SK Gaming lost 0-2 to Vitality, and Mikyx was pretty critical of the team's performance. Speaking to RiftDaily after the match, he said SK struggled with communication, planning and individual mistakes.
Mikyx also talked about SK's progress since spring, the current support meta and where he thinks the team can still improve during the summer split.
Watch the full RiftDaily interview with Mikyx below.
Mikyx says SK need a clearer plan
SK had a decent start to game one, but struggled to build on it once Vitality started taking control. Mikyx felt the team was not always on the same page, and things started to fall apart after a fight around the early game.
"I think once we won the fight and I tried to make a pick at bot as well ... we were kind of like, I guess, not on the same page. I think after that it kind of went downhill a bit."
- Mikyx
Vitality took the third dragon, Mikyx was caught again later on, and SK struggled to win another fight after that. Game two was even worse from SK's perspective.
"The second one was not even close at all. I don't know, it felt very hard to play, I guess. So yeah, we kind of just got stomped."
- Mikyx
When asked where SK are struggling most right now, Mikyx found it difficult to name one specific area. Instead, he came back to the same issue that showed up throughout the series: SK need a better idea of what they want to do with their games.
"Maybe just having an actual overall plan for the game would be a way to summarize it, because I feel like if you're on the same page and everyone knows what they're supposed to be doing and have a common game plan or goal, the game should look a lot easier with less room to make mistakes."
- Mikyx, speaking to RiftDaily
Silence in the comms was the bigger concern
The 0-2 itself was not what worried Mikyx most. SK still have plenty of matches left in the regular season, and he believes there are teams they should be able to beat. It was the way the loss happened that left him more concerned.
"I think we should never be able to get stomped like how we did in game two. And there was just a lot of, I guess, silence in the comms. There was not a lot of talk or planning going on."
- Mikyx
SK were mostly just waiting for something to happen instead of making the plays themselves.
"It kind of just felt like we're just, waiting for something to happen. But what happened was we just died."
- Mikyx
For a player with as much experience as Mikyx, that lack of communication is particularly frustrating. Even a bad game can give a team something to work from if the players are talking and making decisions together.
"At least if some people are still talking, making plans, and you just lose, it just sucks, you know? You can at least move on and have something to talk about. But yeah, I guess the energy was not quite there."
- Mikyx, speaking to RiftDaily
SK are missing a big voice, but Mikyx wants everyone involved
Mikyx agreed that SK are missing a strong voice that can lead the game, but he does not think the answer is simply giving that responsibility to one player.
"For sure we're lacking a big voice to lead the game. But I don't think it should be one person. I think everyone should be able to contribute and communicate in a team, and whoever's the strongest in the game should be able to kind of dictate how the game should be played."
- Mikyx
For him, the bigger problem is what happens after SK gain an advantage. The team can find a lead, but it does not always communicate how that lead should be used.
"I feel like just if we do get a lead, we don't really say what we want to do with that lead. So I think that's something that we're also currently working on."
- Mikyx
That is something SK will need to improve quickly. Their summer split has looked more stable than spring, according to Mikyx, but the Vitality series showed that the old problems can still come back when the team loses control of a game.
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Mikyx still rates Vitality highly
Mikyx was critical of SK's performance, but he still gave Vitality credit for the win. He felt SK had a chance in the series, especially after the change in Vitality's mid lane, but on the day he thought Vitality were simply the better team.
"I mean maybe a little bit. I mean I do think they kind of downgraded a little bit on mid. So I was expecting us to be able to win, but I think today he actually played fine, their mid laner. So yeah, I mean overall they're still a better team than us."
- Mikyx
Mikyx said he was not expecting SK to lose, but he also never felt certain that they would win. Vitality still have enough individual quality to make that a difficult matchup.
"I wasn't expecting to lose, I guess, but I also was not sure that we're gonna win, you know, 'cause they're still good players individually."
- Mikyx
Asked to rank Vitality among the LEC teams, Mikyx put them around third, behind G2 and Karmine Corp. He was not completely certain about the ranking, but Vitality's performance against SK convinced him to put them ahead of some of the other teams he was considering.
"Maybe I would actually put Vitality third 'cause they did look better today, I think, than the other weeks. But maybe, I don't know, something like that. Let's put Vitality third."
- Mikyx, speaking to RiftDaily
"No, I hate it": Mikyx on the roaming support meta
The interview also turned to one of the biggest changes in the current game: supports spending much more time roaming around the map. Mikyx made his opinion on the trend very clear.
