FNC Empyros: "Fnatic is a historical organization. I was very happy when they reached out. Playing in the LEC has always been a dream for me"

Panagiotis "Empyros" Tantis, toplaner of FNATIC in the 2026 LEC Versus. Photo Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games

"Playing with the Fnatic jersey definitely brings pressure. If you play badly, you immediately feel the need to improve quickly and step up."

It's another 2-1 week for FNATIC, now moving into the top half of the 2026 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Versus standings. With some important matches ahead, the boys in black and orange are looking to punch their ticket to the playoffs. In an exclusive interview, rookie toplaner Panagiotis "Empyros" Tantis sat down with Sheep Esports to discuss his adaptation to the league, what fuels him, and his thoughts on his new teammates.

How do you feel about your win against Vitality?

Panagiotis "Empyros" Tantis: "Yeah, I’m feeling good after this win, to be honest. The game against GIANTX was also a nice win, but I would say today felt cleaner. Very nice plays from my team—respect. We’re playing really well, and we’re improving a lot, so that’s nice.

This is your first split in the LEC, but you’ve been playing well so far. How has the adaptation to the LEC stage been, and how confident do you feel playing against other LEC toplaners?

Empyros: Right now I feel like I’m still adapting to the LEC stage. I’ve had some bad games, but I’m confident in myself. I know I can play well when I’m confident, so I keep my confidence high. I really trust my teammates to do well, and that’s why we’re a good team and why we’re improving a lot day by day.

What do you do to maintain that confidence before matches?

Empyros: I try to play a lot of solo queue, so I’m confident on my champions. And when I have free time, I watch VODs, just to be sure about how to play the matchups. That’s what gives me confidence—if I know what to do, I’m confident.

I see you often have the little dragon plushy with you. Has it helped you with confidence or given you some extra power going into matches?

Empyros: It’s a gift from my girlfriend, and I always have him next to me when I play. He is my lucky charm, for sure. I didn’t have him for one match—it was against SK—and we kind of got hard stomped [laughs]. So from now on, I always have him with me.

Now that we’re halfway through the split and you’ve faced many LEC toplaners, how do you feel you compare to the rest of the league?

Empyros: In scrims, I feel like I’m playing really well against most of them. I didn’t really have trouble in the laning phase. But on stage, I felt like I had some ups and downs during the games. That’s kind of normal—it’s still early in the season, and I’m also adapting to the setup, the lights and everything. It’s different than playing from home or from the office.

There are a lot of good toplaners in the LEC, and I’m really happy about that because it will help me improve a lot. I’m waiting to play against Canna (Kim Chang-dong) and Rooster (Shin Yun-hwan)—I think they’re the best in the laning phase. Naak Nako (Kaan Okan) is very good as well, and BrokenBlade (Sergen Çelik) too. So yeah, I’m waiting for those matchups.

Your coach Fabian "GrabbZ" Lohmann said one of the reasons you were picked up was your openness to feedback and your potential to grow. How does that make you feel, and how has working with the coaches been so far?

Empyros: I feel like this is one of my best points. I get the feedback and I try to instantly learn from it and adapt faster. Even in the LFL, I don’t think I was the best toplaner during the whole year. I think I was really good during the Summer Split because I was getting feedback all the time and trying to improve fast. This is also what I’m trying to do this year. Playing against the best in scrims will help me a lot. So yeah, that’s what I’m trying to achieve during the year—just to be better.

Empyros and his personal mascot.

How has it been working with more experienced teammates like Elias "Upset" Lipp and Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz? Have they helped you grow and learn as a player?

Empyros: Yeah, for sure. Iván (Razork) has a lot of experience, and Upset as well. They help us a lot during the game, especially with some comps and also with confidence. Iván is a great player, and I really trust him. When he calls something, I kind of blindly follow, because I know it’s going to be a good call. I’m really happy we have those veterans on the team. They’re also really kind people, which makes it very nice to work with them.

When can we expect to see your strongside Fiora in the LEC?

Empyros: [Laughs] I mean, if we have an angle, and we’re good enough, maybe we will pull it out.

You already knew Vladimiros "Vladi" Kourtidis before joining the roster. How has it been playing with him, and do you speak Greek together off the game?

Empyros: We do speak some Greek, but when people are around who aren’t close to us, it’s kind of rude not to speak English. For sure. We live in the same apartment, so we speak Greek when we’re together.

Yeah, it’s very fun playing with him. He’s so funny—he can be annoying sometimes, but that’s just Vladi. I’m really happy working with him because it feels easy—he’ll come to me and say, “I think here you trolled.” He’s straightforward, which is good. That’s what I like about Vladi—very honest.

How do you think your teammates would describe you? What role do you play within the team?

Empyros: I think my role is kind of the chill guy [laughs]. I’m trying to bring a good mood to the team. I’m kind of… I don’t know how to say… happy to hang around with the guys. I try to joke around as well and everything.

What does it mean for you to be in the LEC, and when did you realize you could make it? Was it a surprise to be picked up by Fnatic?

Empyros: To be completely honest, I knew I might have some talks with some teams. I talked with SK in the off-season and also with NAVI. But when they told me they wouldn’t take me, I thought, okay, probably I’ll go to an ERL team another year and aim for the LEC in 2027.

But when Fnatic reached out to me, I was really happy. We had a lot of talks. I was waiting around three weeks for them to give me an answer, just waiting and waiting. When they told me they would take me, I was very happy—Fnatic is a historical organization, a really big organization, and playing in the LEC has always been a dream for me. I’m just very grateful for this moment.

Does being in Fnatic come with extra pressure?

Empyros: For sure. Playing with the Fnatic jersey definitely brings pressure. If you play badly, you immediately feel the need to improve quickly and step up. So yeah, there is definitely pressure.

Next week, Fnatic will face Shifters, Karmine Corp, and Karmine Corp Blue. What are your expectations for these matches?

Empyros: Hopefully, we can get a 3-0, but it’s going to be tough. We’ll need to work a lot during the week in scrims to improve even more. We can definitely beat the teams, but all of them are fairly close in skill right now. I don’t see any team as overwhelmingly strong. We’ll see how it goes.

Is there anything you want to say to Fnatic fans to close out?

Empyros: I’ll say what I said yesterday as well. Keep supporting us if you can, it’s really nice. The players need it, especially since we deal with a lot of mental pressure while playing. Your support is really important, and we truly appreciate it. Much love to all the fans."