After suffering defeats to G2 Esports and Movistar KOI, the Spanish-based organization faced major setbacks in the
League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) last weekend. AD Carry
Victor "Flakked" Lirola described it as a "humbling experience," and now
Team Heretics must regroup and focus on delivering a much stronger performance if they hope to stay in playoff contention. In this exclusive piece, the botlaner opens up about the team's lack of seriousness in Week 2, his desire to repay his organization, and the possibility of roster changes.
How do you feel about the result and your overall start to the season? Do you think this reflects the true level of Team Heretics?
Victor "Flakked" Lirola: "I don't think today was anything unexpected, being fully honest. It's something we already talked about with the team after the game. Coming into this week, our practice was really terrible. I mean, we didn't necessarily lose everything—in terms of results, it wasn't anything dramatic. In fact, it was actually pretty positive. But I think the attitude we showed this week, and the performance, was really not acceptable. It's something we discussed, and hopefully we can start working on it.
But yeah, being fully honest, I don't think it was unexpected. There was always a chance that we wouldn't show up today, and that's what happened. For me, I'm a big believer in "you play how you train," and if you train badly, you play badly as well. That's kind of what happened this week—we trained awfully, so of course we went on stage and played terrible.
Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
What do you think caused your practice to fall off recently? Are there disagreements within the team, or would you say there’s another core issue behind it?
Flakked: Maybe we're not the smartest players, maybe we're not great at the game, but our job is to put in the effort. This week—I'll speak for myself, and my teammates would probably say the same—we definitely didn’t show the kind of attitude a professional player should have. Of course, I didn’t go into the match thinking, “Oh, we trained like shit, so today’s gonna be a quick stomp.” You still have hope. But the reality is, we trained really bad, so today was always going to be really rough. I don’t even think we lacked knowledge or mechanics or anything like that. From the start, if the attitude isn’t there, then the rest just goes straight into the trash bin. So yeah, I just think the attitude—we just weren’t professional this week.
As the oldest and most experienced player on the roster—especially with your time on G2 and being with Heretics since Summer 2023—do you feel responsible for helping guide your rookie teammates and keeping the team serious and focused?
Flakked: For sure, I think I have a lot of responsibility. In fact, I’m really mad at myself because I just let it happen—I went with the flow instead of being present in the moment. I wasn’t really present and active. So yeah, I’d say it’s Sheo’s and my own biggest responsibility. But like I said before, everyone needs to come with their homework done—you need to bring the right attitude, you need to put in the effort. If someone’s not doing that, it should be either Sheo or I calling it out first, because we’re the guys with more experience, we’re the oldest ones. So yeah, it’s definitely more on us—that’s just the reality.
This team was always expected to take time to grow, with a lot of rookies and new players. You finished 8th in Winter but showed some promise. Since then, do you feel the team has improved, and are you still hopeful for the rest of 2025?
Flakked: Yeah, for sure. The biggest thing I can feel and notice is the experience and adaptation. We still have a long way to go, but for sure, I see the rookies being more talkative and more productive on stage. Like I said, the path is still really long, but I’m really hopeful for my teammates—they put in the work, they put in the effort. At the end of the day, it’s my team, and I love being with them. I know what their values are and what they’re capable of. Of course, I’m really hopeful. Today was a really shitty day.
It’s actually a good reality check. We felt too cocky, maybe because our scrims started going well, or maybe because we beat Rogue 2-0 last week. So I don’t think it’s bad that this happened now. This will teach us to stay humble. I think that’s what we lacked most this week—just being humble. So yeah, it’s good that we got kind of destroyed like this today. Now we can reset and get back to work.
Since rejoining Heretics in Summer 2023, you’ve had 13 different teammates, and you're now the only one left from that time. With so many changes and the team trusting you despite the lack of results, how do you stay motivated? What drives you now in the LEC?
Flakked: My motivation is still to win the LEC and go to Worlds. But of course, the feeling of Heretics putting their trust in me and me not getting the results—it just doesn’t feel good. I mean, it sucks, right? I’m still confident in myself, and I’m grateful that the club still trusts me. But I’m not complacent or just happy to be in the LEC. I’m here because I want to do well, I want to win, I want to become the best. It’s not a good feeling that they keep trusting me, and I’m not delivering results. I’m not happy about it. I’m not proud of it. And I really wish I can pay them back.
Heretics made roster changes in every split last year, but kept the same lineup from Winter to Spring this year. If the team misses playoffs again, do you think it would be fair for the org to consider changes—especially with a strong academy team in Los Heretics? Or do you believe this current lineup deserves a full year to grow?
Flakked: I think it's too early to say what's the right move. What we promised to the audience and the people supporting us is that this would be a long-term project. We're not coming into the LEC expecting to beat everyone in a month, go to Worlds, MSI, or even First Stand, and do insane. We’re not promising to be the next wonder team.
That said, everyone is really aware that even if it’s a long-term project, we still need to put in the hours and make it worth it. No one has a safe spot. If people start not caring about the game—which I don’t think is the case, and hopefully never will be—it’s not something the organization, players, or staff will tolerate. So yeah, in my opinion, it doesn’t really make sense to make changes right now. I still believe we have a lot of potential. But for sure, no one’s place is guaranteed. We’re not promised to stay here—we just have to keep working.
Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
Can you share a message for the fans ahead of next week’s games against BDS and KC? What are your thoughts going into those matches?
Flakked: To the fans, what I can promise is that we’re going to show a better face than in this game. I don’t want to be dramatic or act like we’re devastated or anything—it just sucks. That’s the reality. It sucks that we played like this today. But for sure, from my side and my teammates’ side, we’re going back to our roots and a more humble mentality. We'll keep working, keep grinding, and won't take anything for granted. So what I can promise the fans is a new face next week. And of course, thanks for always supporting us."
Header Photo Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