"No, I hate it. I just want to lane. I think it's so boring just running around and just covering lanes."
- Mikyx
He also thinks supports should be punished more for leaving lane, especially because of how quickly they can recover experience through the current catch-up system.
"I think support should be punished more for not being in lane and not getting XP, because I feel like now the catch-up XP is so crazy that at some point you can just go from level five to level six in like one wave if you're so starved of XP. I'm not a big fan of it personally. I like laning."
- Mikyx
Mikyx does not see the meta as an excuse for SK
Despite his dislike of the current support meta, Mikyx does not think the wider game is working against SK. He actually believes the current champion pool and meta should give the team enough options to compete.
"The meta overall I think is decent for us. I think Jopa is very good at a very big variety of champions. So he can play mages, AD carries, whatever. So I think on that front it's pretty decent for us."
- Mikyx, speaking to RiftDaily
For Mikyx, the bigger issue is what SK do with the opportunities they get. The team has been able to play stable early games, but it has struggled to turn those positions into the kind of snowball Vitality managed in game two.
SK are better than they were in spring, according to Mikyx
Mikyx also feels that SK have improved since spring. Even after the loss to Vitality, he said the team has looked more stable in summer and is playing better overall.
"For sure. I think we're a lot better than we were in spring split."
- Mikyx
He said SK's games have generally been more stable in summer, with the team staying closer in matches even when it loses. Mikyx pointed to recent games against G2 and NAVI as examples where he felt SK had chances to win.
"I think overall we have a lot clearer games, or cleaner games, the ones that we actually win. And the ones we lost, until today, were also just pretty close. Like the one against G2, I felt like we could still win those games. I think against NAVI as well, I think those games were also kind of close and we could have played it better."
- Mikyx
Mikyx also said SK have been doing better in scrims, with their practice games starting to look more like their stage games. He sees that as another sign that the team has moved forward since spring.
The Vitality series was therefore more of a setback than a complete change in Mikyx's view of the team. SK now need to make sure one bad week does not turn into a longer run of poor performances.
"I think we should be better off now in summer. But it just depends if we can bounce back, I guess, from this week."
- Mikyx, speaking to RiftDaily
Mikyx thinks League is more fight-heavy than before
Having competed at the highest level for many years, Mikyx also offered his take on how League of Legends has changed. He does not think the modern game is necessarily harder, but he does think there is less time to think about the map.
"I wouldn't really say it's harder. I think in general people are not thinking as much about the game. I guess now it's more just about fighting, how to play fights, because there's objectives and things spawning every two minutes, so you have to always fight for something."
- Mikyx
He remembers having more time in the past to think about lane assignments and what the team wanted to do around the map. In his view, some of those concepts are now being rediscovered despite being discussed by teams years ago.
"In the past you had more time to think about what you want to do on the map with lane assignments or just in general. I feel like people were smarter with game concepts."
- Mikyx
There is one clear trade-off, though. With more fighting throughout a game, individual players have less room to make mistakes.
"I think just a lot more fighting than in the past. So you have to be a lot sharper individually."
- Mikyx, speaking to RiftDaily
Photos by Michał Konkol/Riot Games.
Frequently asked questions about Mikyx
What did Mikyx say after SK lost to Vitality?
Mikyx pointed to individual mistakes, poor communication and a lack of a clear game plan. He was particularly unhappy with SK's performance in the second game.
What does Mikyx think is SK's biggest problem?
He believes SK need a clearer overall plan and better communication. He also said SK need to be better at using their leads once they get them.
Does Mikyx think SK are better than in spring?
Yes. Mikyx said SK are "a lot better" than they were in spring and described their games as more stable and cleaner overall.
What does Mikyx think about the roaming support meta?
He strongly dislikes it. Mikyx said he prefers staying in lane and believes supports should be punished more for leaving lane and falling behind in experience.
How does Mikyx rank Vitality?
Mikyx placed Vitality around third in the LEC, behind G2 and Karmine Corp, after their 2-0 win over SK.
SK need to find their voice again
The Vitality loss showed some of the issues SK still need to fix, especially in game two. For Mikyx, the lack of communication was the biggest concern, with the team not doing enough to make things happen.
At the same time, he does not think SK are back where they were in spring. He sees a team that is playing more stable games and has shown enough in recent weeks to believe there is still a good path through the summer split.
Now SK have to respond. As Mikyx told RiftDaily, the team needs to get back to communicating, make better plans with its leads and avoid another performance like game two against Vitality.
