SHFT Stend: "I felt that today’s loss had a significant impact on the team"

Despite what initially appeared to be signs of improvement at the start of the Summer Split, have once again found themselves on the wrong footing. Following their defeat to during the latest LEC weekend, the team now sits at 0-3 and is already in a precarious position in the race for a playoff spot.

Brought in ahead of the Summer Split to inject a new dynamic into the roster, ’s arrival has yet to be enough to address the issues that have plagued the team since the beginning of the year. The French support spoke to Sheep Esports after the match, sharing his thoughts on the team’s start to the season.

Paul “Stend” Lardin: “A lot of frustration, and I’m very disappointed. It’s been a very difficult start to the split. We’re starting 0-3, especially against teams that aren’t among the top contenders, so I’m very disappointed.

Stend: I think there are a lot of things. Today, our teamfighting was perhaps a bit shaky; I’m not sure. There are a lot of things we need to fix, whether it’s our tempo, our teamfights, and so on, so I don’t have a precise answer yet.

Stend: I strongly believed in the project. I think we have the individual talent to make it work. With Sheo (Théo Borile) and myself joining, we thought we could bring a positive dynamic to the team. On paper, the project was very serious, so no, I joined without hesitation.

Stend: Honestly, I don’t think that was the case today. Even in the game we won, we were actually quite far behind. I don’t think throwing away leads is one of the reasons we’re losing, at least not this Summer. I haven’t looked at their games from the Spring Split in detail, so I wouldn’t be able to say.

Stend: Before talking about Worlds, I think we need to talk about the playoffs, because we’re not in a very good position right now. From this point on, it’s going to be in our hands, and we’ll have to beat some of the top teams. I don’t know whether we can afford another loss and still qualify, but regardless, we’re going to have to win every game we have left.

Stend: There was a very good dynamic within the group. It’s something we’ve been proud of, so to speak, since the beginning, but honestly, I still felt that today’s loss had a significant impact on the team. It was an important game in the sense that GIANTX are also fighting for a playoff spot. So if we lose to them when we were already 0-2, it makes things look very bad going forward. So, I don’t know, we’ll see, and we’ll debrief with the team. Hopefully, this loss won’t knock us down too much.

Stend: There’s always room for improvement. I don’t think we’ve been flawless at all throughout these three BO3s. I think we need to keep working and continue improving.

Stend: It’s been a very difficult year for me, individually, and everyone knows that. That’s why the Summer Split is a bit of an opportunity for me to prove that I belong in the LEC. So I’m going to have to turn things around for the rest of the split.

Stend: It was difficult news to hear. I certainly didn’t expect it after my year in the LEC last season, despite how unstable this year has been. I believe I could have get the spot, but obviously, I understand why they made that decision.”