KCB Hazel: "I skipped a big step in my career by coming to the LEC this early [...] Going from LFL Div 2 to the LEC is a very big jump"

Costin "Hazel" Pestrițu, AD Carry of Karmine Corp Blue in the 2026 LEC Versus. Photo Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games

"I don’t think it’s a far guess to say that we would probably kind of stomp everyone in the ERLs."

It's been a challenging Week 2 for Karmine Corp Blue in the 2026 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Versus. Nevertheless, the team continues to push forward undeterred, remaining just one win behind the rest of the pack. In an exclusive interview, rookie AD Carry Costin "Hazel" Pestrițu spoke to Sheep Esports following the team's defeat against SK Gaming, discussing his adaptation to the LEC, the differences compared to ERLs, and his relationship with support Olivier "Prime" Payet.

What went wrong in today’s match against SK? What lessons will you take away from this loss?

Costin "Hazel" Pestrițu: "One thing I can say went wrong for sure is the level four fight on Scuttle Crab around botlane. I was pretty confident that we would win, so I called it, and it didn’t go the way I imagined it would. I felt we were a lot stronger in the game than we actually were, so my calls reflected that, and it caused us to overplay. I feel a bit guilty of the result of the game. Obviously, everyone feels really bad right now because it really sucks to lose. We’ll just take what we can from the game and move on to the next one.

How do you assess the level of LEC AD Carries, and how have you adapted to it so far?

Hazel: There are some things that I really need to catch up on. A lot of it comes with experience of playing the game at this level. I don’t want to make it sound like it’s something crazy, but going from LFL Div 2 scrims to the LEC in a matter of three months is a very big jump.

Mechanically, most of the time in scrims I’ve been able to keep up, but on stage, with the—I don’t want to say anxiety, but the emotions and the pressure that’s on you sometimes—I feel like I wasn’t really able to deliver what I showed to my team in scrims. With time, I'll be able to bridge that gap better.

I do feel like I skipped a big step in my career by coming to the LEC this early, and I really thank the last KCB roster for giving us the chance to do this. I feel like with some ADCs I’ve been able to keep up, but some really impressed me with how they give you no space to breathe. An example would be the MKOI game. I really underestimated Supa (David Martínez García), but he’s quite a good player so far.

Do you feel noticeably different as a player now compared to the start of the year?

Hazel: Even though today’s game doesn’t really reflect it, I feel like my communication has gotten a lot better. I’ve come closer to what my team expects of me at this level. A lot of that comes from Blidzy (Ianis Paul)’s very strict scrims, and from Fara (Benjamin Stoffel) as well. Fara has done so many presentations for us on this topic, and I’m really happy to have him. I feel like that’s part of the reason why I’ve been able to come up to the level so quickly.

Do you think the current KCB lineup can reach or surpass the results of the previous roster? How do you view this lineup’s growth and potential by the end of the year, especially with LEC experience?

Hazel: If all goes as planned, I don’t think it’s a far guess to say that we would probably kind of stomp everyone in the ERLs. It’s a bit of an arrogant answer, I’ll admit, but I see it as a pretty high possibility. With this experience and the scrims we have here, maybe some LEC teams will recognize that we are a worthy scrim opponent. Scrimming them is a huge advantage compared to other ERL teams. To be honest, I’m kind of excited about the future. Even if the LEC split doesn’t go that well, I think we will do great things in ERL.

Some people say that the overall ERL level has dropped in recent years, leading to a larger gap between ERLs and the LEC. Despite your limited experience in ERLs, would you agree with this?

Hazel: It depends on the players. When I was playing in the LFL Division 2, I think I was at least bottom- or mid-tier LFL-ready, but I haven’t had an insanely high difficulty getting used to the LEC level, or at least keeping up with some of the bottom-tier LEC AD carries. I don’t think ADC is that important of a role where one guy is so much better than the opponent that it makes a huge difference. If they are both good, then they will both shine.

Overall, I don’t think it’s correct to say that there’s a massive gap between ERL and LEC. I think it really just depends on the players you are comparing, or the talents that are coming up in the ERL. If you take a random LFL player and a random LEC player, I don’t think there’s that much of a gap. I don’t really agree with the statement.

How are you personally handling the rapid rise in exposure and media attention, from ERLs to KC and now the LEC, at such a young age?

Hazel: To be honest, the way I deal with it isn’t really that healthy. After a loss, I try not to open Twitter, because it’s not really optimal for me to see criticism or stuff like that. I’m the kind of person it can affect. When we win, I just bask in the glory as much as possible to get my ego to a good level, because I feel like I’m a very confidence-based player. If I’m in really high spirits during the week, I can play out of my mind. To be honest, I also love being on camera. It’s something I noticed—I really enjoy media days and all that kind of stuff. Whenever I get a chance to interact with the community or the fandoms, I’m really happy.

Do you feel that this confidence can sometimes turn into having too much ego?

Hazel: Obviously yes. For example, in the interview I had last week, I did say some things that I still believe, like the gap between some ERL players and some LEC players not being that big. But I do have to admit I was probably a bit too arrogant. I just have to keep my head up and keep trying to deliver good gameplay.

How do you feel about your upcoming matches against G2, Fnatic, and Heretics?

Hazel: I don’t want to leak anything, but we’ve done some 2v2s, and there are some matchups that are pretty scary, but some that I feel me and Prime (Olivier Payet) could really surprise people on. All I can say is keep an eye out and see if we perform, because I think we can.

How has your experience been playing alongside Prime so far? Given his years of experience in the ERLs, has he helped you develop faster?

Hazel: I really like Prime’s profile. It’s kind of a mini leak, but back when KCB was playing EMEA Masters, we were doing scrims against them with “mercenary teams,” where you’d just grab five players and put them together. I got the chance to play with Prime because of that, and literally from the first game, he surprised me. Instantly after the game, he went into a review with me and gave me information that I hadn’t received in two years of competitive play. I was really, really happy with him early on.

I also got a bit of a say in picking the support I would play with. For me, it was really obvious from the beginning who I would choose. I’m pretty happy with the guy. He’s really… I don’t know how to say it, but he’s a really happy guy. He just brings up the mood around people. He and Kamiloo (Kamil Haudegond) make an insane duo. If he’s in the zone, he’s actually gold. I think he will be in the LEC after this year, or maybe even after a couple of splits if somebody wants to buy him out. He can make it really easily."