Damned be the tier lists—the Spanish stallions are here to play at Worlds 2025. Despite falling short in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Grand Finals, Beijing calls all the same, and Movistar KOI must answer, carrying the hopes of their nation. Ahead of the Swiss Stage, toplaner Alex "Myrwn" Pastor Villarejo sat down with Sheep Esports to discuss expectations, preparations for the tournament, and the level of competition from other regions in China.

How has your practice and preparation for Worlds been going?

Alex "Myrwn" Pastor Villarejo: "Thank God we arrived earlier than usual because we were a bit sick during the first days of bootcamp, so at least we already got through that. Now things are pretty good. Honestly, I'm super excited for Worlds. In practice we are learning a lot, and I see improvement as a way that we can do great this Worlds. I'm excited to give it give it a shot, and make sure that we make the most of this opportunity.

How do you feel about being ready for Worlds this year? What are your expectations for the swiss stage, especially after last year?

Myrwn: This year, we are way more ready for Worlds. I'm really excited to see how it will be. We’ll have to see the draw after the Play-In, but whoever we face from Pool 2, we have a really great shot at winning. If we do things well and put into practice what we learned while practicing, I really think we are going to make it out of Swiss.

Do low expectations from fans, and even Rasmus "Caps" Winther saying he doesn’t have much faith in other European teams, change how you approach Worlds? Do you feel like underdogs this year?

Myrwn: Honestly, I don't give a fuck what people say, it's the truth. I know what my team and I are capable of. That's what matters. I don't care what people rate us in tier lists. We have a shot at winning Worlds and I will give my all.

How do you feel about your current level going into Worlds? Do you think you’ve improved compared to last year?

Myrwn: I think so. As a player, I improved a lot. I still see the difference between European toplaners and those in Korea and China—they are playing really well. Honestly, the whole toplane pool at Worlds is pretty good, so I'm excited to play them in official matches. The first few days I was getting destroyed in scrims. It showed me that I wasn't that ready, but I'm improving a lot. I see the improvement, and now, I think I'm ready for Worlds.

Can you share how scrims have been going, especially against LCK or LPL teams? Hopefully better than CFO’s results, as their head coach told us they had 0% win rate against them so far.

Myrwn: No, it's not. What’s happening to CFO is what happened to us last year. We didn't win a single game in scrims last year, but this time we're doing way better. It's not a huge win rate, but I actually see improvement. Our intention and attitude are way better than last year. We didn't have hope last year; we got shocked by how big the gap was, and we didn't put in the effort to improve. This year is the opposite. We've already prepared for what's coming, and I think if we keep this mindset, I'm pretty sure it's going to be great.

Which teams do you see yourself competing against for a spot in the Bracket Stage?

Myrwn: Personally, in my Pick’ems, I put our team going 3-1, because we can never finish cleanly. Win the first game, then lose the second. It’s what we’re used to. And then I'm pretty sure we are going to come back and win the third match. FlyQuest, G2, or even Invictus Gaming could also go 3-1 as well.

Do you believe IG will beat T1?

Myrwn: For sure, it's gonna be a 3-0. [Editor's note: Nope]

What’s your view on the level of Asian teams? Some believe the LCK is the strongest, followed by the LPL, and then the LCP. Do you agree with that ranking?

Myrwn: I've always thought that LCK was better, but from playing against different teams in scrims, I would say IG is better than T1. I also think that TES, the LPL’s third seed, are better than KT. I would say the LPL teams’ floor is better, but the peak of the LCK is still higher. Last year I would say the LCK representatives were better at both, but I think it changed now with these four teams. But I still think they are all great teams. The worst team of the Asians being KT or T1 shows they are a great region. About CFO, I don't know. You told me about their scrim results, but they've always been really good. So I don't know what's going on in scrims. Maybe it can be confidence or whatever. But they are still a great team. They've been in every international—it shows that they are a good team.

You’ve shown creativity in your champion pool before, but recently you’ve played more standard picks. Can we expect any surprises at Worlds? Do you feel like the meta is mostly the same as before?

Myrwn: Yeah, the patch didn't really change anything. Maybe Jax got stronger, but nothing got nerfed significantly. It’s the same as before—you can play many champs, and many still haven't been explored. So I’ll make sure we see it at Worlds.

How’s the mentality within MKOI right now? After what Javier "Elyoya" Prades said at MSI about feeling intimidated by LCK or LPL teams, have you worked on avoiding that kind of mental block for this tournament?

Myrwn: Yeah, for sure. After the MSI loss, it's something we wanted to focus on, and I think we're ready. We did the work. We still have to see in officials because it'll be way different from scrims and everything, but I think we're ready.

Is there any player you hope to meet at Worlds, maybe someone you’d like to exchange jerseys with?

Myrwn: I would say Boal (Felipe Boal) from Vivo Keyd Stars. He's someone I used to play against two years ago when I was in BISONS, because he came to bootcamp when he was in Los Grandes, if I'm not wrong. I played against him back then, and we've been talking about champions and everything. Now we are both at Worlds, and we have the same seeding, so we could even face each other. I’m really excited to meet him again.

Do you have any message for the MKOI doubters? For your fans?

Myrwn: Like I said before, I really don't give a fuck what you are all saying, it's the truth. I want to give it my all, and you're still in time to jump into our boat, into the GOATs’ boat. Just make sure you jump in before it's too late. I hope you guys have fun watching us. To all the fans and everyone cheering for us, let's have a great Worlds."