SHFT Striker on critics: “If it makes some people happy to throw jabs on Twitter, at the end of the day, it’s not important to me.” – LEC Versus Week 4 Interview

After Shifters’ victory over SK Gaming in the mid-evening of the final day of LEC Versus regular season, head coach Yanis “Striker” Kella granted us an interview before the other games of the night had finished, at a point where playoff qualification was still possible. The French coach reflected on the game, the state of the project, Lucas “Cabochard” Simon-Meslet’s arrival, and the expectations surrounding his players.

After this extremely important win that keeps Shifters alive in the playoff race, how are you feeling and how are the players?

Striker: Relieved. Even though we’re not locked into playoffs yet, there are still some scenarios that need to happen. But like I told the players yesterday, we’re focusing on SK, god will take care of the rest, hopefully.

It wasn’t the easiest game to win, especially after the early game we had. We’ve had convincing performances on more front-to-back compositions, especially with tank junglers, and today we managed to win in a different style. In terms of confidence going forward and the range of drafts we can offer, it gives us more options.

Qualification still depends on other results. Are you confident about the remaining scenarios?

Striker: Honestly, I don’t know. At the start of the week we were looking at probabilities, but then I told myself we just need to focus on our own games. We don’t really have any impact on the rest. My data analyst told me this morning that the odds are slightly in our favor, so we’ll see how it ends.

Regardless of whether you make playoffs or not, do you feel the project is scaling in the right direction?

Striker: Within the group, we have very different personalities. Compared to last year, it’s a different challenge because players have stronger opinions and more input. Sometimes those visions clash, but at least there’s movement. We didn’t have that last year. There are more obstacles, but also more speed, which makes me think there’s something there.

If we don’t make playoffs, we’ll need to calmly analyze why, including individual performances, even though we already do that weekly. The truth is that there are good teams that might not make playoffs in this format, which shows how high the variance is.

We’re far from a perfect team. But in some of our losses, especially against GIANTX where we were two auto attacks away from the Nexus, against Los Ratones, which we gave away a bit foolishly in a moment of panic in their base, there was a world where we were much more comfortably in playoffs.

Last year, you weren’t afraid to make roster changes mid-season. Could that happen again before Spring?

Striker: It’s hard to say right now, and it’s definitely not something I want. Changes happen when they’re necessary and when they’re possible. I don’t sign the players’ checks, so even if the coaching staff has wishes, it doesn’t depend only on us.

What I hope is that we make playoffs, scale there, and have performances that give us positives for the rest of the year. If we qualify and work well in the coming weeks, I think there’s something to do. KC are playing well, and among the teams expected to be at the top, there isn’t really anyone performing at the level that was expected.

Cabochard joined the coaching staff quietly. How did that come together?

Striker: I’ve always had a very good relationship with Cabochard since we worked together at KC. We talked during last offseason, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to move into coaching. This year, he asked if it was possible to join Shifters, first to observe, then to integrate into the staff.

It makes sense for him and for us. He’s a top lane expert. Our top laner is very strong individually, but there are still things to improve in communication and interaction with the team. To be blunt, Cabochard was the most annoying player I ever coached. He asks for things, asks his jungler to come, asks the team to play for him, sometimes to draft for him. That’s why it’s a good fit.

You may have already spotted him on stage a few times this year 👀@CabochardLoL will be part of the LEC team’s coaching staff in 2026 👊 pic.twitter.com/uAi4j2W0kM

— Shifters (@ShiftersGG) January 29, 2026

Is his role focused on the top lane, or more global?

Striker: His main responsibility is Shin “Rooster” Yun-hwan, but he gives input on everything. I ask him a lot about top lane during draft meetings, and he also helps players mechanically. So he contributes to more than just top lane.

Striker: It’s not the kind of win that looks good content-wise. We didn’t put ourselves in an easy position. Our composition needed to be proactive, and mistakes in the laning phase delayed that. That gave them the first drake and some scaling. There were good things in the mid game. We’re happy with the win, not with the way we won, but that’s 90% of wins in League of Legends.

How do you address individual mistakes that aren’t draft- or strategy-related?

Striker: As a coach, you need to be comfortable with imperfection, which hasn’t always been the case for me. You have to be selective with feedback.

It’s a topic we spent a lot of time on. We even ran experiments where we said, “Okay, if we review 30 to 50 points in a single day, how many of them are actually retained at the end of the day, that same evening, the next day? What’s the information retention, and what kind of information do players retain or not, depending on different player profiles?

If a mistake becomes a pattern, then it’s worth addressing. If it’s episodic, it’s not something we should focus on. The goal is to build a structure that makes the game easier and reduces the impact of mistakes.

Striker: He’s progressing very quickly in English and is quite an outgoing person, so we’re happy about that. Trymbi has already worked a lot with Korean players and likes to facilitate; in general, he’s a true support. He doesn’t hesitate to make sure both Koreans understand instructions, often simplifying them into easier English.

People are allowed to disagree and talk, it’s an entertainment industry. But I expect much more from him. Statistically he’s doing good things, but in my opinion, he can do much better.

Any final message for the fans and critics?

Striker: To the people who support us, thank you very much. Please keep going. To the people who criticize, keep going as well. We’re an entertainment product. If it makes some people happy to throw jabs on Twitter, at the end of the day, it’s not important to me.

I don’t like attacks on players, but when it comes to things said about me, it’s part of the job. It didn’t start yesterday and it won’t stop tomorrow. It’s not a problem.