"I'm sorry we couldn't finish the job" — Pad After Vitality's Heartbreaking Exit One Series From Worlds

It feels like the team has had a hard time snowballing through a Naak Nako lead against the good teams — I remember the KC game where he played Jax, 4-5k gold ahead — it feels like VIT don't quite know what to do with his lead in midgame. Do you feel the same, and why does that happen?

No, I don't think so — that's way too generalised. It depends so much from game to game. If you look at this game, it's a game we've won, we're really far ahead, we have this amazing sequence around Drake where we come from multiple angles and steal it with Lyncas, and then we blow the Renata ult as well. On the back end we normally have a winning fight, but — and this can happen to anyone — they double flash onto Naak and kill him.

But even after that the game isn't lost, right?

No, the game isn't lost. But I don't think it's about playing around Naak. Then we have an accidental death on FIESTA, then a death on Carzzy, and you take turns, and at some point their front-to-back just becomes too strong. We played this game wonderfully to put ourselves in a lead, but we have to play first-target on Cho'Gath. Props to the lads for playing out a hard draft — that's just good from them. But at some point, when we make enough minor mistakes, that comp becomes very hard to play front-to-back against.

What state of mind were you in coming into this match? Did you expect MKOI to look like the version you saw in the regular season, or to show a new face?*

We for sure went into this knowing MKOI are a team that are very good at playing from an underdog or must-win-now position — that's been the case for the longest time with someone like Elyoya. So we came in feeling confident, but also not wanting to disrespect them.

The big thing we changed from Madrid to today was making sure we came in a bit more loose, goofy, having fun, wanting to front-step.

And even in the game, in so many of these games we find amazing solutions — the game we win with Xayah is a very hard game to win as well. So even though we go 2-3 and I'm tilted that we're out, I think today was okay.

Do you feel like in a game five situation you'd have been unfavoured anyway, since they have more experience in BO5s that go all the way than your have with this team?

Yeah, we had to break the curse — and we broke the curse. Just not enough. We got our two games, and honestly we all thought that after those two games we had momentum, we were feeling good, our draft plans were good. They did a lovely six-ban in the last game. We had some discussions on whether we should take away the Anivia on 2-3 or hand it over, if we had enough supports to drop etc.

But we got to experience a proper best of five, and that's lovely for the team — it just sucks that it happens so close to Worlds.

The game three with the Lee Sin-Akali — as you said, a very hard game to win. Are you proud of the drafts you delivered overall?

Yeah, I'd say we got everything we wanted, gave what we wanted to give, and removed what we didn't want them to have. I was really happy. Going deeper into best of five is always a new experience, but bringing in Hansen and having him assist on a lot of the groundwork for draft — making sure we have 200 scenarios of everything, if they do this we do this — is something I need a lot, because I'm a very intuitive drafter, so I need that scaffolding around me. Arvindir is the same — we have two intuitive drafters.

It's something I made clear from the start of the year: the people I surround myself with are drafters I can enable, rather than them enabling me, because I like to lead the day-to-day, how we move the map…

I think we landed on something very good these last couple of weeks, especially post Madrid. Our Madrid prep was the worst draft-wise for Summer split; outside of that I think our drafts were good. I think we levelled up and going into any team or any best of five, I'd feel comfortable I could put my team in a position to win the series.

It's not completely over — you'll probably go to the Demacia Cup in China. What will the goal be there? And can you confirm Vitality are going?

I cannot confirm it. It's something I heard as well, but I've been completely locked in for Worlds, so I literally don't know if we're going. If we accept the invitation, I'm happy to go. And if we go, we want to keep working on where we are now — for everyone except Naak, we're out of contract, so it's another chance to show something going into next year.

Are you proud of the progress this team made, how you bounced back after having to move on from Humanoid for FIESTA — who beat every expectation placed on him? Are you proud of what you built, even if it didn't end how you wanted?

I'm proud-ish of my first year as head coach. I'm proud I took the decision to put my foot down and bring in FIESTA, and that we did the groundwork to establish him in the team.

I'm proud of us bouncing back mentally after Madrid, because going there and being 0-9 in best-of-five stage games is really hard — this week was very much mental work, human-side work, preparing to break the 0-9. And I'm very happy with Lyncas' development, which was one of my big goals for this year.

I'm proud of a lot of things. But at the end of the day I'm also a competitor. I'm probably more disappointed and sad that we're out now that I'm proud of the level we displayed in the regular split and where we ended.

It's early to ask, but what should be next for you, and for Vitality, coming into next year?

It depends on so many things. If I stay at Vitality, I can speak to what changes for Vitality. If I don't stay, I hope I can still join a team that's competitive for the LEC, because I fucking love this job.

Would you be happy to stay at Vitality if you were given the chance?

I love the organisation, I love the upper management that's built something amazing outside of just League of Legends.

The hardest part about being at Vitality is that League is a very cursed esports title for them, and that's a burden you carry with the org and the fans. But I'm also a guy that loves challenges, and I'd like to break that narrative.

A last word for the fans?

I'm sorry we couldn't finish the job. I'm 100% sure that if we win this series, we go to Worlds. That's very frustrating. But as per usual, I can only say I'm sorry.