Team Vitality suffered a bitter 2-3 defeat against MKOI in the LEC Summer Split playoffs, falling just one series short of qualifying for the World Championship and the trip to Nice. The team's head coach, Patrick "Pad" Suckow-Breum, summarized the performance in an interview, discussing the decisive game, preparation, and the roster's future.
According to the coach, the final game five was a true "rollercoaster." Vitality held a significant lead and were close to winning several times, notably after a successful dragon steal by Lyncas. However, a series of individual mistakes by Naak, FIESTA, and Carzzy allowed MKOI to utilize their strong team-fighting composition with Cho'Gath. Pad noted that the opponent played exceptionally well from a must-win position, which is characteristic of rosters led by Elyoya.
Despite the exit, the coach remained satisfied with the overall level of preparation. Following a disastrous performance in Madrid, the team managed to change their approach, become more relaxed, and finally break their disastrous nine-match losing streak in stage BO5 series. Pad also highly praised the draft work: thanks to the preparation by analyst Hansen, who worked through hundreds of scenarios, the coaching staff felt confident in their decisions, even despite the successful bans by MKOI on the final map.
Summarizing his first year as head coach, Pad expressed pride in the work done. He specifically highlighted Lyncas's development and the successful decision to rely on midlaner FIESTA instead of Humanoid. However, the coach admitted that his competitive ambitions make the current disappointment stronger than the pride in their regular season results.
Regarding Vitality's potential participation in the Demacia Cup tournament in China, the coach could not confirm the rumors, as he had been entirely focused on preparing for Worlds. The situation is complicated by the fact that the contracts of the entire roster, with the exception of Naak, are expiring.
Pad himself expressed a desire to stay with Vitality to break the narrative of League of Legends being a "cursed" esports title for the organization. Finally, he addressed the fans with an apology, expressing absolute certainty that a victory in this series would have guaranteed the team a ticket to the World Championship.
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