KC Canna on LEC teams’ chances: "Reaching the semifinals or beyond is a realistic possibility"

After getting off to a perfect start against Anyone’s Legend, were brought to a halt by on Saturday in Round 2 of the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage. The Esports World Cup finalists now sit at 1–1 and will face Bilibili Gaming on Monday, October 26, as they look to get back on track.

A few minutes after the match, which remained in the balance until the closing stages, KC’s toplaner, , spoke to Sheep Esports. The South Korean player reflected on the tense closing moments against the LCS’s second seed and shared his thoughts on the level of competition Europe has shown at the tournament.

Kim “Canna” Chang-dong: “I think this was a game in which dragons were the most important factor, so we focused our play around them. We wanted to take the initiative first and create opportunities to make plays, and we managed to do that and rotate to the dragon. We responded well in the first fight for the third dragon and gained a lot of momentum, but I think we were disappointed with how the next team fight went. That put us in a much worse position.

As for the Nexus pressure situation, I think we distributed our players fairly well. We kept communicating to figure out whether the opponents were committed to ending the game or whether they were coming to defend toplane. We needed to find an opening to push out as well, so we kept applying pressure in toplane while monitoring the situation. When it looked like the opponents were going to try to end the game rather than come to toplane, we adapted by using Teleport.

Canna: I didn't think our team composition would become weaker as the game went on. We played according to the way our composition was designed to function. I thought it was better suited to baiting the opponents into engaging us rather than initiating fights ourselves, so that's how we approached the game.

Canna: I think that, at the highest level, teams in League of Legends tend to converge toward a similar standard of play, so I didn't notice any major differences. As I mentioned earlier, I think the outcome came down to differences in the finer details.

Canna: T1 was where I made my debut, so back then, I learned pretty much everything from the ground up, from beginning to end. I think the player I am today, and what I'm able to show overall, is built on the solid foundations I developed there.

Also, League of Legends has changed a lot compared with how it used to be. There have been buffs to champions' base stats, as well as various changes in the meta, including the lane-swap meta. Throughout my career as a professional player, I've continued to learn and adapt to each new development, and I think those experiences have shaped the player I am today.

Canna: Honestly, I think they're pretty similar, and it's difficult to say that one is more advantageous than the other. Regardless of whether your record is 1–1 or something else, every team will have certain opponents they match up against more comfortably. I think drawing a team like that is the ideal scenario. Otherwise, I don't think there's any particular advantage to facing a strong team early rather than later in the tournament, or vice versa.

Canna: I think there are a lot of very strong teams competing this year. I'd say reaching the semifinals or beyond is a realistic possibility, and if they hit their peak, I think they could even make it to the final.

When I first came to Europe, I didn't think the overall level was particularly high. However, during my time here, I feel that the league has continued to improve. There are also European teams that didn't qualify for this year's World Championship, but I believe there are definitely teams in the region with the potential to shine. I've seen players who give me that impression, too. So I'm hopeful that the European teams will be able to go even further this time around.”