KC Yike: “Everyone in the team shares the same dream”

Karmine Corp now have a title to defend in the LEC Spring Split. After their defeat against Fnatic in Week 2, I got to discuss with Martin “Yike” Sundelin. The KC jungler spoke to me about his rivalry with Iván “Razork” Martín, his recent performances on Vi, and the fact that he is constantly on the hunt for titles. Along with the comparison he draws between the two midlaners he worked with in the LEC, and what to expect from his team by the end of the year.

Ethan: I feel like a lot of people were expecting a slow start from KC in spring, after that busy Winter Split you had.

How are you feeling after today?

Yike: Yeah, we’ve kind of had a slow start so far. Like the first two series we played were not the best. The first series we did an insane comeback against KOI. And the second one against BDS, I had a pretty bad series as well. Today was not the best neither. Fnatic played good. I think we had a good game one, but you can see that we are still missing some stuff that we were better at before. So we still have to scale up a bit. It’s still only week two. There’s seven weeks of regular. So this loss, it feels bad, but it doesn’t feel super bad.

Ethan: You also stole two Nashors today.

Are you really the European Oner or you think for some reason luck is always on your side on those 50/50?

Yike: Yeah. I don’t know. Maybe I just have like an edge on those 50/50 smites. I don’t know how I do it. There’s not really like a big secret. I just can smite good. So I’m happy with that.

Ethan: And I’m talking about these smite fights with Razork because obviously you two always had a great rivalry ever since you joined the league.

Would you say Razork is the jungler that pushed you the most in the LEC?

Yike: Yeah, I mean for sure.

I think Razork is the one that is my biggest rival for the past two years.

And he’s always playing very good, very consistent. Like obviously he has his ups and downs, same as me. We both have like ups and downs. And it’s always a nice rivalry.

Ethan: I feel like when it comes to the most important games, you most of the times have the edge…

Yike: Yeah, I’ve won more than him, but for me he’s just a nice rival, you know. I think he’s the strongest jungler, of course in the league besides me. And it’s always fun to play against him. I think we both can learn from each other, playing against each other so much. And that’s a good thing to make the league stronger, jungle wise.

Ethan: And I also talked to you about Razork because I feel like you two have been the best Vi players, maybe with Sheo in the past few years. But either at First Stand or in the start of this split. I feel like your Vi didn’t shine as brightly as usual.

How do you explain your fortune shifted on Vi recently?

Yike: Yeah, it’s hard to say. I think usually I never thought I was a bad Vi or anything. I think like when I was playing it in G2, and in any case in the beginning of this year with KC, we were winning Vi games against the best teams and it was fine. And then at First Stand there was like one bad Vi game and then after that the second game and third game was bad and even yesterday against BDS, it was just a bad Vi game. So yeah, for sure I’ve been underperforming with the champion, but it’s not like I think I’m bad or anything. It’s not like I will just not play it anymore. I know I’m a good player. I know I can play Vi good. And even though there’s a lot of like criticism towards me and the champion, I will not listen to that or care about it. I will always pick it when I think it’s good. I will always play to win. And I will improve, I will always look to improve and get better on the things that I’m doing worse on the champion.

Ethan: And also I want to talk about the new status of KC because I feel like every time you are on a team it just becomes an instant favourite. KC was in the shortlist of top teams in winter, but no one was expecting you to win straight away. Now that you did, obviously you’re the favourite team to win it all again in Spring. You never have some rest, right – even with LDLC in the LFL 3 years ago…

How do you deal with the pressure of always being in the hunt for a title?

Yike:  Yes, for me it’s very fun. Both in LDLC and KC, it was kind of similar where I joined the team and no one expected us to win. In LDLC, they expected us to be fifth, sixth, seventh, you know, then we won the league and we were the strongest. And then summer split, everyone expected us to win and then we did a good split in LFL, but worse at EMEA Masters. It’s the same in KC right now. At first, everyone thought G2, Fnatic, KOI: top 3. Like everyone said it and we shocked everyone by winning. And in G2 it was different because everyone thought G2 would win anyways, so that was different. But it feels good to always show the people that don’t believe in me or the team I joined that I can still win. You know, I don’t feel like I got carried in G2 and I could prove it in winter split, so that makes me very happy. And yeah, we will just keep the momentum.

I don’t want to lose spring split, I don’t want to lose any splits. I hate losing. So I will do whatever I can to keep winning.

Ethan: And have you ever taken a step back to think about it…

Why every time you joined a team, they instantly became champions and unexpectedly, favorites?

Yike: I’m not sure what it can be. I think I’m good at the game. Obviously I think I am. Maybe for me it’s always important to be good outside of the game with like everyone in the team. And that’s always important to me. And I guess that’s something that I focus on a lot to have good relationships with everyone I work with. And I guess that’s something that worked out well for me because then I’ve been succeeding. Maybe that’s the key.

I just won the LEC AGAIN 😭💙💙💙

— Martin Sundelin (@YikeLoL) March 2, 2025

Ethan: To come back on the game, I think, you can obviously all carry in this team. You’re really a five threats roster. But I have the impression that there is something that consistently bring you a win. It’s when you and Vladi are on a good state in the game.

What’s the biggest differences between your synergy with Vladi and your synergy with Caps last year?

Yike: I think the biggest difference is that I know that Vladi is young and I know he can still learn a lot. When I joined G2, I was the one who had to learn a lot more, like from Caps, because Caps is Caps, obviously. Like, he’s a veteran. He’s won LEC so many times. So I would always listened to Caps and like, he would teach me a lot of stuff about mid/jungle. And now it’s kind of the other side where I’m teaching Vladi a bit. I think we both teach things to each other obviously, but I have more knowledge than him, I would say, and I can teach him a lot about how we play mid/jungle and my own thoughts about it. And I think that’s the biggest difference, that I can be the one sharing my opinions to him and he listens to me and for me it was the opposite with Caps. So that’s the biggest difference and I think it worked out well. I think me and Vladi have a lot of good talks so we can learn a lot from it and we’re still improving. We’re a very strong mid/jungle.

Ethan: Now that you played with both.

What are your thoughts on the Vladi/Caps comparison?

Yike: I mean they’re both insane players.

I think I’ve told Vladi before: He is kind of like Caps. Caps at 19 was probably like Vladi now.

So they are similar in that way. And yeah, you can see on the gameplay like both are very insane players. I think I’ve been very lucky playing with very strong midlaners. I’m very happy to see that.

After such an early performance from KC this season, is it fair to expect you to potentially scale and become one of the best team in the world by the end of the year?

Yike: I mean, it’s hard to think about that far into the future. My goal is forever to win worlds. That’s my goal. I’ve been dreaming of it since I was like 11, 12 and started watching league.

I think everyone in the team share the same dream and obviously people think it’s hard, but we will not stop believing.

We will take everything as it comes and we proved in Winter that we are very strong and in First Stand as well, going in final. So we know we’re a strong team. If we work hard, I believe that we can win it. I believe in it. I will always believe in it.