Despite what initially appeared to be signs of improvement at the start of the Summer Split,
have once again found themselves on the wrong footing. Following their defeat to
during the latest
LEC weekend, the team now sits at 0-3 and is already in a precarious position in the race for a playoff spot.
Brought in ahead of the Summer Split to inject a new dynamic into the roster,
’s arrival has yet to be enough to address the issues that have plagued the team since the beginning of the year. The French support spoke to
Sheep Esports after the match, sharing his thoughts on the team’s start to the season.
What is your first feeling after the game?
Paul “Stend” Lardin: “A lot of frustration, and I’m very disappointed. It’s been a very difficult start to the split. We’re starting 0-3, especially against teams that aren’t among the top contenders, so I’m very disappointed.
What do you think has been going wrong for you so far?
Stend: I think there are a lot of things. Today, our teamfighting was perhaps a bit shaky; I’m not sure. There are a lot of things we need to fix, whether it’s our tempo, our teamfights, and so on, so I don’t have a precise answer yet.
You joined Shifters, who had already been struggling since the beginning of the year. Despite that, did you have any hesitation about joining the team?
Stend: I strongly believed in the project. I think we have the individual talent to make it work. With Sheo (Théo Borile) and myself joining, we thought we could bring a positive dynamic to the team. On paper, the project was very serious, so no, I joined without hesitation.
Shifters have already shown some promising things since the beginning of the year, only for everything to suddenly ‘shift’ and fall apart. From your perspective, what prevents the team from maintaining a lead?
Stend: Honestly, I don’t think that was the case today. Even in the game we won, we were actually quite far behind. I don’t think throwing away leads is one of the reasons we’re losing, at least not this Summer. I haven’t looked at their games from the Spring Split in detail, so I wouldn’t be able to say.
Despite that, do you think the roster has the potential to compete for a spot at Worlds?
Stend: Before talking about Worlds, I think we need to talk about the playoffs, because we’re not in a very good position right now. From this point on, it’s going to be in our hands, and we’ll have to beat some of the top teams. I don’t know whether we can afford another loss and still qualify, but regardless, we’re going to have to win every game we have left.
How would you describe the atmosphere within the team so far?
Stend: There was a very good dynamic within the group. It’s something we’ve been proud of, so to speak, since the beginning, but honestly, I still felt that today’s loss had a significant impact on the team. It was an important game in the sense that GIANTX are also fighting for a playoff spot. So if we lose to them when we were already 0-2, it makes things look very bad going forward. So, I don’t know, we’ll see, and we’ll debrief with the team. Hopefully, this loss won’t knock us down too much.
You had already been playing with Sheo at Heretics for some time. Do you feel that you’re still on the same wavelength and that you still have the same level of synergy together?
Stend: There’s always room for improvement. I don’t think we’ve been flawless at all throughout these three BO3s. I think we need to keep working and continue improving.
You’ve had a fairly turbulent year so far. How do you assess your own season up to this point?
Stend: It’s been a very difficult year for me, individually, and everyone knows that. That’s why the Summer Split is a bit of an opportunity for me to prove that I belong in the LEC. So I’m going to have to turn things around for the rest of the split.
A lot of people expected you to be the support for the French national team at the Esports Nations Cup, but the team ultimately chose Théo “Zoelys” Le Scornec. How did you react to that decision?
Stend: It was difficult news to hear. I certainly didn’t expect it after my year in the LEC last season, despite how unstable this year has been. I believe I could have get the spot, but obviously, I understand why they made that decision.”
