MKOI Melzhet: "We played really poorly against KC—bad tempo, late plays, poor vision, and just too many mistakes. We need to step up"

After suffering defeat at the hands of their nemesis, Karmine Corp, Melzhet and his team return to the drawing board.

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Tomás "Melzhet" Campelos, head coach of Movistar KOI in the 2025 LEC Winter Playoffs.

"It’s do or die. I hope we can fix things and show better League of Legends next week"

Frustrated after their match against Karmine Corp, Movistar KOI must now rise to the occasion and quickly correct their mistakes as they prepare for the next round of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) playoffs lower bracket. In an exclusive interview with Tomás "Melzhet" Campelos, the team's head coach, Sheep Esports delves into his thoughts on the team's poor performance and seeks to explain what went wrong in their long-awaited best-of-three. Melzhet concludes by sharing a message for the Koisitos ahead of next week.

What are the steps you'll take to move on and learn from this defeat against KC?

Tomás "Melzhet" Campelos: "We're going to review the games, and then take a day to reflect. After that, we’ll get back to work and put in more hours. We’ll level up.

What lessons are there to take from this match?

Melzhet: We played really poorly today against KC. It wasn’t just the 2v2; that’s just a small part of it. We had bad tempo, weren’t holding positions well, were late to plays, our vision was bad, and we made a lot of mistakes. It’s something we definitely need to learn from because it shows we’re still not where we need to be. Now we just need to put in the hours.

I spoke to Álvaro "Alvaro" Fernández last week, and he mentioned that MKOI is a very emotional team. How is it for you to coach a squad like this, especially with the addition of Joon “Jojopyun” Pyun this year?

Melzhet: It’s always tough when you have emotional players, especially when things aren’t going well because they can spiral. But it can go the other way too. We’ve known this for a while, and we’re working on it every day. We’re still not fully consistent there, but it’s something we can definitely improve on. It’s part of the team’s overall goal.

Do you think there’s a silver lining to today’s loss? Could dropping to the lower bracket give you more time to work on these issues and gain more stage experience?

Melzhet: We need to stay positive, so yeah, we’ll look for that. But honestly, it would’ve been better if we had won today. We’d probably have ended up at the same conclusions anyway. I saw a lot of mistakes, and we did a lot of things wrong, but now we need to put in more hours and make sure we’re in top shape. At least the lower bracket gives us a second chance to fix things.

What do you think is the most urgent thing that needs fixing to avoid making the same mistakes next week?

Melzhet: Tempo and vision, definitely. We were too late to the objectives we needed to be at, and our vision control was terrible today.

You'll be facing the winner of Team Heretics and GIANTX next week. Do you still feel confident about beating them in the next round?

Melzhet: Yeah, we need to stay confident that we can beat anyone if we play our best game. Now we just need to make sure we actually do it.

You’ll likely face Fnatic later on if things go according to plan. How do you feel about that matchup? Are you confident, considering Fnatic has been seen as one of the top teams?

Melzhet: Yeah, I think Fnatic and G2 are both really strong teams. We’ve shown we’re just one tier below them, so now we need to work hard and close that gap. If we play our best, we can definitely face them.

Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games

How would you rate Karmine Corp after facing them today? Do you think the defeat was more about MKOI playing against themselves, as some of your players have said before, or was KC just really good?

Melzhet: It’s a bit of both. Karmine Corp did a much better job holding positions, and they were always on point when they saw opportunities and took advantage of them. They did really well there, and we need to give them credit. But we also need to look at what we did wrong and improve those areas.

Fearless drafts have been a big topic. What do you think about this new format after having played two best-of-threes?

Melzhet: I think it’s really good, and I can see it becoming the standard in the future. That’s how I see it right now. I think everyone enjoys it, and it’s a positive change because you get to see more compositions and different types of drafts. Picks are now way more important, just to deny the enemy certain champions, so I think it’s a lot of fun.

Do you think fearless drafts could benefit MKOI, especially with your players known for creativity?

Melzhet: Fearless drafts definitely help bring out more creative teams, especially since most teams were used to playing more standard compositions. But I think everyone has their own way of being creative, and I’m sure other teams can pull it off too. When everyone is forced to adapt, I’d actually say it takes away from the uniqueness of our style.

Do you think it's disappointing that the LEC didn't have Fearless Draft earlier, especially since other regions played best-of-threes/fives from the start?

Melzhet: Of course, it would’ve been better for the LEC to get more practice with fearless drafts instead of a best-of-one group stage. When the LEC sends a team to First Stand in South Korea, the Asian teams will have a lot more experience. But it is what it is, so we can’t focus too much on that.

Is the goal still to make it to First Stand, even though you find yourself in a tough spot right now?

Melzhet: Yep. That’s still the goal. We need to work hard. There are a lot of flaws, but we still have time to fix them. So, we just need to stay positive and figure out how to approach this week.

Melzhet: We’re sorry for the disappointment against Karmine Corp. We need to put in even more hours now. It’s do or die. We’re in a situation we’re comfortable with, one we’ve been in many times before. So, I hope we can fix things and show you guys some better League of Legends next week."

Header Photo Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games