VIT Jamppi: “I’m very happy with how we are progressing”

Following their loss to Fnatic during the second week of VCT EMEA Stage 1, Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen spoke to Sheep Esports in a post-match interview. He reflected on what went wrong in the series, the arrival of Ștefan “Sayonara” Mîtcu, and how the newcomer is integrating into a roster filled with world-class, well-established talent. Jamppi also discussed his role as IGL, the responsibilities that come with it, and how he manages strong personalities within the team, and more topics.

Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen: “Yeah, I'm doing good. Of course, it's frustrating to lose like this, especially because it was a close game. We had close maps, and we couldn't win a pistol round. Very tough for me. There were a couple of rounds here and there that, if they had gone the other way, we could have won. But I'm still very proud of everyone. They are the most established team.

They have had the same system for many years, and we are a pretty new team with only one month of practice with Sayonara (Ștefan Mîtcu). We are getting very close to them. I'm very happy with the boys. The game could have gone either way. They were slightly better today, and hopefully we can get them next time. I'm still super happy with how we are progressing.

Jamppi: On the attack side, on both maps, we started really well, even without the pistol. We could have snowballed even more if we had won a pistol. On Split, there were a couple of rounds where we had the advantage, or it was an afterplant. Just micro mistakes from our side, not being on the same page. That's what cost us.

Jamppi: The preparation was going map by map and figuring out what works for us because Sayonara is a different player than UNFAKE (Bartosz Bernacki). The meta also changed a little bit with the Yoru changes and the Duelist changes in general. It started with finding what’s best for our team. We are finding a good balance between what works for us. We had around one month of practice with Sayonara before Stage 1, and half of that time was spent trying things and figuring out the best compositions and system.

Jamppi: We had a bit of practice with him before the year ended, before Kickoff, so we knew what to expect. With the meta changes, things are a bit different. We combined what we learned about him before and now. He’s a super good player. With some teams, integrating a player can take longer, but he is very good and very smart. He understands what he’s good at and is very open to understanding what we are good at. We just worked on combining those aspects.

Jamppi: Communication. That’s his biggest strength. He is very vocal, gives a lot of ideas, and once he gets more comfortable playing on stage and with us, this is only our second official show with him, micro coordination will improve a lot. Today we lost because of small moments like that. Once we fix those details, it will be much better. I'm super happy with how we played against them today. Everyone knows how strong Fnatic is. I'm very proud of our progress.

Jamppi: We didn’t underestimate anyone in EMEA. Every team is strong. We moved on and knew we could qualify. We knew how good we could be. With Unfake, we only had about two weeks of practice before kickoff. We started very well, but as the tournament progressed, our lack of preparation time showed. Other teams had played together for longer, and we couldn’t keep up as the tournament went on

Jamppi: First of all, it's very nice. All of the players are amazing. The hardest part is making use of all their strengths. Everyone is very different and has their own strengths. That’s the biggest challenge for the coaches and me, understanding where everyone is best. During mid-round calls, especially, I try to put my players in the best positions. That’s the most important part. It’s also the most enjoyable part because it’s my job to lead the team.

Jamppi: Definitely. My teammates trust me, they give me confidence going into matches, and they are amazing people. We have good vibes, we support each other, and over time it’s going to get even better. I fully trust the process because last year with BBL it was a similar situation.

Jamppi: I'm not sure about the new format. In theory, it sounds amazing. There should be more to play and more tournaments, and every game should be fun. There might be a clash between how tier 2 and tier 1 teams work and how partnerships are handled. It’s also tough for the talent and casters, especially with the move to Berlin and the shift to more online events. We’ll see. I don’t have anything negative to say. I’m just waiting to see how it works because I don’t know enough yet.

Jamppi: In theory, it is a bit like Counter-Strike. But Counter-Strike has been running this system for years. This is a new system for Riot. It depends on how the roadshows and cups will work, and how the Masters will compare to CS, Valve handles the Majors, and everything else is third-party. Here, Riot still handles everything. So we’ll see. Yes and no.