After their first defeat at the
First Stand 2025 tournament,
Karmine Corp must reassess their approach. In a press conference, midlaner
Vladimiros "Vladi" Kourtidis and AD Carry
Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert spoke with on-site media about the loss, their entry into LoL Park, and the current meta.
Vladi, you had some good banter with Eain "APA" Stearns before the match. Any thoughts after the series?
Vladimiros "Vladi" Kourtidis: "He played well. Banter before the game is fun and makes it more entertaining for the viewers. I kinda destroyed him in game 2, and he destroyed me in game 3—well played to him.
What do you need to fix for the next time you face Team Liquid?
Vladi: Our communication with Yike (Martin Sundelin) was rusty today. We didn't really talk about how we wanted to play the 2v2s in mid. We need to fix our comms—we can easily beat them. Me and Yike underperformed in games 1 and 3.
With the LEC being the last to qualify, preparation time for this tournament was short. Do you feel like you have to catch up to other teams in terms of meta read?
Vladi: Yeah, I think our read isn’t the best. It’s fine, but we obviously need to catch up. We only played 2-3 scrim blocks after winning the LEC, which isn’t much. We need more time. This was also the first international game for Caliste and me. I think we’ll come back stronger tomorrow.
Caliste, after playing in the lane swap meta, how was it adapting to the new anti-swap mechanics? Do you prefer the game with or without swaps?
Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert: It was pretty easy to adapt—the patch just killed lane swaps completely. There are still some ways to swap, but overall, it's simple because a lot of options are gone. I prefer the game without swaps. I like playing laning phase and being rewarded for it. It's a big skill expression for good players. If I’m not good enough and get punished in lane, I’d rather take that than rely on skipping laning phase because I’m worse.
You just played your first match at LoL Park. How do you feel?
Caliste: I’m really happy to have played at LoL Park. It’s pretty exciting—there are more fans than at the LEC, and they’re louder, showing how happy they are and screaming our names. I really liked my first time here, and I hope next time I play, I’ll be able to win."
Header Photo Credit: Choo Yeon Jeong/Riot Games
