TH Papiteero: "I’m pretty confident that I’m the best in my role in my country [...] Representing Portugal at the ENC would be amazing."

Team Heretics Academy kicked off the new split in dominant fashion, securing a controlled and convincing victory over LUA Gaming for their first match in the Sprint Split of the Liga Española of League of Legends (LES). With only one change in the lineup after Winter, the newly added top laner Antero “Papiteero” Trindade Baldaia is already making his presence felt, not just through strong in-game performances, but also by bringing a more vocal and confident approach to team communication.

In this interview with Sheep Esports, he reflects on his smooth adaptation, the team’s renewed mindset, and their ambitions for both the domestic league and the international stage.

Antero “Papiteero” Trindade Baldaia: “Exactly that, it was really controlled, really convincing wins. I think everyone on the team was playing pretty well, and, most importantly, compared to the last split, the communications were really calm and chill. So everything was going pretty well, and I really liked those two games.

Papiteero: I don’t think there’s been a big challenge, to be honest. In terms of scrims, compared to what I had in Team Phantasma, the quality is obviously a lot better here. But I haven’t faced anyone yet who I think has been better than me, at least in scrims.

As for adapting to the team—the other four players and the coaches—it’s been really chill. Everyone’s really nice. I think I’m a very social person, and I’m good at adapting to new environments. For now, at least, people like me. Let’s see if later they don’t, but right now, everybody likes me. I think. (Laughs)

Papiteero: Yeah, it’s kind of that. I talk a lot in-game. It also depends on the team. I think this team really needed a more vocal voice just to give information. It doesn’t mean I’m the main shot-caller, because I’m not; I’m not calling every single play.

I’m just very vocal about my moves, where we can fight, how we can fight—basically acting as a secondary leader in-game, I would say.

Papiteero: Yeah, I mean, Kamikaze (Óscar Pedrosa) also talked about it yesterday in the post-match interview, where he said developing and practicing right now in the current environment is a lot easier than it was last split.

Mentally, everyone is doing really well. Scrims have been going well. We’re five people who are really motivated to win.

Also, in terms of communication, obviously having a person who can speak fluent English helps a lot compared to someone with more limited English. I’m not trying to criticize Mihile (Baek Sang-hwi), he worked on his English, and everyone tried to integrate as best as possible, but the reality is it’s not perfect in-game. So having a more confident voice helps a lot for sure.

Papiteero: When they approached me, they had other options, so there was an interview process, watching VODs, sending VODs, communication between me and them. But to be honest, I was pretty confident that my name, against others' names on the list, could be a better fit for the role that they were needing.

Even from the start, they said they wanted someone who could be more of a leader in-game or a more confident voice. In Team Phantasma, I started taking on that role a lot, so I had basically been practicing for this.

So yeah, it was a bit of luck that they needed this type of player, but it feels really good to be back in Spain. I’m next to my home, and Madrid is pretty cool as well.

Did I expect to come back to Spain? Not particularly. It could’ve been Spain, Germany, or France—I just knew I’d return to one of the major ERLs, I wasn’t sure about which one. So when Heretics came knocking, I was really happy, and it was an easy choice.

Papiteero: In terms of personal targets, maybe. I really like Myrtus, we got along really well, so I do want to beat them.

In terms of overall quality, I think UCAM for me might actually be the better team individually. I haven’t played against either of them yet, so I can’t say which one is better. But if you compare five players vs. five players, I do think UCAM is better, but obviously I want to win against everyone. It doesn’t really matter who we’re up against; my objective is always the same.

Papiteero: For me especially, having a good run in EMEA Masters is really important. Obviously, there’s a new organization, and the first EMEA split for us was really bad compared to past years.

So showing that we can match up with the best of the best in EMEA is very important. As for the domestic league, the goal is to win it. I think individually we’re the best team.

Of course, we still need to work on a lot of things to get better everyday, especially with me being a new addition, but the four players already had the talent to show they deserve the title, and I think me joining will just help that.

Papiteero: Yeah, for sure, it’s the best chance I’ve had. I’m working under Tracyn (Sebastian Wojtoń), who I think is a very underrated top laner in the LEC. People talk a lot about other names like Naak Nako (Kaan Okan)—and rightfully so—but that doesn’t take away from how well he’s performing. If you watch his laning phases, he’s usually ahead even in bad matchups.

So I get to learn from him, which is insane. It’s a really, really good opportunity. Also, this is the best team in terms of the five players collectively. The expectations are high, we’re expected to win the split, and it’s not unreasonable to say that.

I think we are the best team, and others have to prove they deserve the title over us. For EMEA Masters the same thing; I also think we’re at least top five coming in to EMEA, so it’s about proving I’m the best European top laner and then taking that step up into the LEC.

Papiteero: I’m pretty confident that I’m the best in my role in my country. I’m also confident about some of the other roles; like Time (Tiago Almeida), for example, is better than the rest.

But for some positions, it depends a lot. Are you bringing back older names or sticking with newer players? That changes things.

For example, Attila (Amadeu Carvalho), will he play ADC, support, or not at all? Then there’s Obstinatus (Guilherme Jose Fernandes Morais) in NA, can he play support? Will he play? So in terms of the roster I’m not sure what is going to happen. But representing Portugal would be amazing. I grew up as a football fan, watching the World Cup and Euros, it’s the best feeling of all time. Being able to represent your nation in esports would be really cool.

Papiteero: Yeah, I’ve been trying to communicate as much as possible through streams and Twitter posts, and I really appreciate all the support. If you want to keep supporting me, I’ll gladly receive you in my streams anytime. The support has been amazing for both me and the team.

I want fans to stay positive about the team because things have changed since last split. I know people were a bit negative before, and that’s understandable—we underperformed relative to the players’ quality, but these players are incredibly talented.

Keep your expectations high—I know we’ll meet them. Thank you for your support, and we’ll keep working hard for you.”