After a
close match against Team Vitality, the Blue Wall remains strong, advancing to face GIANTX in the
2026 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Versus playoffs. Heading to Badalona,
Karmine Corp now braces for what could be an intense weekend, potentially facing three back-to-back-to-back best-of-fives for the chance to lift the trophy. In an exclusive interview, coach
Quentin "Zeph" Viguié spoke with
Sheep Esports about the challenges ahead, recent struggles within the organization, and his integration into the team.
After a tough week with the matches against G2 and then Vitality, how are you feeling, and how is the team handling this period?
Quentin "Zeph" Viguié: “The match against G2 really helped us reflect, especially on drafts with Reapered (Bok Han-gyu): what went wrong, our poor priorities, some questionable choices. We tend to change our minds very often, and that’s not always a good thing. It made our drafts a bit confusing against G2.
Even today, there was still some confusion. For example, in game 1, we had discussed first-picking Ryze and ignoring Yunara, but we ended up doing the opposite. Ryze is a champion who can easily E-Q and 100-0 someone. That shouldn’t happen, but since he isn’t nerfed, we have to pick him. If we don’t, that’s our fault.
Overall, losing to G2 really helped us better understand what to draft and how to approach it. So in the end, it was actually beneficial. In games 2 and 3 today, I think our approach was better. I was pretty happy with our drafts in those two games. Game 1 was okay, but it wasn’t specifically tailored to them. It wasn’t the best draft possible against Vitality.
You mentioned that you often change your minds during drafts. Where do you think that comes from? Is it because several people have strong, opposing opinions?
Zeph: It mainly comes from the fact that everyone has very strong opinions, based on their experience.
For example, I prefer drafting a certain way. Reapered has a different approach. kyeahoo (Kang Ye-hoo) prefers certain champions and refuses others. There can be picks I love, but a teammate hates completely. So you have to understand how everyone thinks and try to make sure everyone feels comfortable.
But I think we’ve lost quite a few drafts precisely because we tried too hard to make everyone happy. For me, a draft is like a ship: you need one person at the helm to steer. If everyone pulls in a different direction, the boat sinks.
After game 1 today, I was really frustrated. I took a firmer tone and said, “We’re doing this. If we lose, it’s on me.” I think we shouldn’t have lost that game 1—we should have had a better draft. It annoys me that we pick blue side without having a stronger plan behind it.
To fix this issue in the long term, do you think you need a clearer hierarchy in the team, or does the solution lie elsewhere?
Zeph: For me, it’s not really a question of hierarchy. It’s more about communication and preparation. You need to get the right information from everyone beforehand and be clear on the direction to take. In the end, the decision has to come from either Reapered or me. Today, in drafts 2 and 3, I made the call, and I think that was important.
What I realized is that in game 1, I was in favor of first-picking Ryze. But we ended up choosing Yunara, and I didn’t overrule it. I regretted that after the loss. When I saw Ryze combo my Yunara and kill her instantly, I thought I should have asserted myself. From that point, I decided that for the next games, I’d follow what I believed was right. If it doesn’t work, at least I’ll learn a lesson for future splits.
The risk, though, is that it can reinforce my cognitive biases. Since it worked today, I might start thinking I’m always right, even if that’s not entirely the case.
How do you and Reapered split responsibilities? Who’s in charge of what, and how do you find balance?
Zeph: At the start of the year, I was somewhat responsible for the draft results. But ultimately, the head coach is still the head coach. If he says we’re doing something, my role is also to trust him. It’s a question of balance, and we’re figuring it out as we go. We’ve only been working together for two months, so we still need more games to understand each other and find our rhythm.
For example, with Melzhet (Tomás Campelos Fernández), after two years together, if he said one day, “No, I’ll do it this way,” I could just trust him without hesitation. Over time, I learned to assist him better, like suggesting champions to give him more space to think. He needed silence and authority during drafts, and I knew how to support that.
With Reapered, we don’t yet have enough perspective to know exactly what the best workflow is. For now, it sometimes comes down to whoever is most confident or speaks the loudest at the crucial moment.
Since joining Karmine Corp after your time with MKOI, what differences have you felt in team functioning and coaching? Did you have to adapt your way of working?
Zeph: Yes, definitely. First, with Xenesis (Benjamin Castet), we get a lot of input on analysis. He provides tons of data and scouting. I can ask him many questions about opponents or key stats, so I don’t have to do as much work myself.
At MKOI, Hansen (Bjørn-Vegar Hansen) helped a lot with match prep. We often worked on drafts together. Then on stage, with Melzhet, he made sure we were in the best conditions to execute what we’d prepared.
This year, it’s not quite the same. I mostly work on drafts with Reapered, and that’s where we can sometimes have differing views. Discussions can be long. Our staff is a bit smaller too, so the workload is distributed differently.
The split is really fast. We’re going into a BO5, but we’ve only done five BO5 scrims. That’s not a lot. If we’ve done five, it’s because I did some during the BO3s. I think some teams have only done one. It’s really silly, but honestly, I just find it kind of funny.
For the rematch against GIANTX in a BO5, do you approach it with the same confidence as your first playoff win against them?
Zeph: Yes. They’ve improved on their drafts and are making better choices than before. But overall, I feel we have a wider champion pool than them across multiple roles. For example, they almost always have to ban Ambessa. If Canna (Kim Chang-dong) gets her, they lose instantly—of course, with the right angle. That kind of situation gives us a structural advantage in drafts.
I still feel they have more problems to manage than a team like Vitality. They could counterpick top with Naak Nako (Kaan Okan). He plays a lot of champions: Jayce, Yasuo, and other more specific picks. So each draft, you have to adapt your bans accordingly. If I ban Gwen, he can respond with a Sion ban, and we end up needing to blind pick something. Right now, besides Rumble, there aren’t many strong blind picks for top, so we need to practice those champions more to feel comfortable on blue side.
In Badalona, if you go all the way, you’ll have to play three BO5s in three days. How do you approach that pace?
Zeph: Honestly, for scouting, we’ve already played a lot against these teams, so we have a pretty good idea of what to expect. That’s not the main concern for me. What really matters there is enjoying the experience. You have to have fun. Being on stage changes everything. Playing in a studio is already intense; it’s stressful when you’re close to losing. But playing in front of 10,000 people is a whole different level. The atmosphere is completely different—it’s so much stronger.
You have to appreciate the moment, look around, and soak in the experience. That’s what matters most to me. Then, as long as we stay solid and avoid drafting too “troll,” I think we’ll be fine.
So your goal remains clear: win the split, with full confidence?
Zeph: Yes, definitely. I’m even a bit relieved because Vitality is a tough team to face. They have quite specific, sometimes unusual picks, which we’ve left for them at certain times and not at others. That makes drafts a bit tricky against them.
I find the other teams easier to read in drafts, simpler to anticipate. We might be able to swap some champions, and in the end, the best team will win. We’ll see how it goes.
Are you excited to return to Spain, especially since you’ll be facing the MKOI fanbase?
Zeph: Yes, it’s going to be really fun. Honestly, I’m happy. I would love to play against MKOI again. Really, it would be a dream. I think we’d have a lot of fun. Whatever happens, it’ll be hilarious. But yes, my biggest wish is for MKOI to beat G2 and for us to meet them in the final.
Any final words?
Zeph: Honestly, today I was really stressed. After game 1, I was extremely frustrated. Now, I’m mostly happy we managed to win. We’ll be able to focus on next week when the time comes. But it definitely wasn’t an easy day.”
