Vitality just did a Vitality thing. The Bees upset Karmine Corp 2-1 in Week 3, shaking up Group A ahead of the final week of the LEC Summer Split regular season. Hotspawn sat down with VIT jungler Linas “Lyncas” Nauncikas after the rollercoaster series to discuss facing his former team, the addition of support Fleshy, the pressure of this split, and VIT’s end goal.
Ethan: First, congratulations on securing a playoff spot and winning against the best team so far in your group.
How do you feel after the KC series?
Lyncas: Great. This week was really, really important, and it’s a very big relief. Yesterday we won against NAVI, and we were “kind of” in playoffs. Now we secured it. We came into this group playing for the top 2; some people would say it was delusional after the GX loss. Right now, we are 2-1 and already looking to the next game.
Ethan: It looked like the series was completely cooked after Game 1. KC was just looking better everywhere.
What happened for you to look so much better in Game 2 and 3?
Lyncas: In game 1, we had kind of weak fighting champions early. And they played their matchups well; it was very hard to find windows. Once you find one window, you can find another. And then they just kept snowballing, because they’re a good team. I just had to focus on the next game, honestly. Like in the game, I already started thinking at some point about the next one. Just bounce back for the next games because it starts from zero again.
Ethan: Was it only about the draft then?
Lyncas: I mean, the gameplay, of course, wasn’t great. They played good. We didn’t, and I suppose it just snowballed until the game was cooked.
Ethan: It honestly feels from an outside POV that this team is always giving you a little glimpse of hope before taking it back.
Are you truly coming in this summer split with renewed confidence and new dynamics overall? Can we finally expect VIT to show those kinds of results in a consistent way?
Lyncas: I mean, it was the same, even from my perspective… It always looks like we are going up, every split, and suddenly we’re down. Right now, we have a great group of people. We have good players, we’re working really well so far together. The scrims have been going, I would say very well compared to previous splits, especially. I feel like we’re making a lot of progress. I just hope that it keeps going this way, that we don’t stop. Because sometimes you win some games and suddenly things get a bit lacklustre. I wouldn’t say you’re slacking, but you pass on some details. So I just hope that we keep going up.
Ethan: This match must have had a double meaning for you since you are playing against your former team and two of your former teammates. When you see the difficulties you’ve gone through with Vitality since your arrival…
Do you have any sour feelings or regrets while watching KC’s results since last summer and thinking that maybe you could have been the Closer or the Yike of this team?
Lyncas: No, not really.
I think that especially when I entered the LEC, I was definitely not as good and not as confident as I feel now. I think I’ve made a lot of progress. In Vitality, I’ve worked with a lot of great people, especially coaches for which I actually really wanted to join up.
I’m making a lot of progress. And regarding KC, it’s fun to play them because they’re a good team and they have a hyped fan base. At the same time, it’s my former teammates and winning a match against them is big because it’s a good team. It’s like winning against G2 or Fnatic. As I said, more fun to win against ex teammates, you can maybe meme around after… But nothing else, really.
Ethan: Let’s discuss your time with Vitality. I feel like you were one of the LFL’s highest prospects in the years prior to your LEC arrival. You’ve mostly known high-standing teams throughout your career, at least in LFL with GO and KCB.
Did you expect or imagine that the transition to the LEC could be so hard on the collective scope?
Lyncas: I expected to start better, especially when I entered Vitality in Summer. I was shocked by the results, of course. But at the same time, it feels quite weird because, besides the spring split, I felt like the splits were very short.
I don’t feel like it’s my fourth split. Because the splits are so short.
In summer, I played nine games; in the Winter, I barely played 3 weeks, I think. So on that front, it’s kind of weird.
Ethan: I also feel like a lot of the struggles Vitality has had recently were coming from the support role. I remember talking with Carzzy, and he told me Hylissang had a hard time being on the same page with the topside. Obviously, Nisqy was a role swap, and it didn’t go very well.
Do you think you have finally found a good fit with Fleshy, whom you already played and won with?
Lyncas: For sure, with Fleshy, we are a good duo. What’s important is to work hard, but at the same time be open-minded. And it’s very easy with him. He’s improving a lot. When he came to the LEC, I felt like he was good, but he was missing out on some points. In the last two weeks, he has made massive progress. So I’m really proud of him and I’m really happy. I just hope that it keeps continuing this way.
And of course, we can’t hide the fact that if you’re making changes in support, then something wasn’t clicking. We were just not clicking before. I feel like now we are just a much better group than before.
Ethan: I also saw that you guys had a lot of fun when you played on stage… Memeing, shouting, and stuff.
Is that a way for you to evacuate the pressure on stage kind of?
Lyncas: I think that game was just cooked for NAVI. We’re, as I said, a good group and we have players — especially Carzzy — who really need to enjoy the game and enjoy playing to be at his best. The fact that we have fun is by far the best for [Carzzy]. And at the same time, since we’re a good group, having fun just helps. In another way, for 95% of the game, we are dead serious. But it’s still really important to have fun. Playing on stage, that’s what we all want, you know? That’s the dream.
Ethan: There’s a lot of pressure with this roster for it to actually work out in summer. I guess you heard that your org founder, Fabien “Neo” Devide, publicly said that your coaches’ spots were on the line.
Do you feel like, after a year and four splits within the team, you might also be in danger if you don’t perform in summer?
Lyncas: I try not to think about it. I haven’t really. I think this split, I’m doing much better and at the same time, we just have a much better group. So it’s much easier for everyone to be confident. Overall, I don’t really care about the outside. I just try to do my best. If I practice well and we are doing good in scrims, I know that I can go into the game being fully committed.
I think this weekend was really nice. I felt like we had good scrims and at the same time, we put in the work and at the same time, it was very possible to not think about anything on the outside… We just played the game.
Ethan: To close the interview, Vitality has always been between the top 4 and the bottom of the standings of the league. Today, you clearly showed that you were capable of matching the top 4.
Do you think it would be realistic for VIT to secure a Worlds spot, or do you think a top four to five would be a good enough result? What’s the end goal of the team after this roller coaster of a year you had?
Lyncas: Once again, maybe not now, but before [the KC series], people were thinking we were delusional after the GX loss. We chose this group in order to play for the top 2 and go to the “Guardian Angel” bracket.
Our eyes are on Beijing. I think it’s very doable and that we can definitely make it. Not only Beijing, but also playing for the LEC title.
And being delusional is good.
Photo Credit: Michal Konkol/Riot Games
Ethan: So are you delusional or not in the end?
Lyncas: I’m not delusional myself, but people might think I’m delusional. And if that’s the case, then so be it. It is delusional until it works, and one day, it’ll work.
Ethan is an esports fanatic — not a Fnatic fan, don’t get him wrong. He previously worked for a French media outlet called Eclypsia, as well as Sheep Esports, for whom he covered a variety of scenes: from FC 24, R6, and RL to CS:GO, VAL, and more. But the main reason Ethan started writing in esports was to have the opportunity to work fully on his one true love: League of Legends. And that’s precisely what he is doing at Hotspawn. Be warned, his articles can sometimes ooze a little too much of his lack of objectivity towards the French scene and players…
