In an impressive display of dominance,
Team Vitality has crushed Team Heretics and is now advancing in the
League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Summer Playoffs. With
Worlds in their sights, the Bees continue their journey, promising to be a serious threat to anyone who underestimates them. In an exclusive interview, midlaner
Mateusz "Czajek" Czajka sits down with
Sheep Esports to discuss his team's growth, how he compares himself to other midlaners in the league, and his upcoming match against Karmine Corp.
Did everything go as expected today, and did you anticipate dominating Team Heretics aside from the throw in game one?
Mateusz "Czajek" Czajka: "We really griefed in the later stages of game one. It should have been a clean 3-0. We practiced really well this entire week, and I would say we were all mega confident that we'd win against Heretics today.
How has practice been, and do you feel confident about making a deep run?
Czajek: Yes, even in scrims, we're doing really well against the best teams in the league. I don't see why we couldn't do a deep run. We're doing well against the top four.
Who do you expect to face between Karmine Corp and G2 Esports, and how do you see your match against them going?
Czajek: I'm expecting to face KC. There are some internal problems over there, and I believe G2 is stronger. We've really studied KC's strengths and weaknesses, we know how to play around them. I believe they should be scared of us. We're keeping an eye on both Vladi (Vladimiros Kourtidis) and Nisqy (Yasin Dinçer). They have different playstyles: Vladi likes flashy melee champs, while Nisqy plays stable control mages. Obviously, they are very different—Nisqy will always play for the team, whereas Vladi has a more selfish playstyle. They both have their strengths and weaknesses.
Many people counted Vitality out earlier this year. How do you see the growth of the team and yourself, and is this the best form of Vitality so far?
Czajek: This is the best we've been all year. We have really good fundamentals right now, and the games are almost always playable for us. It's very rare that we have a game we just can't win. Still, we haven't reached our ceiling, but we're poised for a good run.
After your loss against MKOI, many pointed Vitality's bad drafting. Do you agree with the critics? Is this something you've worked on for playoffs?
Czajek: Game 1 of that series against MKOI was really winnable, even if the early game didn't go as planned. Game 2 though... It was hard. I don't want to blame our draft too much, but it was really hard to play. We learned a lot from that series, that's for sure. It was quite painful. We are preparing our drafts a lot more now. We've focused on that aspect a lot, and I think it showed against Heretics.
How do you evaluate your growth and level as a midlaner compared to others in the LEC?
Czajek: I see myself as a top 3-4 midlaner. In terms of laning phase, Jojopyun (Joseph Joon Pyun) and Poby (Yoon Sung-won) are kind of insane. Jojo especially—I sometimes really struggle against him when he has a good matchup. I wouldn't say any other midlaner is better than me in terms of pure laning phase though. I can easily contest all of them. That said, some other midlaners have their own strengths. For example, Caps (Rasmus Borregaard Winther) is still bringing a lot to his team. He has those flashy plays, and he's the best at playing on the edge and knowing his limits.
What do you think are Vitality’s chances of making it to Worlds right now?
Czajek: We have pretty good chances of making it to Worlds. On a good day, we can beat anyone. I'd give us between 70 to 80% chances of making Worlds.
If you qualify for Madrid, and later on Worlds, how do you assess your chances there?
Czajek: To be honest, I wasn't thinking of that until recently. I still want to go step by step and not get too ahead of myself. Our focus is on our next series right now, and if it goes well, we will think about what's next in our calendar.
Is there anything you want to say to Vitality fans?
Czajek: I want to say a big thank you to all our fans. I've received a ton of supportive messages, and they aren't stopping. It really makes me so happy, and I hope we can make you proud next week as well. You can expect some spicy picks from me."
Header Photo Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
