After finishing the group stage with a dominant 6-1 record, only dropping a single series to
,
head into the LES playoffs as one of the clear favourites to win the title. Ahead of their playoff clash against
,
spoke with
Sheep Esports about the roster’s current form, his own development, and the differences between academy and LEC level.
In this interview, the team’s Ukrainian toplaner reflected on MKOI Academy’s strong regular season, explained why tanks have (so far) completely disappeared from his champion pool this split, discussed his long-term ambitions for the LEC, and shared his thoughts on potentially representing Ukraine at the Esports Nations Cup.
Overall, how do you evaluate MKOI Academy's group stage? Are you satisfied with what the team showed?
Ivan “Nightslayer” Bilous: “Well, it wasn't that bad. I think we could do a little bit more effort, but overall it's good enough. The main thing is to prepare for the playoffs, so that's what we're gonna do.
You got a 6-1 record, you only lost to Team Heretics. Did that loss affect the team in any way?
Nightslayer: I mean, it affected us in ways that make us want to improve a bit more, but overall not in a negative way. We're okay.
What are the main things the team is focusing on heading into playoffs? Where do you feel improvement is needed?
Nightslayer: Yeah, our mental is usually good. We're a really friendly team. So I think we're mainly focusing on the game itself, going into deeper macro game mechanics and stuff, and trying to improve there.
You're facing UCAM this week, and you beat them on the final day of groups. Does that previous win help mentally, or do playoffs feel like a completely different challenge?
Nightslayer: I mean yeah, it does help mentally, but usually we're really confident anyway. So even if we lost, we'd still be confident. But now we're even more confident. Still, we're going to prepare as much as possible for them and will tryhard it.
You played zero tanks this split. Zero tanks. No Sion, no Ornn, no Mundo. How is that?
Nightslayer: It was unlucky. I should—I mean I will probably pick some in the future. There just wasn't a clear angle for it, I think. There were just better champions. But in best of fives, I'm gonna play tanks for sure. There will be angles for it. In best of threes, it's much easier to play some carry champions.
And do you think your playstyle fits carry champions more than tanks?
Nightslayer: Well, I think a good toplaner is someone who can play both tanks and carries. If I only stick to carries, I'll be good, but if I can play both it's much better. You need to know both. It's important.
Do you feel you're influenced by how plays? Considering he’s known for his pocket picks like Zeri or Anivia?
Nightslayer: I don’t think he’s playing pocket picks right now, as Anivia or Varus toplane are more or less meta. This split I might show up in best of fives maybe. I can't say exactly which ones, but I have some. And yeah, Myrwn is playing well. I'm pretty happy. The better he plays, the happier I am. I hope he keeps improving.
We could realistically see a Team Heretics vs MKOI in the final. Would that rematch feel personal after the loss?
Nightslayer: I mean, to be honest, I don't take anything personally. The things I say pre-game are usually just… yeah, I don't take it personally. I don't mind playing Heretics. I think they have good chances to reach finals, same as us, so maybe it's possible.
Do you think academy teams today are actually preparing players well enough for LEC level?
Nightslayer: Me? Yeah, of course. I think there are different academies in Europe. And I think all of them are trying to make players reach LEC. If you think about the perspective of a coach of an LEC team or even CEOs, I think it’s really important because it gives a lot of value to the organization.
Looking long term, what's currently the biggest thing separating you from LEC level?
Nightslayer: I think right now my biggest problem is that I'm not as consistent as I should be. Maybe unofficially it looks different, but I should be more consistent. If I get more consistent, I can compete at a really high level in LEC. That's what I'm aiming for. I'm not trying to just go there and be in the middle. I want to compete at the top. I’m trying to be as consistent as possible and reach that top level.
As far as I know, you declined to play the Esports Nations Cup with Ukraine. Did you? Why?
Nightslayer: It’s not like I declined. We have an Ukranian toplaner,
, and he's really good, he's LEC level. So he'll just play top. He's much better than me probably. I'd be happy just to watch from the side and maybe learn from his gameplay and stuff. I can even ask him questions since we're both Ukrainian. I can watch games and learn. So it's pretty nice. I can even be a sub. It can be a good learning.
Do you have any message for the MKOI community watching you this week against UCAM?
Nightslayer: Yeah, of course. MKOI fans are amazing as usual. Since I joined KOI in summer, I don't think I've seen any really bad comment toward the academy or anything. People are really supportive. Even when we lose, they still support us, which is really surprising and amazing. Thank you.”
