll have to go back and check if I could have played better.
It just felt very limited as a jungler in those games.
No, I think everyone takes it seriously. In the regular season we were definitely just the best on many aspects.
I'm 100% better than how I played today. I think we are better right now than how we played today. On the lower bracket run we'll do much better.
But I don't think regular season is fake anymore considering it’s BO3 instead of BO1. I also think the regular season is just way different than back in the day because of Fearless draft — it's so dependent on draft and it's hard to always have good drafts on the spot. So it's both gameplay and draft.
In my mind I knew we were one of the top teams alongside G2, KC and MKOI. I knew it would probably be close, and MKOI always kind of gets stronger in playoffs — they have that clutch factor in their players, you have to give them that. But I consider us a top team as well. It was just a good reality check.
I don't feel like we have worse players or anything. I think we have very clutch players too, players that aren't scared just because it's playoffs. But the experience — both in gameplay and especially in draft — could be better. It's best of fives, it's Fearless. I mean I'll even have to think about my own picks, because maybe I just need to pick a different champion even if it completely sucks in the enemy draft, just to make our draft better. Game three — we had Olaf, Jayce, Lucian, Milio. I think anyone watching from the outside would think it's kind of... no comment. But it's also on the players to pick the right champ.
I trust Pad. I trust Arvindir as well to give us good drafts. He is our main drafter and I think he's good. I'm not sure what the problems were today — I'll have to check, and he will too. It's hard to say in the moment right now.
But I already mentioned to them — this is the second time it felt like this. We had it against Shifters in the EWC qualifier, and in the LEC as well, where we just drafted weak early and at some point someone punishes you and you realise: ok, this can't keep working.
Against Shifters in game one of the LEC, we just got completely snowballed. Same against G2 in game two of our best of three. So I feel like we need the reality check to remember and adapt. But it shouldn't happen twice, three times — if you keep getting the same lesson and not learning it, then you're probably not doing something well.
I'm confident. How we played today is not a real reflection of our level — I know we looked completely disgusting from the outside. But I'm confident we will bounce back. We are still a top team.
And then obviously we'd have to win three best-of-fives for MSI — GIANTX, then KC or NAVI, then MKOI I guess. Those teams are all pretty good. But I'm confident we can bounce back and do much better, and that we can make MSI.
Nah, that would be an excuse. Most of these teams also had a two-week break. One extra week is whatever. And you can look at it from another angle and say we had more time to prepare. The LEC schedule isn't great, sure, but it's the same for everyone kind of.
Of course — every player doubts themselves at some point. If someone looks completely confident in themselves, I don't believe it. For sure you have doubts. But I have those doubts way less this year. I improved a lot. I'm way more confident. I think I'm a top player in my field, in jungle.
I think I'm at the top. Forget this best-of-five — if you look at the best-of-threes this split and the previous one, would you consider it? I think most people who aren't biased would. But obviously after today I will look dog shit. That's just esports and sports in general. You play two bad series and suddenly you're at the bottom. You play a few good ones and suddenly you're at the top.
Today I will look top six — and in the lower bracket I will look top two, top one.
