VIT Pad - European teams often struggle at Worlds due to burnout or conflicts, and then fail to learn from it.

VIT Pad - European teams often struggle at Worlds due to burnout or conflicts, and then fail to learn from it. | Sheep Esports

"The goal is to find the players we want and keep them for an extended period [...] That's when we'll shine."

Despite an unfortunate loss, Team Vitality and its players are now back on their feet, ready to face MAD Lions KOI next week in the LEC 2024 Spring Playoffs. In this exclusive interview, one of the team's on-stage coaches, Patrick "Pad" Suckow-Breum, sits down to discuss his thoughts on the team's recent matches, his expectations for the future, and more.

| Unfortunately, Team Vitality just fell against BDS in the LEC 2024 Spring Playoffs. How are you feeling after this match?

Pad: "I'm good. Disappointed with the loss in a series that I believe we should have closed out. I think we had plenty of opportunities to play better League of Legends in the mid and late game in order to keep snowballing our leads and close them out."

"However, if nothing else, that gives us a very clear purpose for what we need to practice moving into next week."

| What would you attribute this defeat to?

Pad: "I believe we haven't spent enough time finalizing how we want to approach later neutral objectives in the game, without delving into too many details. Our Drake and Baron approach was really lacking today, and it showed because that's where they sort of turned the game around multiple times."

"Additionally, we showed a tendency to not do enough. Because we didn't utilize our lead or transfer it well enough, we felt forced to take actions that ultimately proved challenging, such as navigating through chokes during team fights. I would say that our neutral approach today in the late game was not very effective."

| As you move to the lower bracket, will you be approaching next week differently?

Pad: "No, I think after a series like this, where you generate three big leads in games and you don't close them out, you just focus on yourself. Obviously, we're going to do our scouting and due diligence on both GIANTX and MAD Lions KOI, or whoever we face. Primarily, it's going to be making sure that we sharpen up on the areas where we were lacking today."

| Vizicsacsi recently joined your coaching staff. How has it been working with him?

Pad: "Really good. Visicsacsi is one of the easiest guys to have around the office. He's also one of the smartest people I know. He butts in when it's appropriate and does a lot of really good work with Photon. I think it's very clear to see in the way that Photon has been playing the last two weeks that he's in top form. Having him around the office is really good for developing Photon and he's such a lovely human being, having him around is a win-win."

| This split, Vitality changed its on-stage coaching staff from Carter & Pad to Mac & Pad. Did this modification indicate any change to your coaching approach in Spring?

Pad: "So actually, he didn't have a visa, so he literally couldn't work. The plan from the start was to be on stage together, so no changes in our plans there. He simply couldn't be on stage. Carter did a wonderful job of filling in while he couldn't."

| Were there any significant differences between drafting behind the stage in a pre-recorded manner and now doing it on-stage again? Did you have access to all your coaches while drafting backstage?

Pad: "Yeah, we had access to all of your coaches, but honestly, we didn't have much time despite the pre-recorded aspect. On average, we had between 10 and 12 minutes, which sounds like a lot, but it goes by really fast."

"For the most part, the biggest asset to those backstage drafts was that we had time to catch up with our positional coaches one-on-one and discuss matchups. It was really useful to figure out the level one of each game. This is probably the biggest difference from then to today; we had more time to think about how we wished to play out our early games."

"We've still had good early games now but, I think we could have prepared better with quicker level-one strategies today, for example."

| We've seen huge development with Daglas this year. Could you tell me about your time working with him?

Pad: "Yeah, working with Daglas has been a process that started a bit slow but is ramping up now. He struggled a lot in winter with adding new champions, which ultimately led to us being slightly soft-locked in how we approached our drafts."

"This split, he's played Jax, Volibear, Maokai, Rell, and so much more. Daglas has done a really good job at adding new champions to his arsenal. The biggest thing is how willing he is to learn from Hylissang. Any player who joins a team with Hylissang as a rookie and doesn't open his ears and soak in information is really trolling. So, I'm very happy that my players do."

| Speaking of Hylissang, we've all seen the recent criticism he received, as well as your defenses of his gameplay. Do you have anything additional to add to this topic?

Pad: "No, I believe I've said enough. Mac and I have laid out a plan for how we want Vitality to look in year 1, year 2, and year 3, and it will manifest itself. At some point, it won't be easy for the haters to criticize Hylissang because we are developing the team in a way that naturally aligns with his preferred style of play. He's our in-game shot-caller, so if something appears mismatched, it's either due to him not communicating well enough ahead of time or the coaching staff not ensuring that the team is on the same page. So, just watch us."

| We've heard it from other interviews and, since you are contracted until the end of 2026 with Mac, this is very much so a long-term project for you. Could you elaborate on that? We've also heard that your goal was to perform at Worlds, is that correct?

Pad: "Yeah, I've been to Worlds three times now, and I've had my ass kicked three times. While it's fun to win LEC, I imagine it would be more enjoyable to be competitive at an international event. Ensuring the process of becoming good internationally is the most important for us."

"It's not about being great in the winter split or winning the spring split. Obviously, if we do, good job to us I guess. But it's really about focusing on the process because we want to be good when it makes sense and when we've had time to implement all of the strategies and approaches to League of Legends that everyone agrees on."

| Hopefully, Vitality will be the team breaking Europe's international curse!

Pad: "That's the goal. We want to ensure that we practice in a way, build a roster in a way, and develop both outside and inside skills in the game so that eventually, we can go to an international event and soak up as much information and knowledge as humanly possible. I believe that's often where things go wrong for EU teams at Worlds. Either the team members end up hating each other or they're burned out, and then they don't learn from Worlds. Sometimes, there are three roster changes after Worlds, and all the experience gathered on the international stage is lost, bringing the team back to square one."

"So, the goal is to find the players we want, keep them for an extended period, and ensure they get to experience playing together on an international stage, repeatedly if possible, because that's when we'll shine."

| To close out, could you give a few words to Vitality fans? We know that you hold the Golden Hornets dearly.

Pad: "Yeah! Thank you for always supporting us and for everything you do for our VALORANT, Counter-Strike, and Rocket League teams, to name a few. Being part of an organization that has this much backup at any given time drives me forward. So yeah, thank you for everything."

Pad and Daglas, discussing before a game in the LEC. Credit: Michal Konkol/Riot Games

Header Photo Credit: Michal Konkol/Riot Games

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