MKOI Alvaro: “If you are a fan of your enemy, I don’t think you’re going to actually beat him”

Despite the loss against T1, MKOI put up a strong performance as they were able to take one game from the reigning world champions. We spoke to MKOI Alvaro at the end of the series and shared his thoughts on the international journey of the past month.

MKOI Alvaro – The confidence was there at the EWC

Davide: I would assume it doesn’t feel great to lose the series, but you guys were able to get a win in game 2.

How did you guys feel after that and what were some of the things that you probably hope were done better in Game 3?

Alvaro: For sure, game 1 was a mess. I think after we started behind, it was a bit too hard to come back. We tried a bit of desperate plays and we were not able to do the comeback. In the second game, I think everyone was actually more confident and more coordinated.

Everyone was actually confident coming to the series because I think you actually don’t need to be scared of them.

At EWC, it looked like the European teams had stepped up compared to MSI. What are the positive takeaways you guys are getting from this tournament?

Alvaro: I mean, I think in social media, it was said that Europe was really bad and everything after, I think people were too one-sided. I think every region is very close to one another, and I don’t think there is that much of a gap. Of course, I think LCK and LPL are still the stronger regions because they have really strong teams, but I think you can actually compete against them. And yeah, I mean, in MSI it was a bit of a mess, I think because both G2 and we didn’t perform well, but I was confident and I was sure that we actually have the level to compete. I’m still happy for G2 because they are still in the tournament. So yeah, I mean, just making Europe proud. I think it’s a good place to actually end this.

How does it feel when you have to wake up knowing that you have a match against someone like Keria and T1?Do you feel like waking up with a little bit of pressure? Does it bother you? Are you just treating it as a normal day? Can you talk to me a little bit about that?

Alvaro: I think it’s the same. I don’t think about the player. I think when I’m playing in an international, of course, the feeling is different than in LEC, but it’s mostly the same. At night, I try to go to sleep, but sometimes, depending on which game I’m facing or when I need to wake up, I can maybe take some time to actually sleep a bit more because there is some stress or you’re thinking about it.

I respect them a lot because I think they are really great players and they are actually world champions. And Keria is one of the players that I actually looked up to before. But as I have said in other interviews, I think if you are a fan of your enemy, I don’t think you’re going to actually beat him. So when it comes to it, you’re competitors and you just want to face him and you actually want to beat him. And I think today I can take a lot of lessons from it.

Are there other lessons aside from just gameplay, for you on a personal level, compared to when you first started as a professional player?

Alvaro: Yeah, I think mostly mental. I would say right now, for example, we’re going to have some days to rest, but we need to do content in LEC soon. So there is not much time. I actually know that I need to make use of that time to rest.

I think the time outside of the Rift, taking care of myself, and both mentally and physically. I think something that I did a big step up, and in this MSI, I will say, I think learning about the game. We didn’t have that much practice, like we only practiced sometimes with the best teams, because it was really short of a tournament. But I think it’s always a really good chance when you actually have the opportunity to face them and yeah, just learning and actually taking the best that you can from it.

Can you rank me your best five players right now in the world from your role? Ideally, if you can, in order.

Alvaro: I mean, I think it really depends on what exactly area you like, I think that depends on the champion, depending on which role. But for me, how I value it, I will say I will focus on EWC players because I don’t focus on others. So I will say Keria is top one, I think Kael is top two. I will say, I will say top three Duro. Then I will say Delight and I will say me.

Do you value more the mechanics, game awareness, or just general understanding and macro?

Alvaro: Kind of, I think I was doing in general, a mix of the things that they actually are good at. For example, I think ON is a really good player, but sometimes I don’t think he’s performing well. You could see, for example, in the series the other day, I don’t have that much pressure when I play into him in some areas. In other areas, yes. AL is a really strong team. They play really coordinated. Keria is the kind of player who can actually take the role and create a lot of pressure on the map alone. So I’m just valuing mechanically and actually macro-wise what I think he is, yeah, the scariest for me to actually face.

Davide: Perfect, very clear insights. Thank you very much. Good luck with the rest of the coming weeks, take some rest. I think you guys deserved it, you were able to put up a really good fight against T1.