Despite taking a game off the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Winter champions, Team Heretics was eliminated from Spring Playoffs contention last weekend after a 1-3 loss to Karmine Corp. Still, the team continues its slow but steady improvement, now hoping that Summer will finally be the key to this young roster's breakout. In this exclusive interview, toplaner Carl "Carlsen" Carlsen reflects on their final match of Spring, discusses the team’s growth, and shares his thoughts on his future in the LEC.

How do you feel after the match against Karmine Corp? Even with the loss, do you think you were able to show what you had prepared?

Carl "Carlsen" Carlsen: "One thing I’m happy about today is that we took a game, right? We put up a decent fight in some of the other games as well. We weren't really too comfortable in game one, but we fought them. Anyone can tell that they were just better than us, both in skill and champion pools. They were more prepared for the best-of-five, and they really showed it.

Some say you need a bit of delusion to succeed in esports. What were the expectations within Heretics, and how did you prepare for the match?

Carlsen: Definitely. Going into it, we still had full confidence that we could win. We got to watch their series against MKOI, and we could see that even though they’re strong, they still had clear weaknesses to exploit. Even if, on paper, they might be the better team, we knew there were angles, avenues, ways we could find to win the game, as long as we could make it a playable game state. I really liked the work we put in leading up to the match, but the quality was just not enough today.

You were up against players like Kim "Canna" Chang-dong, considered the best toplaner in the league. How did it feel facing him?

Carlsen: We always just tried to keep full focus on what we were doing, no matter the nameplates. We went into today fully knowing that we still had the capability to go through and beat them. Against Canna, I'll admit that I got shat on during most games, and my preparation could've been better. Nameplates or not, there was clearly a skill and gameplay disparity, especially during our laning phases.

Throughout the series, you didn’t seem to get much jungle attention and often played weak side. Was that a conscious decision going into the match—to focus more on other parts of the map?

Carlsen: Yeah, but it’s something that should be adaptable. For example, in Game 3 where I was playing Renekton into Ambessa, we should have looked for much more on top side, especially with the kind of draft we had. If I get a good trade and chunk on her, it should lead to something. We need to bring in our jungler and mid, look for dives. That's on me—if I have a winning matchup like that, I need to make it volatile and put the lane in a position where Sheo (Théo Borile) actually gains something from coming top. I could've made it easier for him to gain something from my lane and given him a reason to invest time in ganking, especially when he's playing a tempo jungler like Lillia.

Is it difficult to counterpick and beat someone like Canna, who’s known for holding his own even in losing matchups?

Carlsen: Yeah, I mean, I had quite a solid start today—the first five minutes went pretty well in terms of the lead I was able to accumulate. I didn’t fully drop the ball, but the pace started slowing down and things became more even after level five. He’s really smart in those losing matchups—his spell usage and spacing are really good. He doesn’t give you many openings to punish him hard. So overall, he’s just really, really strong.

Looking beyond just today’s match, Heretics' Spring Split was a big improvement from Winter, where you finished eighth. Are you still proud of what you accomplished this split?

Carlsen: Today will feel like shit no matter what, but in a few days, when we'll look back and reflect on this split, I think I'll be relatively happy, especially after having had the opportunity to be in playoffs. After how Winter went, it didn't look like our progress would be this fast and that we'd take this many games. I don't think there's any shame in how we lost, especially against the Winter champions.

Looking at it objectively, I have a clear list of things I need to improve and sharpen up so I can deliver a better performance next time. I'd say we're happy to have gotten more experience in a best-of-five setting. This may sound crazy, but this is the second-ever BO5 that Heretics has fought since its entrance in the LEC, right? It's something I could've previously only dreamt of. Even if I got shat on, I still enjoyed the fact that I got there.

At the start of the year, some people were skeptical since you were relatively unknown. But now, you've shown solid growth and many are recognizing your performance. Despite today being a tough day, are you proud of how you've developed over the past two splits?

Carlsen: Yeah, I definitely am. In the Superliga last year, when we were scrimming LEC teams, I could already hold my own against many players, so I wouldn't solely talk about my growth gameplay-wise. It's been a huge challenge in terms of pressure, mindset, and actually adapting to playing in the LEC. That's where I've really started to cement good habits and mindset, and how I can allow myself to perform at my best.

I still have a bunch of things to learn, but the thing I’m most proud of is that I don’t really crumble. I have a bad day sometimes—today is one of them, for example—but it's mainly about how I prepare and practice. Canna was straight up better than me in some matchups, and I didn't have the confidence to go for trades that should have been good for me, or the same matchup knowledge he had.

It's something that happened in our tiebreaker against Vitality as well, I wasn't doing anything for 40 minutes because I was so fixated on the result and scared of losing. Still, I'm proud that I can recognize that and instantly start working on tools to help me avoid this mentality. That's when I can really flourish—when I can fully focus on what I have to do next and how I can be the best version of myself.

What will it take for this same Heretics lineup to achieve better results in Summer?

Carlsen: Most people expected we'd get 3-0'd and go home quickly but we, of course, had our dreams and confidence to go beyond those results. We're still far from our ceiling. We have plenty of things to work on for Summer, both individually as a team. If we want to contest top teams, I can't be going 40 CS down when I'm playing Jax into Gwen, or even Rumble into Jayce for that matter. That just can't happen.

In many aspects, including champion pools, we have to keep working. It's important to stay honest with ourselves about what we need to improve and should commit on. I'm not worried about the future, but today, we were not yet good enough to be a top contender.

Heretics has a strong academy team in Superliga, and players like Sebastian "Tracyn" Wojtoń have been getting a lot of attention. Have there been any moments where you’ve felt pressure to perform in order to keep your spot, especially in a league as volatile as the LEC, where players often come and go?

Carlsen: I definitely respect Tracyn, and I think he is really good, but I don’t really feel pressure specifically because he’s the one playing in the Academy below me, right? There's always a chance he could take my spot technically, especially if perform well at the EMEA Masters or in one of the big ERLs, but I try not to worry too much about what I should not do, you know? Of course, I really don't want to go back down, but I want to keep my focus on what's ahead of me and the work I need to do.

Is there something you'd like to tell Heretics fans to close out the split?

Carlsen: To Heretics fans, I just really want to say that I love the Heretics family a lot. It’s been amazing to see that even with this project, which had a slow start and still has room for better results—for both the club and the fans—the support has been unconditional the whole way. That's something really special we have with Heretics fans and everyone supporting us. Thank you so much to all of them, because for sure, it makes it easier on our shoulders to perform at our best with the kind of support they show. Vamos Heretics!"