KC Busio on LEC Finals: "We lost Game 5 in Winter. We lost Game 5 in Spring. So it would just be right to win Game 5 here in Summer"

After a stumble in the upper bracket, the Blue Wall is back and hungrier than ever to prove itself. With only a few matches left in the LEC 2026 Summer Finals weekend, are looking to make a deep run at the event, conquer their demons, and finally clutch a finals victory against their nemesis, .

In an exclusive interview, KC support sat down with Sheep Esports to discuss how the team has bounced back from its latest loss to G2, the experience he's gained heading into his third Worlds, and how he balances his personal life with the expectations that come with being one of KC's biggest personalities. And with a potential rematch against G2 waiting in the finals, Busio has one thing firmly in mind: winning that elusive Game 5.

Alan "Busio" Cwalina: “We qualified for Worlds beating GX in decent fashion but not the best, and then we lost to G2. All the practice after was just improving from that and seeing what we could do better, seeing what they're doing better than us, and yeah, we practiced and applied those things. We're a better team now.

Busio: Yeah, I think so. Since playoffs started, the level of play is just more intense, so it's really good to learn from those games. And of course, I'd say we're a different team—I’d say we're a different team week by week—that's the goal. You're practicing to change for the better, so I would hope we're a different team.

Busio: It's just part of the job, just like normal stuff. Yeah, of course stuff's different and I feel it. But I can't talk about it because, you know, they're always listening.

Busio: I'm a guy that just does better with experience. During my first international tournament, I was shocked by the scrims, you know? You start scrimming against Eastern teams that have been practicing against each other for the whole year, and you're like, “whoa, whoa, whoa, this is hard.”

But every single time I did that, I got a little bit better, and I made some good habits. Now, when I go to internationals, I already know what to expect, I already have a good routine, and of course my level of play is higher than it was when I started playing internationals because of course I just get better throughout my career.

So yeah, it's very enjoyable. I think it's the best time of the year to improve when you're scrimming against the best teams, when you're playing the best teams on stage. Beating a good Eastern team with your team builds a lot of trust, a lot of confidence, and like, a lot of belief. I think that's also a great experience. We did that during EWC, so we already know we can. We just got to keep doing that.

Busio: Yeah, I mean, it depends on how you like to view stress. It's part of the job. The stress is why you care, that's why you try hard, that's what you're training for. But at the same time, you know, when you're loading into the Rift, you just gotta play your best. If your best wasn't good enough, then rewatch and do better next time, you know? It's not too serious, but it's also not too chill, you kind of have to find that balance.

Busio: Yeah, I'd say I'm happy with myself. I think I'm much more mature than when I first started playing, and you know, there's also a lot more to do, I'd say. You have to still be happy with yourself while also seeing room to improve. That's a good balance because if you have one or the other, it's not the best mindset. So yeah, I appreciate what I'm doing now, but I also see a lot of room for improvement.

Busio: I mean, there are a lot of things, but I have secrets, of course. It’s a lot of gameplay stuff, but I can’t share it. They’re always watching. You understand, right?

Busio: It’s again something that I got throughout the years of experience. I'm trying to be pretty active on socials because it's important for my brand and the health of the league. Even something as simple as posting “we landed in Nice,” it creates like a nice connection between the fans and you. They then get to see the progression, not just like, “oh, it's Saturday and they're live now, and this is the first time I heard from Busio in a week or two,” you know? So that's something that I always try to do as well as streaming very often.

You also have to know, as a player, you are a product. You have to brand yourself in some interesting way. I'm always doing flexing pictures and stuff, but I'm not like that in real life. That's not super comfortable for me all the time. But, you know, I want to be interesting. So that's something I kind of force myself to do. Like posting something that's a little bit cringe because I know it's enjoyable. And if I were a fan, I would want my pro player to do something entertaining and a little bit cringe, because it's funny.

Busio: Yeah, I think any team can pose a threat to us. We need to show up on the day. When we play bad, we might still win the game, but it's going to be messy. We're going to make it to the team fight phase and do like a classic KC where we somehow win with ) stealing a Baron or something. But that's very uncomfortable.

So we have to play well, have good plans, be aware of things, and have a smooth early game into a nice transition into mid game. I believe we can beat anyone, including G2. Of course, that's probably going to be your next question, but...

Busio: It's an assist.

Busio: Exactly!…

… But yeah, I would say, it's just important that we show up on the day. And as I was talking about earlier, playoffs are more intense, so it's easy not to show up. And when you're playing on a stage, both teams sometimes have weird gameplay. You probably notice that very often. When everybody's comfortable in the studio, the game is much simpler. But on stage, that's time to show how you can deal with kind of weird situations. And I believe we're getting very good at that as we have played a lot of these situations.

Busio: That would be a good story. We lost Game 5 in winter. We lost Game 5 in spring. So it would just be right to win Game 5 here in summer. So that's the goal. And yeah, that's what we're all aiming for.”