Karmine Corp will not compete at Worlds 2025. After a difficult series, where KC got outclassed all around by Fnatic (1-3), the assistant coach KC Apples (Žiga Jereb) discussed: the match, Vladi’s lack of progress, Nisqy’s input, potential “internal conflicts”, the future and a closing word to the fans.

Ethan: We are just getting out of this heartbreaking series for KC and we are in the presence of Apples.

First, how do you feel and how does the team feel right now?

Apples: I just. Obviously everyone’s going to feel terrible. I’m trying to keep it together in front of the players and then we’ll see the next days.

Ethan: To talk a bit about the gameplay today. It felt like Fnatic leaned into their biggest strengths in the first two games, which is dive compositions. I assume you were aware of that.

So what was the reasoning behind choosing to play on their terms on the first two games? Was it simply too difficult to avoid?

Apples: I mean, if someone can tell me how to avoid it, it would be nice when they have like two losing lanes, a losing jungle matchup and everything. If they want to play a dive comp, they can. If we ban Wukong, they will pick Vi. If we ban Sion, they will go Rakan in the other game. You know, they can always play dive picks losing lanes and if we get caught or if we do mistakes, it will work. But you saw Caliste had a 20 cs lead. We got first Grubs, we got Dragon. If we then do a mistake, sadly the dive comp is gonna work when it’s ahead.

Ethan: And I think another big difference in this series was on mid lane with Poby playing three champions with global ultimates. He had a lot of impact on these early skirmishes and dives. So we know this has been one of Vladi’s — and even KC’s more generally —biggest weakness. Since you rarely played that style and when you did, it didn’t go that well.

So was putting Nisqy in to change that dynamic ever considered backstage? And wasn’t that even the reason you recruited him at the first place, to be able to play these kind of comps and champions?

Apples: The difference is a bit [more] with setup mids than champions with global ult because Vladi’s best champions are like yes, Azir, Viktor, whatever. But then it’s Ryze and Taliyah as well. So, you know, okay, this series we got Ryze, they played Taliyah, we got Viktor. Azir was Perma banned. So I think it was more that they wanted Poby on champions that can set up, you know, CC have some utility. I think the Global Ults are like a bonus. But they just really wanted to lean into like maybe Oscar getting good matchups because they assume they’re gonna be red side or, like, Upset/Mikyx carrying. So I think Poby was there just for the setup today and they just leaned into the other players.

Ethan: And I now mostly want to talk about Vladi, because I know you’re probably the guy who knows him the most in the team since you’ve been working together since your NLC days. So let’s be honest, he hasn’t had the rise we expected from him after Winter.

KC Vladi
Photo Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games

So what has happened between the spring playoffs and now for Vladi to not develop as much as everyone expected?

Apples: That’s the biggest thing we have to figure out. Because the thing is, right, it’s gonna be like, oh, we’re winning in scrims. But it’s not that we’re winning because we had two weeks where we were losing almost every game. This week, we won basically every game. And it’s not that we don’t know how to, like, transition macro on the stage. It’s just that, like, if in scrims, everything goes well, voice, comms, laning phase, we play aggressive, whatever, and then we go on stage and those things change. It’s not like we don’t address it, you know, because then you read, like, some articles come and say: ‘Oh, the staff should know how to figure it out’. But it’s like if in practice, everything is going well, and then the coaches also are competent enough to point out: ‘Guys, if we do that on stage, it’s gonna go bad.’ Or, where Nisqy gave a lot of input was [that he was asking]: ‘Would you play like this on stage?’ You know, and then the comment is like: ‘It’s scrims. You will just play different.’ You know, it’s normal. And then, if you have all the warning signs, if everyone agrees that: ‘Oh, we wouldn’t play like this on stage, oh, we would do it differently’ and then it goes bad on stage. If people knew the solution to that, then we would win every game. Yeah, sure. So we don’t know. I don’t think it’s a pressure thing or something. You know, it’s just like we need… I don’t know, we just somehow need to have the same kind of aggression or attitude on stage as we do in scrims. If we can’t do that, then we need to agree to play differently in scrims. Not just say: ‘Oh, we wouldn’t do that. Oh, we would play differently. Oh, I have to play like this because it’s scrims.’ Then obviously, there’s a problem, right?

