Claiming second place in the Winter Split of League of Legends European Championship (LEC), MAD Lions of Madrid are hungry for victory as they return to the jungle. With an unfortunate start from the season, the roster has been in a position where they were fighting for their lives to make it to the Spring playoffs.
During their fight, we spoke with MAD’s bot laner Matyáš “Carzzy” Orság about their game against Fnatic, making it to playoffs, team morale and expectations from Bo3’s.
Aykut Sapaz, BLIX.GG: Hello Carzzy, thank you so much for joining me. You guys just came out of a match that did not go as well as it could have been for you, against Fnatic. What are your thoughts on the match you just came out of?
Matyáš “Carzzy” Orság: So, I think we played very poorly and also I think the draft was very difficult for us to execute. So we just lost, it’s pretty simple.
BLIX: What do you think you could have changed for the draft, with the hindsight you have now?
Carzzy: [Fnatic] basically had the perfect team composition against us because we wanted to engage them and they wanted us to engage us. So, it was really hard for us to play the game. We just need to get a mage or a long-range AD Carry, something like that.
BLIX: In the game, you picked Kai’sa, did that not fulfill the long range requirement for the AD Carry then?
Carzzy: Kai’sa was a bad pick in this game.
The road to playoffs
BLIX: You guys have two more games ahead of you this week versus SK and versus G2. How do you think they will go?
Carzzy: I mean, I think they will perform better because we will be more prepared for them. So, I’m excited to play against them.
BLIX: I’m glad to hear that. And besides the games, how has the training been going? How’s the morale in the team?
Carzzy: The morale of the team is pretty good. We have been having successful practices lately, and I don’t think anyone has slowed down yet. So, I have high hopes for the next two games.
MAD Lions in high spirits before their matches. Image taken by Michal Konkol/Riot GamesBLIX: How has the practice been going? When you say successful, is it like a stomp or are you guys just doing good?
Carzzy: No, I mean we are doing good, we are improving.
BLIX: I asked Nisqy this, he said you have things cooking in the back. Is that statement still true? Will we see some interesting picks this week?
Carzzy: Uh’¦ I don’t know. I really don’t know, so’¦
BLIX: After this week we have to say goodbye to two teams who won’t make it to playoffs. Who do you think they’ll be?
Carzzy: I have no idea how the standings look, but I think it’s either us, Excel, Team Heretics, or Fnatic. So, I hope it’s not us. I’d prefer it to be Team Heretics, honestly.
Back in Bo3’s
BLIX: Do you think it will go better for you in the best of threes if you make it there?
Carzzy: I definitely think so. We are pretty good at adapting throughout a series, so playing more games in a row benefits us.
BLIX: We’ve always seen MAD Lions on best of threes, even back in 2021 when you guys won the splits. So, I’m excited. And I also want to ask, since you guys played this game online and not on stage, does it feel different?
Carzzy: I mean, it’s kind of boring. It’s not special at all. It was like any other casual day in the office.
BLIX: Is it just like scrimming, like you know, playing games?
Carzzy: Yeah, kind of. It feels similar to that. So, it’s always better to play on stage.
Playing on stage helps fans and players connect. Image taken by Michal Konkol/Riot GamesBLIX: Well, hopefully, we’ll see you there in the next matches. And hopefully even further after that. Thank you so much for joining me. Is there anything else you want to add? Any messages to the fans?
Carzzy: The classic message to the fans, like, “Thank you for supporting us through these hard times.” I hope we will have a better performance next time.
