VIT Naak Nako on being compared to Canna: “I think he’s a little bit better… But I’m close to him.” – LEC Versus Playoffs Interview

After the series against Movistar KOI (MKOI) in the first round of the LEC Versus Playoffs, we chatted with Team Vitality top laner Kaan ‘Naak Nako’ Okan to hear his thoughts on what happened in the series, his view on the 2026 season, and what he learned now that he’s in his second year in the LEC.

Davide: Before we talk about the series, how did you guys prepare for coming to this match?

Is there anything in particular that you’ve been working on over the past week?

Naak Nako: Nothing in particular. It’s the same meta. Most of the drafts are the same. It’s just [that] the second game drafts are a bit harder to calculate, but overall, the practice was the same.

How do you think the match was overall? It was quite a messy first game.

Naak Nako: I mean, [the] first game was going good until… I don’t know, it was just too long. We had the Chronobreak. It also took some time. It was a messy game. We were fighting a lot, and overall, they got to win.

Did the Chronobreak cause your team to lose focus? You had a major gold lead.

Naak Nako: I mean, Carzzy (Matyáš Orság) just didn’t expect them to be so fast on bot lane. After he W’d in, he died, it was kind of hard to play after that one. But overall, it’s a normal game that they got. They were better in the late game.

El mapa 1 de MKOI vs Vitality: pic.twitter.com/gwH4AgKhde

— Movistar KOI League of Legends (@MovistarKOILoL) February 16, 2026

What do you think went wrong in the second game?

Naak Nako: The second game, the draft was a bit hard, and I think we lost some skirmishes on bot lane. I mean, I didn’t watch it. When I joined the game, [the] enemy was also fed, so I don’t know. I guess we lost some skirmishes, and some things happened.

Davide: Since you didn’t really get to watch what happened in the bot lane, I wanted to ask you how the laning phase was against Myrwn in both games. You had a pretty good lead on top lane, despite getting killed a couple of times.

How do you think the Jayce Zaahen matchup is right now?

Naak Nako: Jayce-Zaahen matchup is a little Jayce-favored. I think I could have played way better. I was playing bad early game, but after the second base, I recovered, and I was getting some lead. But overall, I don’t think he played better or anything. He was doing fine, especially [in] the early game. He played good.

Davide: Maynter was saying on broadcast that he thinks you’re better than Canna.

I wanted to hear your thoughts on this.

Naak Nako: I mean, I didn’t hear him saying that. But I mean, it’s his opinion, right? Everyone has different opinions. I think we are kind of even… I think he’s a little bit better. But I’m close to him.

What things do you think he’s a little bit better at than you?

Naak Nako: Sidelaning mostly, I would say. I think the laning, I can probably match him, but [his] side lane is pretty good.

Davide: Do you think he’s the number [top laner]?

Naak Nako: Yeah. He’s the best.

Davide: Despite you losing the initial lead in Game 1, you still had a lot of composure in trying to recover the disadvantage that you guys had after. This is something that’s not very Vitality-like, at least compared to the previous seasons.

What are the reasons behind such a shift?

Naak Nako: We were practicing [the] mid game for two weeks now. Even if we get behind in early game, we just find some ways to catch someone or chunk them so we can regain the map. And I think [in the] first game, we caught some people. I don’t remember it that well… I was mostly on top lane. Since my lane is boring, I don’t see a lot. I guess my support jungle mid lane did some magic, so we had the gold lead after losing the early game.

Davide: You said top lane was a little bit boring.

What do you think about the top lane matter right now?

Naak Nako: I mean the meta is all right. You are just going into the game a bit late, right? You are just playing your 1v1 and you just spawn in the mid game, and people are fed, or your team is fed. Like, who knows?

Vitality Czech-In 5 with @Carzzylol and @lyncaslol: you heard it guys, we'll keep going strong 😌 pic.twitter.com/aL3uJ06Rdo

— Team Vitality League (@TeamVitalityLOL) February 16, 2026

Davide: It’s a gamble basically.

Naak Nako: Yeah.

Davide: This is your second year in the league.

In what way do you think you grew the most? Is there anything particular that you think you learned from this past year?

Naak Nako: This past year? Not much, man, not gonna lie. I was playing a bit worse. I got better overall. Like, there is not much to learn. You just play the game better when you play it more. I played the officials, I got the experience, I saw what’s popping in the game, but nothing much changed.

Is there anything that you’re looking forward to this year or anything? Any goal you’ve set for yourself?

Naak Nako: I just want to be the best top and go to some internationals if possible. That’s kind of it.

Davide: Is there anyone you would like to face at internationals?

Naak Nako: I mean, anyone should be fine. They will send the top teams, right? So they should be good overall.

Davide: In the lower bracket, you’ll face Fnatic next.

What do you think will be the key to that matchup for you guys to get the victory?

Naak Nako: I would say bot lane early game will be important, as [in] most of the series. Bot lane will be the decider and especially the drafts, because Fnatic had terrible drafts today. Our game 2 was also questionable. But yeah, I think the drafts will be important as well.

Davide: What do you think about Empyros as a matchup?

Naak Nako: Empyros is just… we will probably handshake some matchups, and we will go even, or we will have a slight lead. I don’t expect much. I think he’s all right as a rookie.

Do you have anything to add or [that] you want to say?

Naak Nako: Thank you for supporting, guys. Sorry for today. It was unlucky. The chronobreak got us good. Keep supporting us. Thank you.