Sheep Esports had the opportunity to sit down with Khalil "Rin" Sahraoui this past weekend during the Superligas' Final Four in Madrid, Spain. As one of the rising names in the competitive scene, Los Heretics' AD Carry has quickly gained recognition for his talent, mindset, and dedication to the game. With the Final Four bringing together some of the best teams and players in the region, it was the perfect setting to learn more about Rin’s thoughts on the competition, how he deals with pressure, and LEC level.

How are you, and what does it feel like to play on stage?

Khalil "Rin" Sahraoui: "I'm pretty good. I haven’t played on stage for about two years, so it feels really good to be back here again.

Are you motivated to play on stage? Does it change you? Are you a shy person in stage?

Rin: I wouldn’t say I’m more shy, I think I play the same. But for sure, I’m excited. The last time I played on LAN we had a really bad loss, and I don’t want to feel that again. That’s why I really want the trophy this time.

This year, you’ve always stayed at the top. What are the key factors in maintaining this consistency?

Rin: Honestly, there isn’t much to it. I think we’re just playing in a bad league. There are only three or four good teams, and I feel like only the top four are really competing with each other.

How did you handle the Spring and Summer losses against Barça eSports and GIANTX Pride? Were they much better than you?

Rin: For sure, they were better. Maybe if we had won once, we could say it was just a bad day. But if you lose twice 3-0, then they’re clearly better and we had to work on ourselves.

Did you feel extra pressure playing for Team Heretics? Or having an experienced roster with Norman "Kaiser" Kaiser and Kacper "Daglas" Dagiel?

Rin: Yeah, I mean the “experience” is kind of fake. They don’t really bring much from their past in the LEC to this team. There wasn’t much pressure playing in Heretics. If there was, it would have been in winter because I was new to the team. But actually, we performed the best in winter. After that, I think we just lost to ourselves—we didn’t improve while the others did. Personally, I feel more pressure than the others because of my personality. I try to take responsibility and solve problems for the team.

What kind of relationship do you have with the main team?

Rin: I mean, we scrim them a lot. I haven’t really talked to all five players. For example, I don’t speak much with the toplaner. But the rest—mid, jungle, support—are French, and since I speak French too, we get along really well. And Flakked (Victor Lirola) is just a troll.

You scrimmed against LEC teams. Is the level much higher than expected?

Rin: Our recent scrims against Team Heretics have been really bad—we always get stomped. In the first two splits we were kind of close in level, but they improved way more than us. It makes sense, they just got better while we kind of stayed at the same level. Against other LEC teams, though, we were pretty close, and individually, I think I can compete with the middle of the pack AD Carries in LEC.

So do you think you’ll have a chance to play in the LEC soon?

Rin: I don’t really think about it much. I just want to perform at my level in ERL. Once the offseason starts, then I can think about my options for next year. But for now, I know I’m not playing my best individually. I’m trying to focus more on myself, because my individual level is really important.

So you don’t want to hear people saying things like “Rin deserves an LEC spot”?

Rin: Not really. I mean, I don’t care much. Recently I’ve also been hearing a lot of negative things, but I just don’t care.

If you could choose the organisation and players for your LEC debut, who are you choosing?

Rin: In terms of organisation, I’d say Heretics—of course. In terms of players, I would like to play with someone who’s close to me culturally. So I’d say someone who speaks French. I like Stend (Paul Lardin) a lot. And obviously, I’d like to play with Targamas (Raphaël Crabbé), because he speaks French too, and I really like him as a player.

Who is your all-time idol, and why?

Rin: Viper (Park Do-hyeon), from Hanwha Life Esports. I’ve liked him ever since I started playing League. He was one of the flashiest AD carries, and even now he’s still performing at the top level. I want to be like him.