Having finally claimed their first victory in the
2026 LEC Summer Split,
are looking to climb the standings after defeating
in a tight 2-1 series. The win comes after a
disappointing 0-3 opening roadtrip in Paris, but as
put it, now is not the time to give up because of a bad start. With
now standing in their way, the Spanish juggernauts will have to continue their ascent and prove they are still a team to be feared.
In an exclusive interview, Movistar KOI's toplaner sat down with
Sheep Esports to discuss the team's recent results, his own performances throughout the year, and
the arrival of
as a substitute should he fail to perform. Myrwn also opened up about the pressure he has faced this year, its impact on his performances, and how he is learning to deal with it.
I can imagine today must be a relief for the team. How do you personally feel about getting that first win on the board after starting 0-3?
Alex "Myrwn" Pastor Villarejo: “To be honest, I don’t feel very affected by the fact we started 0-3. After EWC, I made a commitment to myself to give my 100% in summer. I told myself I would work as hard as I possible could, and whatever happens, happens.
Our start was definitely not ideal, but those are things you have to deal with as players and teams. You cannot just give up the split because of it. That’s how I see things. I think I have a great opportunity this split to grow as a player due to this pressure, so I’m mostly seeing those challenges are positives.
How have you been mentally? You've been one of the LEC players under the most pressure, from fan perception to NightSlayer now staying in the Berlin office as well. How are you dealing with it all?
Myrwn: For sure, it hasn't been an easy year—it’s been pretty stressful. I would say, especially last split, I was pretty stressed. I felt really bad, and I had a really bad split. I didn’t deal well with the pressure at all, and it made me a really bad player.
I’m dealing with that pressure better today and, now, I’m turning it into even more motivation. I’m doing way better work outside of the Rift than I was in Spring. I would say that it shows in my gameplay, even if the results haven’t been there yet. I see my improvements, and I’m happy with them.
Regarding NightSlayer, I think a lot of fans misunderstood the situation. It’s not like he’ll just step into the Rift tomorrow. He is with us, yes, but as Melzhet (Tomás Campelos Fernández) already explained, it’s only so that he has an option if I start slacking off and running it down every single game. I’m the first to openly tell my teammates that I never want to be the reason why we’re losing games. It would just be a horrible feeling to be the one running games down over and over.
Whatever is best for the team, I will accept it, of course. Even if he were to take over the spot, I would be happy for NightSlayer, because I simply think he’s a great kid, and he deserves the opportunity as well. I hope we both continue growing as toplaners.
How's the mood in the team been overall? After going 0-3 in Paris last week, was there some tension in the air, and how was it for you and the team?
Myrwn: There definitely was some tension—none of us enjoyed sitting at 0-3. It wasn’t only because we lost, but also because we didn't fight well. We didn't really play at all—like not even close—to how we usually play in scrims. What we showed is really far away from our real level.
We were obviously all really sad and angry with ourselves after failing to get a win in Paris. I would say that energy showed in our scrims before week 2. I think we did way better work then. That’s the thing pushing us to improve so much, and helping us do better in officials now.
Of course, we're really far from our peak and from what we're aiming for, but I think it's a step in the right direction.
Do you feel like there's any pressure to make it to the top four, especially with the Madrid Roadtrip, which is organized by your organization, requiring you to finish there?
Myrwn: Of course it would suck not being there. It would be disappointing not only to us, but for our organization and fans as well. Right now, considering our start to the split, we have to play on a day-by-day basis. If we end up failing to make top 4, but qualify to playoffs as fifth or sixth, then that’s it. We already fucked up by starting at 0-3, so now we have to deal with it and hope we can still reach top 4. It won’t be easy, since we need to win five more matches, but we can do it, and I will give everything to achieve it.
How do you feel overall about your form so far this split? Do you think you've been playing better than in the last few splits?
Myrwn: I would say I played better than last split, but it's still far away from what I showed last year. I used to be way better to play around, and really hard to play against. This year, I haven’t been able to put that same pressure on my enemies. It’s something I’m trying to find again. It’s not an easy thing, but I’m working on it.
I know my mistakes tend to be discussed a lot on social media, but at this point, I just don’t care about what is said on there. If people want to flame me, then go ahead. It’s better that they focus on me rather than on my teammates. Keep flaming me, I won’t even see it; I don’t give a fuck.
Do you feel like you've taken this year as a learning experience, especially in working with your feelings, building a thicker skin, and becoming a more durable person?
Myrwn: Yeah, absolutely. As a professional, I was really unaware of many things, emotionally-speaking. This is something I’ve been working on these last three years, and I would say I’m doing better now, even if I’m still really far from where I want to be. I want to be better at managing my feelings.
Still, I think that when it comes to official games, I always go in with a really good mindset, and mistakes don't really affect me most of the time. Sometimes, they still do, and that’s why I need to be more consistent with my feelings.
I’ve had a lot of experiences throughout my career. For example, when I was playing for BISONS ECLUB, and the club just stopped paying us out of nowhere. I was stuck living in Bilbao and well, those kind of experiences push to to become a better person and player as well. Of course, I prefer being paid, though [laughs].
When we talk about MKOI, people say that the team is good, but the biggest problem is yourselves and going too far. How do you fix that?
Myrwn: This week, I would say we’ve been doing better at avoiding that and finding ways to solve that problem. Of course, things won’t always be perfect, especially since we’ve only recently found ways to fix those issues. There’s a long way ahead of us, but… I believe we have found the solution.
Fixing those issues, it’s not only for our sake, but also for our fans. I just hope they know that every time they are angry with us on Twitter, we as players are even more annoyed with ourselves when we make those mistakes.
You have Fnatic on Sunday. Do you have any specific thoughts ahead of that match?
Myrwn: Not much honestly. I don't really care much about my opponents. I think as long as we do well as a team, we're going to have a huge lead into any team.
But yeah, we have to do the work, we have to keep working. And yeah, we will only have one day break in between games to keep scrimming. I hope it's a good match, not only in terms of gameplay, but for everyone to watch. Aside from that, I’m happy to be playing against
, who is a friend. It's always exciting to play against players you know.”