Ethan: To talk more about the environment within the team and to kind of get that out of the way, a lot of people in the scene have suggested there might have been some internal conflict within the team, particularly between Caliste and Vladi.

Now that the season is over, do you have any comment on that?

Apples: I mean, honestly? Like to be honest. I wouldn’t say it even if there was [an argument]. But I don’t think there is a direct problem between players where it’s like: ‘Oh, we don’t like each other. I don’t like this guy.’ Even this week in Madrid, they were joking with each other, you know, there isn’t a one on one issue or a: ‘These guys hate each other.’ Genuinely, we had fun, you know, like, we had a good year. It’s just that, some things don’t work out and then people think: ‘Oh, they hate each other.’ I don’t know where that is coming from.

Ethan: Looking back,

Do you think bringing Nisqy into the team might have been a mistake, in the sense that it could have damaged the trust with Vladi, that maybe he might have felt that KC no longer believed in him with that decision?

Ethan: Not only that, but because in the end, you never even used him in officials…

Apples: It’s hard to say if the trust was damaged or if that would make him underperform… Because the thing is, when Nisqy was there against Vitality, it was probably his best series of summer. That’s when Nisqy was sharing time [in scrims] where people leaked it and everything. And for example, here for two weeks, we told Vladi: ‘Hey, we’re committing with you. We trust you’ and everything. So I don’t think that was ever an issue. And honestly, Nisqy is bringing good points, be it from gameplay, be it from reviews, even when he played some scrim games, he gave us good points, even about how we’re talking to each other. Reviews, whatever. Nisqy was genuinely very useful for the team, so we don’t regret that.

Ethan: To wrap up the interview,

I know it’s still a bit early, but how do you see the future for you and for KC, because it’s quite clear that something has to change, right?

Ethan: Especially after two splits filled with disappointment — particularly for the fan base — and where the players often didn’t seem to be on the same page…

Apples: Well, the thing is, I have a contract for two years just first to get me out of the way. But if KC think that replacing me is a good decision, then obviously I can’t argue with it. You know, if they think that’s the best for the club, that’s it. Because for me, KC was the first team that gave me a chance, then they promoted me. I’ll do what they ask of me. Even if we went to Worlds, I would be like: ‘Oh, yay, we went to Worlds, great.’ But to me, it’s like the team put trust in me, so I want to bring them to Worlds. It’s not about me going to Worlds compared to bringing KC to Worlds. I don’t care about myself. So it’s [about] people putting trust in me. We f*cked up. Now they can make the choices they want because obviously, we f*cked up. But in terms of other changes, I really don’t know.

Ethan: It’s too early.

Apples: Yeah.

Photo Credit: Joao Ferreira

Do you have any final word to close the interview, and maybe this year with KC?

Apples: As I said, we’re doing this for the fans. If we won, I would be like: ‘Yeah, great that we could make so many people happy.’ But now we just made so many people sad. And it’s like, what are we gonna say? Oh, just ‘Support us for next year, see you in 12 months.’ No, you can be angry, you can be sad. We’re all angry and sad. But just know that we did our best. Like, we really, we really tried. And I don’t want to say that it’s a bad day because you can put FearX here from LCK. They would 3-0 them. You can’t say it’s a bad day, those things. It was just throughout the year, we had to change some processes, maybe change some things. It’s not just a bad day. So I’m just sorry to the fans, you know, it is what it is. We’re all sorry for sure. We’ll see what next year brings. But yeah, of course. Thank you for the support we really mean it. We’re doing it all for the fans.