MKOI Elyoya on the recent SLUMP: “We struggle when we play teams that we consider weaker…” – LEC Versus Week 3 Interview

MKOI have been the mystery of the LEC in the past week. Following a strong start to the season, the Spanish team has been dropping several series with several mistakes. Elyoya tried to explain why MKOI is going through such a phase and why he’s still confident they can bounce back in no time.

That was quite a rough series. What went wrong?

Elyoya: I’m not sure still. I think, in game, we couldn’t really find good fights. We tried some plays that weren’t coordinated, I remember me trying to on Yunara in bot and some other moments.  But yeah, I think today we played pretty bad. I cannot tell you right now, we [need to] check what exactly went wrong. I’m confident that for playoffs or even in the next week, we are going to be the best team in the league. But I also have to say that the performance we are showing these days is honestly not up to the level that we want to show, so I’m really disappointed.

In what areas do you think you need to focus right now?

Elyoya: Individually, I would say mostly tempo. [It’s] what I need to work on the most and how to impact the map the best way possible. These are my main two points to work on.

Why is MKOI struggling after such a strong start?

Elyoya: I think it’s more getting back on track. Even though we are three weeks in, I would still say that we still need more time to reach the performance that we want to reach for playoffs, so I think it’s just a process. It’s just a matter of the process.

Todo el mundo quiere venir a ver la #LEC a Badalona. pic.twitter.com/GZs4qjo8Tl

— Movistar KOI (@MovistarKOI) February 3, 2026

You will face Team Vitality and NAVI next week. Which team do you think is a bigger threat?

Elyoya: I think NAVI has been playing really well. His jungler is really solid. I’m excited to play against Rhilech and see what he’s up to. I think it should be a 2-0 week for us. But yeah, with the level we have been showing, it’s hard to say. I’m confident that we’re going to fix some things for next week and we’re going to show how a much better face (performance).

I wanted to touch on the series against Los Ratones. Were you caught off by their gameplay?

Elyoya: I would say our team struggles to play best when we are facing a team that we consider weaker. I think we all know know that this is a big mistake that we have and we do it unconsciously. It’s not that we disrespect them. It’s just that when the challenge is not up to a certain point I think we struggle a bit more to show the level that we really want to. That mixed with honestly [the fact that] they were better that day. And that’s really upsetting [since it was the] same as today. I think it’s two teams that we shouldn’t allow to beat us.

Do you think that your struggles are also caused by a higher level of competition in the LEC?

Elyoya: No, I don’t think so. I think this regular season the level has been a bit low, including us. So far, teams are still figuring out their team dynamics and everything.

Davide: Moving to a few personal questions.

What’s something you’re grateful for right now and what does your day in a life look like?

Elyoya: I’m really grateful for the team I have and the opportunity I have to just be playing in this team that I love. My day right now usually starts the day before…  I like to write down some objectives on my notebook of what I want to do the next day. Then I usually wake up at around 10, 9:30 maybe the earliest. I walk to the office and I just stay in the office from 11 to 21, which I go home just to finish up the day with some more solo queues, some VODs reviews… Right now, my day is just pretty much all League.

What’s your music of the moment?

Elyoya: Right now I’m with Spanish rock so I think I’m on Estopa, La Raíz, these kind of music. I’m on this mood right now.

What’s one country you would like to travel back to?

Elyoya: Japan. I’ve been to once already in Japan and I fell in love with the country. It has everything… good food. [The] people in our experience were nice and the environment, really fits as well.

Favorite Japanese food?

Elyoya: The easy answer would be sushi but I think something I really liked there was the Tonkatsu. You have many sauces with it [and] it was quite cheap and for the quality, it was insane. I was really mind blown by it.

Speaking of Asian cuisine, what was your favorite food in China when you were at Worlds?

Elyoya: The problem that I have with Chinese food is that the food we ate in China has nothing to do with the food that you eat here in Europe. I was really surprised. I think a clear classic is the Peking duck. But honestly one that really I want to try to do myself and I want to study the recipe was the Xiao Long Bao (soup dumpling). I thought that was insane, super good.

They would sell it in some street places and it really really hot so with the cold it felt good. I think all the food really surprised me and my family [since] they were there to support me. I swear the [Chinese] food we have in Europe has nothing to do with the food that you eat there. I think it’s so much better.I would say some things are too spicy. I remember some soups that were just too red for my day.

Did you get hot pot?

Elyoya: Yeah, we had hot pot. I liked it… I think I didn’t go for the very spicy option, though (laughs).]

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