The
’ dream seems to be fading away at record speed. Despite entering the split with renewed hopes following
multiple roster changes, the Swiss organization now sits at the bottom of the
LEC Summer standings at 0-5 after suffering back-to-back losses to
and
in Week 4. With only four matches left to play, the team’s hopes of making the playoffs are dwindling fast, though they will still have to show up strong if they want to at least end the split with their heads held high.
In an exclusive interview, head coach
Yanis "Striker" Kella sat down with
Sheep Esports to look back on the past two years, discussing the mistakes made along the way and his share of the blame for the team’s results this year. He also mentions his future in esports and what to expect from the rest of the split.
You are now 0-5, and your chances of making the playoffs are very slim. What is your feeling about where you currently stand and, more broadly, about your split?
Yanis "Striker" Kella: “It obviously feels bad. We made changes and took a direction that not everyone internally necessarily agreed with. But decisions had to be made, so I more or less went along with it. I think there are many things we got wrong, and we're paying for them today.
From my point of view, there are also a lot of things we did poorly last year. Part of it is a snowball effect, and part of it comes from decisions that were made at the time. But I think we weren't very clear-sighted about how we approached the Summer Split project in plenty of ways.
On top of that, we had a new roster, and I don't think we were already a very good team coming out of Spring. In the end, that's a lot of mistakes.
You mentioned several mistakes that were made. In your opinion, what were the main factors that prevented the project from working over the period as a whole?
Striker: I don't think it's important to go into the details. Responsibility is shared, and I know my share of it. There are a lot of things I've done wrong since the end of 2024; otherwise, we wouldn't be in this situation.
From a personal standpoint, I'm mainly trying to learn from it so I can carry those lessons into my future experiences. As for the rest, it's not really up to me.
You said that you have a share of the responsibility for what has happened since 2024. Looking back now, how do you view that responsibility and the decisions that were made to move the project forward?
Striker: It depends on what we're talking about. In 2025, I think we made mistakes in the way we approached our project. In 2023 and 2024, things went well because the changes were small. We only brought in an ADC while keeping four players, which allowed us to preserve many things from one year to the next and have a foundation to build on.
That said, it's difficult to say, because everyone was convinced that changes were needed. The scale and nature of those changes, however, can still be debated. But I think that, regardless, changes were necessary.
I think about MKOI, who, unfortunately, and with all due respect to Melzhet (Tomás Campelos Fernández), are now in a situation that we were specifically trying to avoid after 2024. We noticed some issues and thought that we would probably not be able to get any higher with our old lineup. We thought that keeping the same roster would eventually catch up to us.
So we took a risk, and I think you always have to take risks. That's something I can't regret. I think it was something we needed to do. As for what we should have done differently, that's another matter.
You still have four matches left against FNC, KC, TH, and VIT. As long as the playoffs are still mathematically possible, you have to keep fighting, but the team's confidence is obviously affected. What do you see as your role as a coach in getting the players back on track and helping them approach the end of the split?
Striker: I think you have to give them perspective and something to play for. I don't think you can automatically make your players believe in something that seems out of reach. But regardless, you have to give yourself the best possible chance of putting in the best performance you can, and then see whether you make the playoffs or not.
From my point of view, the most logical and rational thing is therefore to find other reasons besides making the playoffs to give it your all for the time we have left. It can be personal pride, not wanting to finish the split without any wins, or giving the players an opportunity to put themselves in a good position for next year. It can be a lot of things.
I think everyone can find their own reasons individually, and you need to find a source of fuel to keep moving forward. Because if you focus solely on the fact that you only have a 4% chance of making the playoffs, that's when you start to completely give up.
With the end of the season approaching and most of the contracts coming to an end, have you had a chance to think about your future after this split?
Striker: Yeah, almost all of our contracts are set to expire, so we'll have to see. There will be an offseason as usual. As far as my personal ambitions go, I've been coaching for quite a few years now, both in the ERL and in the LEC. Honestly, maybe there's a certain level of fatigue setting in now. I don't think this is something I'll do for the rest of my life.
I think I potentially need to find more personal challenges. There have been a lot of frustrations this year around things where I feel like I haven't had much room to maneuver. I feel like I could “get more fulfillment” if I didn't have certain limitations. I want to find something where I can tell myself, “It's 100% on you, or it's not.” The job has plenty of great aspects, but also some more frustrating ones, particularly that feeling of not having complete control over the outcome of certain things.
That can be a good or a bad thing. I don't think I was the best coach in the world during my first few years of coaching, and yet things went very well. So you can also benefit from not having that control. But when you're on the other side of it, as I feel I am to some extent this year, with a lot of things where I don't really have a say and where I think we simply made some very bad decisions, it's very frustrating.
There's also the fact of being stuck in Berlin. Everyone can feel however they want about the city, but it was never really my thing. I was there purely for professional reasons.
So we'll see. I'll talk to my agent at the end of the split, and we'll see what opportunities he has for me. But I think there's a good chance I'll take at least a break. As coaches, we have the opportunity to take a step back and assess what we want to do.
Maybe this is the right time to pursue other projects, still related to League of Legends, but perhaps less focused on coaching a professional team, and then see whether I miss it enough to come back or not. Competition, at least, will definitely be difficult to replace if this comes to an end.
You've become the target of a lot of criticism over the years. Has that image affected you, either personally or in your career, and do you think it could close some doors for you?
Striker: No, I try not to pay too much attention to it. I think that, in any case, the viewers are the reason we're able to do this job. Some are more vocal and negative than others, but depending on the stance you take, you're naturally going to receive more or less criticism.
I've never been someone who hides. I've always been open about my ambitions, sometimes perhaps disconnected from reality, but I've always spoken out on subjects that I felt strongly about and that I considered to be honest. Naturally, there's going to be some backlash. If you don't perform afterwards, it's obviously going to bite you in the back. I don't really have a problem with that.
What I know is that I'm doing something in my life that I'm passionate about. I do what I have to do. And if there are people who would rather comment than pursue their own goals, then good for them. But in any case, they're part of the mass of viewers that makes esports exist.
Any final words for the people following Shifters heading into the final weeks of the split?
Striker: I think we were pretty close today in Game 1 against G2. Game 2 was a bit more difficult in some aspects, but even that one was still winnable.
We still want to do our best, regardless of whether we qualify or not. So, yeah, thank you for the support for what's left, and we'll see what we can do over the next few weeks. But know that we're the first ones disappointed by these kinds of performances.”
