M8 Comp: “I was not sure if I wanted to keep playing or not.”

I got to discuss with Markos “Comp” Stamkopoulos about his career. Right before he comes back into the league where he lifted two trophies in the past (with LDLC OL in 2019). From his LEC title with Rogue in 2022 to his relegation in the LFL with Gentle Mates this year. He gave me his reasons on why Rogue had gone off course after their first title, and the options he had during this off-season. The Greek AD Carry eventually delivered his ambitions for 2025.

The LFL comes back this Wednesday.

Ethan: I wanted to look back a bit on your career starting with 2022 because I think that was your prime right..

What really happened for you to completely pop off in this season, what was the recipe?

Comp: So first of all, I will agree with you. It was the best year so far in my career. I would say what helped me the most back then was the whole team dynamic that we had with players, coaching staff, and everything. I think everyone matched very well throughout the year, and we grew pretty much as a team. Spring was actually our best split that year even though we won in summer. I remember in Spring, for example, we were very consistent and we just ended up, like, doing some small detail mistakes, in the final against G2. And, for example, in Summer, we actually had a lot of rough moments. We nearly started with a 0-3 week.

I remember we were 0-2 down and MAD Lions were 2-0 at that time. And somehow, I stole the Elder Drake with Ezreal. And we just won our 1st game like that. What I mean is that in summer, we actually had rough moments. And I think these are the moments that really show which team is the strongest when it comes to sticking together and stuff. And especially when we secured our spot in Malmo, I think the environment changed. The fact that we actually traveled, and that we got to do things together as a team outside of the game. It really helped us bond even more. And that’s where I think that we really peaked on stage (won the final against G2: 3-0)

Ethan: Even the international community, I remember those Chinese tier lists placing you very high among the best ADCs in the East, right before Worlds.

What do you think really worked for you individually?

Comp: About my personal performance, I think it was mostly having the feeling that the whole team kinda trust me. They know I can do great and I know they can provide me with what I need throughout the game.

Ethan: So you experienced playing against the best in the world. And also since you were an LEC champion, I imagine, you got some good scrim partners.

Can you talk me through these Worlds a bit?

Comp: Fun story about these Worlds… You know, either you want it or not, when you win LEC you go with a different feeling at Words. You are coming in as a major region’s first seed right, thinking you’re very good and stuff. And then we played some practice against LCK or LPL’s third seeds… Then we were thinking damn, they’re 3rd seeds but those guys are actually pretty good. They would probably be first seed in our region *laugh*. For me, the biggest moment I actually learned a lot of things was when I faced, Gen G, which was the number one seed of LCK and EDG. And specifically Ruler (Park Jae-hyuk) and Viper (Park Do-hyeon). I think they were, for sure, my hardest opponents in scrims.

I remember the first time I played both of them (Ruler, Viper) in scrims, I was like, what am I doing here *laugh*?

But I actually could see myself learning so much. And by even the 2nd time I played them, like, a few days later, it felt like I learned so many details that I could suddenly match them. I was really impressed by this.

For sure, I learnt a lot there.

Ethan: Then, 2023-2024 came and I’m guessing you don’t remember it as fondly. The winter split was quite good. Right? You went 3rd. And then I don’t know what happened..

Everything shifted for you guys, from the top of the ranking to the bottom? How would you explain it?

Comp: In my previous answers, I told you about our issues in 2022 and how we fought them as a team, how we overcame them. I think in 2023, there were very similar issues but we were not handling them as well as we did in the past. So I think that cost us a lot throughout the year, and that’s why we didn’t even end up going top 6 to qualify for Season Finals even though we were close. And about 2024, I can’t really go into details, but I think we had good players. If I actually take every single one of our player roster, in my individual opinion, I will say everyone’s quite good. But, yeah, sometimes it just doesn’t match.

The perspective of how some people see the game and how some others see it in another way. There are a lot of very different ideas and, yeah, there’s a lot of chaos. And, of course, there will always be teams like this, and in the end, you need to find a middle ground and you need to talk it out and work it out together. But, it was just definitely not the case this year. Of course, it really sucks. I honestly think it’s probably one of the worst LEC performances from a team throughout the years. So I feel really bad about this, especially because it was the team that I joined after being benched from Vitality. Going back-to-back finals, winning one of them, making the top eight at Worlds…

So for sure, it really stinks to end my story with Rogue this way.

Ethan: And now, you joined Gentle Mates in the LFL during the off-season, do you feel like it is an opportunity for you to bounce back? And why did it come down to M8?

Do you still have the will to come back to the LEC and do great things in the foreseeable future?

Comp: For the first time in my life during the off-season, I was not sure if I wanted to keep playing next year or not. I stream a lot, and I was very realistic with myself even when we got eliminated in the Summer. I guessed that it would probably be very tough for me to get, a spot in the league next year unless a miracle happens again. Because even when I joined Rogue, kind of a miracle happened since the whole year (in 2021 with Vitality) I was benched. But, regardless, I think it’s also because many Koreans now are coming. A lot of AD carrys like Noah, Ice. I don’t know am I forgetting someone?

Ethan: Rahel?

Comp: Oh yes, Rahel.

The thing is those guys are performing, right? So that’s already 3 spots if you think about it, there are also promising players, like Caliste with KCorp. Or confirmed players such as Hans Sama… Anyway, I was pretty much realistic with myself that there’s a chance I won’t be in the LEC this year. So I had three options.

One was I will just relax, maybe grind solo queue, all this stuff. Just waiting and exploring throughout the year if I can have an offer. The other one was, to stream and go to a boot camp in Korea, all the this type of stuff that players usually do. And the third one..

I was considering asking for some teams if they would actually need a substitute.

I was curious, if I ever joined a team like G2, and I wasn’t the main player, but they had a roster like they do now, which I think is still pretty good. I would actually not mind, you know, learning throughout these players. Like, for example, what does this guy do and he has 3 more LEC titles than me? It wouldn’t be too much of a bittersweet for me. I am the kind of guy, I wouldn’t have the ego to say no I’m not doing that. Because I would genuinely be curious. I’m like, what do you actually do so much better than me? So, these were the options and, in the end, I ended up joining Gentle Mates. I talked a lot with many of the players and the coaching staff.

Ethan: Because you already know Eika (Jérémy Valdenaire) from LDLC OL back in 2019 right?

Comp: Yes, of course. He was begging me to join *laugh*. I just saw a very nice environment for me personally to work on. I wouldn’t have considered joining them if I didn’t think we’d be very good in the long run. Like, for example, I don’t expect us to go and just be the best team instantly. But I expect us – because of the personalities and the work ethic we have – to be one of the best ERL teams in the long term.