"We Need to Be Flexible. We Cannot Just Build One Identity" — Head Coach TheRock on NAVI's Winter, Rhilech's Debut, and the Road Ahead
NAVI surprised everyone last split. Entering LEC Versus as an unknown quantity — a young, unproven roster built on potential and a clear coaching philosophy — they finished top 5-6 and spent most of the winter making opponents look like they hadn't done their homework. Now, with Spring Split on the horizon and a full fearless BO3 format to navigate, head coach TheRock sat down with RFT to reflect on what worked, what didn't, and what needs to change.
First things first — when did you get back to Berlin and when did you start working again?
I came back around the 10th of March, maybe the 9th — a bit earlier than the players, two days. Just to get used to everything, make some changes to the review room, that kind of stuff. Then the players joined and we started practising around the 13th. Maybe it was a bit early, but I think it's always good to come earlier. If you don't reach the finals or go to an international event, you kind of need to catch up to the other teams.
Was it hard to find scrim partners that early?
Not really. A lot of teams started early as well — started as early as us. We scrimmaged mostly LEC teams. I think everyone saw how close the split was and got more motivated. Or maybe they realised they needed to catch up. Either way, when everyone starts earlier before the first split, it makes sense to do the same.
How are the scrims going? You mentioned you're learning new things — does that make it rougher than usual?
We're testing and learning. We have to play BO3 fearless now, and we were really good in BO1s. In one game, it was easy for us to execute our stuff. But now we need to expand our pool. It's always rough at the beginning when you're playing new champions, new compositions — even one champion change can completely shift how a comp looks. We're also working on mid-game macro, things we didn't do well enough in the last split. Understanding what's important at certain points in the game, what's not. So yeah, a lot of new things going around right now.
Looking back at winter — very few people expected NAVI to perform that well that quickly. How do you explain it?
To be realistic about it: I think the system helped us. The BO1 format. If it had been BO3s from the start, it would have been harder for sure.
And then — maybe teams didn't expect us to be that good on some specific compositions, specific champions. After a certain point, people started to understand how we do things and began abusing our weaknesses. But by that point, since the regular season was only three or four weeks, it was quite late for them.
We also came in prepared. We did a bootcamp before the split started, had extra days, practised more. And we had a clear identity of how we wanted to play the game. In BO1, that's really easy to execute — you play one comp, you don't need to be flexible, there's no game two or three. We found our identity, we played our style, and it went that way.
Communication has been one of the things you flagged early on — different accents, two Koreans in the squad, different English levels. Has it improved?
It's going better overall. But we're still far from where I personally want to be. Especially in-game, it's critical.
Even outside the game, there are differences in how we communicate and how we understand each other. For some individuals, we just need more time. We've tried setting specific rules — do this in that situation, do that — but League of Legends isn't that simple. There are a lot of moving parts at this level. And on top of the differences in communication style, it sometimes comes down to English level. Everyone has a different level. So yeah, better — but not great.
Was communication part of the mid-game issues we saw in the split? Because the early game was generally very good, but there were clear moments of coordination breaking down.
Yeah, some of those moments were communication. We weren't on the same page, or someone didn't realise what play we were actually trying to make. But some of it was also just rookie mistakes — being too aggressive, playing without waves, making choices on the map that didn't make sense with our composition. A good example is game three against GIANTX. We didn't understand how our comp should play the game. In two or three crucial fights, we were out of position or arriving too late with a composition that was built to fight in a very specific way. Against Fnatic too — the Akali game — we were ahead but didn't know how to close it. We just rushed. It feels bad, but it is what it is.
Photo Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
There were concerns as the split went on that NAVI was becoming predictable — very clear identity, but maybe too rigid for BO3s. Is expanding your playstyle the main focus right now?
The playstyle we built and proved ourselves in — I call it the comfort zone. We can always come back to it. But it doesn't mean we'll only play that. Maybe at some point we decide to go back to it and build drafts around that specific thing. But I think we need to be flexible if we want to go from fifth place to fourth, and then keep going from there. We need to play more things. We cannot just build one identity and hope it carries us to the final. Maybe it would work — but I don't think it gets us there.
And BO5 especially —
Game five, you don't even have a real composition. You have matchups, some pairs. It doesn't always fully make sense. Look at G2 versus KC game five — those two drafts don't perfectly complement each other, but they had good pairs and played to each other's strengths. You just need to know how to navigate that. We need to push more on that for sure.
Rhilech finished the split with six MVP awards — joint best with Caps. Did you expect him to be that impactful, that quickly?
I didn't expect him to play with that confidence. It's great that it came out that way for a first split. But seeing things from the outside perspective now, there are so many things he can still learn. We're not talking about a top-two jungler in the LEC right now — we need to give him time, we're working specifically on his development, and there are a lot of small details he's still missing.
Sometimes he's too aggressive. There are moments from players like Elyoya or Skewmond — how they use fog of war, how they manage early game situations — small things that can change the whole outcome of a game. Mechanically, he's proven himself. Now we need to get to the part where we actually play the game correctly in the right situations. Those are the details that win championships.
How do you explain that no one else spotted him before?
I think LEC teams don't always deeply watch the ERLs. Or they watch, but they prefer other options — experienced players, Korean imports with a track record. I understand that. You know what you're getting. With Rhilech, it was high risk, high reward. Not many teams want to take that. There are plenty of cases where it didn't work. I respect that view, it's just a different one from mine.
Last question — this was described as a two-year project. After finishing top 5-6 already in winter, how do you reconsider the ceiling of this roster by the end of this year?
Spring split is really important before I can comment on that. I've seen things from scrims, but scrims and officials are two completely different things.
You can see players running it down in practice and then go on stage and look like the best in the world. It works both ways. For me, the real question is how we do in game two, game three, fearless. That's the turning point.
I'll have a much better picture after Spring.
And a word for the new fans who got on board this winter?
Thanks for the support — genuinely. There will be times we mess up, and that's totally fine. Keep supporting us. We're trying our best to give the best gameplay we can. It will always be spicy from our side, whether it's the draft or in-game. It's always exciting to watch us.
Hmm I will enjoy seeing the development of Rhilech, nice to see the development of EU jungler talent. A treat seeing his Ambessa on the rift. However, Vit can rock them.
Hmm I will enjoy seeing the development of Rhilech, nice to see the development of EU jungler talent. A treat seeing his Ambessa on the rift. However, Vit can rock them.