MKOI Melzhet: “I need to improve on how to transmit that confidence… to make them have the mindset in the right place.”

Following the elimination series against T1, we sat down with MKOI’s head coach, Melzhet, to discuss the match and what goes through the mind of the coaching staff whenever they face the pressure of playing at Worlds.

Davide: It’s kind of unlucky that you guys haven’t been able to take the win and the Worlds run has come to an end.

What did you tell the team after the series?

Melzhet: I didn’t have much time because I was requested to interview live, and then they were requested to do interviews. But I was checking on them. Of course, they are sad. They are aware of what went wrong so I’m really happy about that because that means that they can grow. In the little we spoke, we said to just get ready for the next year, because it starts now already, and [we need to] be more prepared the next time.

Davide: Before we go into the series, I wanted to ask how the preparation was going into the match, considering you had a strong series against Team Secret Whales, although it was a little bit messy.

What did you guys work on specifically over the past two days? And who did you identify as T1’s main threat?

Melzhet: Okay, what we have been working on this whole Worlds was going deeper and playing better with the tempo and condition. Invade the enemy jungler more and deep control the enemy jungle to get the info and make better decisions.

I think [it] didn’t click until yesterday, so I was so confident and happy today because I thought ‘Okay, we can take this’. But today [it] didn’t show off and I think it was that we were not confident enough to go deep, and I could see in the comms, Oner and Keria were everywhere when it’s not possible.

And I think we didn’t move deep enough in the jungle. I think it was the main reason [we didn’t] control the game and the map. And that’s the thing that we need to change or keep working on and reflect on why we didn’t do it earlier. That’s for sure my fault, and I need to improve.

😢 pic.twitter.com/MtAcn8hwUG

— Movistar KOI English (@MovistarKOI_en) October 25, 2025

Davide: Do you think that has to do with nerves? Because when we talk about aggressiveness, it’s usually a thing where it’s the more aggressive you are, the better the reward, but also the higher the risk. I think we saw that against in the first match against KT, where the guys had a big lead, but then one play changed it all.

What is the focal point in trying to keep the guys in check?

Melzhet: Yeah. It’s the first time that we are working with a psychologist with this whole group because Jojo (Jojopyun) was not with us in the first year. We were doing a lot of visualization, working a lot on how to take risk and being confident and not afraid of making mistakes because we usually need to be in control.

When we’re not in control, we are afraid of making mistakes, so it’s working in that direction. I think we still have a long, long run on that. But I hope that next year we are able to do it.

Davide: I was talking to Bwipo before and he also said that the gap between West and the East has usually been around the mid and late game fights. We saw that at MSI, and we saw that at EWC as well. It basically all comes down to how the teams deal with the stress that stacks up over the course of the game [and the tournament].

Can you kind of elaborate on how the psychologists can help with this?

Melzhet: Yep. At the end of the day, League is a game where you don’t have full information, so you need to play with some certain risk. When you think the rival is going to do everything perfect and they are not going to do mistakes, or they are everywhere, then you don’t take any risk, then it’s really hard to control the map.

I think they (T1) were confident that even though they made mistakes because they did this series, they are going to take it. And I think that’s the big difference because of how they play, how they act; they have the whole team behind. I think they (T1) put so much pressure on the people because they look up to them; they are learning from them, and they are reviewing them. It’s something that is really hard. The psychologists can, with a good system and good work ethic, change that. But of course, it’s not easy because they are your idols.

Davide: We usually talk about the players, but as the head coach of the team and basically the person who leads MKOI,

What goes through your mind when you have to come to Worlds?

You want to be able to help the team in the best way possible and [that] will also come with a little bit of stress because you would like to see the guys perform. Where’s your mind at [in those moments]?

Melzhet: It’s a good question. I think I came to Worlds really stressed because I was not really happy with how we ended up summer.

It took me time to actually calm down and have more clarity in my decisions, which I think is fine; it’s a lesson that I learned. I’m not going to [make] the same mistake again. I also need to improve on how to transmit that confidence to them because it’s really hard because, as coaches, we cannot stop the game and talk to them like it would be in other sports.

You can’t actually pause the game and tell them ‘Guys, hey, we are good. Let’s do this. Remind this, remind this’. I [would] have a bigger impact [in that case], but it’s something that I try to do in between games and we were less disconnected, but at the same time, we were not going deep.

I think I need to do a better job on prep, thinking about what’s coming next or what’s the next mistake, and try to find the right words to make them have the mindset in the right place. For sure, the whole deal [is] I should do a better job now [that] I learned and improved. Now I have bigger stuff so I’m already thinking in my mind what’s coming next and that’s it. ‘Okay. We already lost’.

Davide: I wanted to ask about next year. Obviously, you guys have both you and all five players’ contracts running until 2026. I would assume that you guys are planning to run it back.

Do you want to add anything about this? Is there any player who stood out this year in terms of how the player grew or as a collective?

Melzhet: I think everyone agrees now we have, as you said, the last year of the contract. I think now is the final proof [that] we have what it takes. After that, of course, things need to change. So I don’t know who is going to stay in this team or who’s not. I haven’t thought about it. I was just focusing on what’s next, but it’s something that we need to reflect on for sure.

Davide: It’s not related to the team itself, but like obviously as a coach you get to see a lot of players, teams when you go into scrims on stage, stuff like that,

Is there any player from other teams at Worlds that caught your eye or your attention?

Melzhet: I think there are tons of amazing players. Some guys are crazy, but I will say props to HongQ and Doggo, they are playing really good and it’s a big surprise because it’s not something that you expect… Canyon and all of those guys are going to play good.

I think those two did really well, and I want to give them recognition. But I think there are some amazing players everywhere today. Faker played really good; Canyon, Chovy… all of those guys are insane.

What do you think about G2’s hopes? They’re going against Top Esports.

Melzhet: For sure, they can win in the quarterfinals. They can win. I hope they are confident.

Do it @G2League. pic.twitter.com/JBXXRz0J20

— Movistar KOI English (@MovistarKOI_en) October 25, 2025

Any last message to the fans to round off the interview?

Melzhet: Thanks for supporting us and cheering for us. I hope you keep doing it. But as I said, we are not going to give up. We are going to keep growing [and] improving. And I hope you cheer for G2 now. Let’s make them feel helped and motivated to make Europe go to the Semis. I think that will be great.

Davide: Perfect. Thank you a lot, Melzhet. Good luck with next year. Hopefully, we can run it back in a better form.