Ahead of the LEC Season Finals in Madrid, we spoke to KC Targamas to hear how the team is feeling in what will be a season-deciding weekend, the challenges during the season, and EU’s hopes at Worlds.

KC Targamas ahead of the LEC Finals: “We are in the position we were in Winter… We have to prove we are the best.”

How do you feel and how does the team feel, a day before facing FNC?

Targamas: It’s okay, we arrived yesterday in Madrid, everything is going well, except that I had a small incident when I arrived; they lost my suitcase, so I had to wait a long time at the airport.

Ethan: Did you eventually find it?

Targamas: It’s okay, I found it, yes.

Ethan: To talk about the game, it’s been two weeks since we saw you play on stage. We know that before VIT, it was really complicated, even your practice was going very bad, apparently. Kameto teased a bit by saying that the victory against Vitality had done a lot of good for the team.

Would you say that things have really changed since then and how has the preparation been going during these two weeks?

Targamas: I think it’s going a lot better… we talked about it, we said that the Vitality match, anyway, was a bit all or nothing. In the sense that if we lost, it was over. And like, if we won… I knew that it was going to revive a good dynamic, that we were going to regain confidence and everything, and that’s kind of what happened. We came back to scrims with more confidence, just happier overall, and it showed in the gameplay; Everything’s going better.

I think I’m confident in the level we have right now. We have a good level, we have the ability to qualify for Worlds first, by beating Fnatic, and then if we win, to go for the title. Now, step by step, and first it’s Fnatic.

Ethan: Despite the 3-0 they put on GX, they didn’t look that dangerous. I wouldn’t say that they had a great gameplay or that they showed something that is particularly scary.

Did you feel the same way? Do you feel like they’re largely beatable, much more so than a G2 or MKOI?

Targamas: Yes, of course, they are the weakest team of the three, that’s for sure. They have 3-0 GX. Now everyone has seen that the first game they should have lost and potentially the BO (best-of) would have taken a different turn.

Especially these kinds of teams [like] GX, Fnatic, are teams that mentally can struggle; it can snowball, whether in positive or negative, so when you come back a game like that, it’s not surprising that GX collapsed totally and, conversely, that Fnatic was confident in the BO.

So there you have it. In any case, as we said, they are a team that we respect a lot. It was our main scrim partner during the year. And we know they have very good players, especially their botlane. We have a lot of respect for them and it’s going to be a big match with a lot at stake. We know that we can’t take it lightly, that’s for sure.

Ethan: Well, still, from what I heard here and there, you are rather the favorite for the match. In Spring, there was a bit of that same situation where you were playing the most important match from the lower bracket against MKOI, to qualify for MSI as well. And despite the defeat in the Upper, [bracket], many people were talking about a mishap, saying that there had been a lack of preparation and that in the end you would surely be the favourite for the rematch.

Don’t you have a bit of a fear of falling down again? Why will it be different this time?

Targamas: Of course, there is always that fear. It’s not even falling from a height; it’s just going low, especially because I don’t think we’re very high right now. In any case, G2 beat us quite convincingly and MKOI remains on two BO5s won against us. Even if we won against them in the regular season, I don’t take it into account, especially because they didn’t have a lot of practice, so MKOI is [also] on a good run against us.

For the moment I put us in the top 3-4, that’s it. And it’s up to us to prove that we deserve more.

So yes, obviously, [there’s] a lot at stake against Fnatic, not to fall very low. I think it’s not exactly the same conditions as in Spring because it’s already the end of the year, which means that there is more pressure than there was at the time. In Spring, everyone still saw us as the best team, potentially, but MKOI showed that they stepped up, G2 stepped up a lot at international tournaments too. Here, as I said, we are not necessarily in this position… Actually, we are more like the one we had in Winter, where we have to prove that we are the best team. Everything remains to be proven.

Ethan: I wanted to come back to a more global subject with you, which is the diversification of your gameplay. It’s no secret, after First Stand, you tried a lot of new things and from an outside point of view, I had the impression that it may be this that pulled you down a little, that you may have left aside what was your main strength at the beginning of the year.

Did you think about it internally and didn’t you say to yourself, ‘Ok guys, maybe we should just go back to our fundamentals’?

Targamas: Yes, of course. That’s the difficulty we had throughout the year. As we have expressed a lot, when we arrived at First Stand, we saw that there were things that we were missing to go after these teams. We tried to practice [different] composition styles and playstyles because we felt that it was a necessity at internationals. Now it may have cost us in some matches, but still, for me, we have always assured the most important [things].

KC at First Stand
Photo Credit: Christina Oh/Riot Games

For example, in Spring, we still finished 1st in regular, despite our tests being all over the place. And from the playoffs, we were still in a mindset where we wanted to ensure “to play just the things we were most confident in”. And it still went badly. We lost two BO5s, even though it was close. And then, in summer… Of course, every time there are new picks that appear, there’s the meta that evolves a little bit. So, for us, as a team with great ambitions, it’s normal that we try to try a bit of everything. I think it’s important.

Sometimes, you have to accept that there are things that don’t work. That’s part of the job, too. We have to be realistic about our strengths and weaknesses, that’s for sure. It’s definitely something we have in mind right now.

Ethan: I remember that you were talking about great ambitions the last time we were able to talk, especially for Worlds.

Are they still there in the back of your mind or have the bad experiences you may have had made you lower them?

Targamas: No, frankly, we hope so. I don’t really want to look ahead to Worlds because we have to qualify first. Now, if we look ahead, at least I’m speaking for Europe as a whole, I think there’s room. There are three teams, T1, GEN, and HLE, who are really strong, I think, and for me, the rest is in our reach. Whether it’s for us or whether it’s for G2 or MKOI. Or FNC… Even if I hope not, I think the other 13 teams in the tournament are within our reach. And of course, Worlds, especially in this format. We know now that [there is] still a lot of luck involved with the draws. For example, G2 last year lost their three games against the three best teams of the tournament.

Ethan: As for FlyQuest, it was the complete opposite, so it can go both ways…

Targamas: Yes, there you go, it really depends a lot on the draw. You can get to Worlds, you can have decisive games against T1, HLE or Gen.G and find yourself not going past the Swiss. So yes, there is still a lot of RNG, at least in the Swiss format. Now, as I said, I don’t really project myself on that. First of all, it’s Fnatic, we’re 100% focused on them. I hope we have the chance to go to Worlds and show something, that’s for sure.

Ethan: It is also where comes the second stake of the weekend, even if you qualify. To try to have the best performance to be the highest seed, because you will have the best possible chance of having the best draws… To finish the interview, we were already talking about the most important match in the history of KC before you faced G2.

I think this time we can say it: it’s going to be the most important match of the club.

Targamas: I think every game until the end of the year now is the most important game for the club. If we win against Fnatic, maybe not the two in the LEC afterwards… But in any case, every game at Worlds, we’ll say that it’s the most important game, it’s the game to go 2-0, to go through to the group, to get through the quarterfinals, so I don’t think it means much.

Ethan: But that didn’t stop fans from biting their nails for two weeks because they hope to at least see you at Worlds.

Targamas: Not only the fans… These playoffs have been… I don’t know what Riot did, but it’s so long. Personally, I’ve been waiting for this moment since the defeat against MKOI in Spring. It’s been 4 months now since there was this match. Since then, inevitably, the nights have been long. I hope that on Friday, we will reach the end.

Do you have a word to reassure the fans who bite their nails just as much as you do?

Targamas: I mean, I’d like to reassure myself too… We’ll do everything we can to qualify tomorrow. We’re going to do everything. I hope with all my heart that we will make it.