Sheep Esports - Myrwn: "MKOI didn’t want to renew me this year, I will make sure they have to beg for it. I will show them I’m the best toplaner in Europe"
05.02.26 - 18:0005.02.2026 - 18:00·6m6 minutes de lecture·
Par Armand Luque
Myrwn: "MKOI didn’t want to renew me this year, I will make sure they have to beg for it. I will show them I’m the best toplaner in Europe"
Movistar KOI had a rough week but stays in high spirits ahead of the final group stage weekend. An exclusive interview with the team's toplaner.
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Alex "Myrwn" Pastor Villarejo, toplaner of Movistar KOI in the 2026 LEC Versus. Photo Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
"This year, I want to keep being more try-hard. Of course, I just want to get renewed. This is the team I want to be in."
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Despite a good start to the season, Movistar KOI continues to stumble in the 2026 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Versus. With only two matches remaining, the Spanish juggernaut must refocus to secure a playoff berth. In an exclusive interview, toplaner Alex "Myrwn" Pastor Villarejo sat down with Sheep Esports after his victory against SK and before his loss to Heretics to discuss the team’s mentality, his motivations, and what lies ahead for the squad.
Can you walk us through what happened yesterday and today, including the incident in your match against Los Ratones?
Alex "Myrwn" Pastor Villarejo: "I mean, we had an accident against LR. Something that pretty much shouldn’t happen. You know, the past is just past. You shouldn’t focus on it. We shouldn’t let this affect us, and I think we did a great job at that against SK. I don’t think we played our best, but we had the right mindset. We came in fresh. Even though we made mistakes, we stayed calm, we played as a team, and we won.
What’s the current mentality in the team? G2's Memento was telling us how they were using the group stage to experiment. Would you say MKOI is adopting a similar strategy right now?
Myrwn: We are trying stuff. For example, this week we don’t have Melzhet (Tomás Campelos Fernández) drafting with us. Alphari (Barney Morris) and Independent (Eric Ruiz Bogurina) are doing the drafts. So we’re still training things, even in-game. Supa (David Martínez García) said himself that they’re testing things in bot lane. And yeah, we’re still trying to apply what we do well in scrims to the stage so we can actually learn it. Until you can pull something consistently on stage, I don’t think you actually learn the skill.
Is there any specific area you’re focusing on improving long-term?
Myrwn: I won’t say exactly what, but I’m working a lot on my laning phase with Alphari. We're focusing especially on early-game and early mid-game. I still have a long way to go, but yeah, I’m getting there.
How has it been working with Alphari?
Myrwn: Honestly, pretty good so far. I enjoy working with him a lot. Last year, if I wanted to do 1v1s, I could play against Elyoya (Javier Prades Batalla) or Zeph (Quentin Viguié). But Zeph, for example, is a Master-level midlaner, so he wasn’t the best at toplane.
Having Alphari now, he has a lot of knowledge. It’s really good for 1v1s. I prepared a lot of matchups for today’s game, but they didn’t happen. I just got Rumble, and I was happy with it, so I won’t complain. But yeah, it helps me a lot. Day by day in scrims, it helps me a lot in the laning phase. He’s a really smart guy, and I’m excited to keep working with him.
Myrwn: I always want to put in a lot of effort. Even last year, I was trying really hard almost the whole year. Of course, I had lows at some point, but I was putting a lot of effort. This year, I want to keep being more try-hard. Of course, I just want to get renewed. This is the team I want to be in.
They didn’t want to renew me this year, I will make sure they have to beg for it. I will show them I’m the best toplaner in Europe.
And better performance also means better negotiations, right?
Myrwn: [Laughs] Yeah, of course. I wanna get that money.
The LEC has felt shaky so far. Is this due to best-of-ones or other reasons? How do you assess the overall level of the league?
Myrwn: Compared to last year’s Winter Split, I would actually say the level’s better this year. I remember last year was probably one of the weakest Winter splits we’ve had in LEC history. We usually get much better in Spring and Summer, but I think we’re already better than last year, at least.
People are saying Los Ratones performing well is a bad sign for the league. What’s your take?
Myrwn: People just assume Los Ratones are silver players put together playing for fun, but that’s not true. They’re tryharding. They’re doing good stuff. They have their unique playstyle, and it works for them. I think people should not underestimate them. Yesterday they beat us — well played to them. We didn’t play our best, but they played well too. It’s good to see them do well; people really underestimated them.
Looking ahead, with a 5–4 record and matches against Vitality and NAVI next week, how are you feeling?
Myrwn: I think we can still raise our level a lot. When playoffs come, with best-of-threes and best-of-fives, that’s our biggest strength. For next week, I’m excited to play Vitality because Naak Nako (Kaan Okan) is such a great player, and it’s always fun to play against him — he really challenges me. Na’Vi also has a great roster, so yeah, I’m excited.
Outside the usual top three of G2, KC, and yourself, do you think any other teams could surprise in playoffs?
Myrwn: Outside of those, I’m honestly not sure. Every team can surprise at some point. The middle of the pack have their own strengths, and they can surprise and beat anyone. Like yesterday, Vitality beating KC. KC is a great team, and they were first for almost two weeks. I’m not sure what to say, it’s hard to predict.
With MKOI hosting three road trips this year and the first in the later stages of LEC Versus Playoffs, are you excited to potentially play on home ground in Barcelona?
Myrwn: Yeah, 100%. Barcelona is where I was born. I really wanna play there. All my family and friends are going to come. I’m really excited to get to play in Barcelona. Of course, I’m not gonna miss it. These playoffs, we have to lock in and be there.
How important is attending First Stand in your eyes?
Myrwn: Yeah, 100%. We want to go to as many internationals as we can. First Stand is the shortest one, so I’d say if we have to drop one this year, First Stand is the least important. But of course, if we can go to every international, we will. It’s the best way to actually learn. You get a lot of pressure, and you learn to deal with it. This is where you play against the best players in the world, and where you’re going to learn the most. Scrims are way more fun than an official too.
Any final message for KOI fans?
Myrwn: Sorry for our loss against LR yesterday. Sometimes it happens. It’s best-of-one. It’s life. People shouldn’t really mind about it; it happened, and we move on. Now we just focus on tomorrow, next week, and playoffs. Let’s keep pushing forward and make it to the final."
Armand Luque is an interviewer and journalist with deep roots in the EMEA League of Legends scene. A veteran of the esports world, they hail from France and are best known for their work on Leaguepedi...