Vitality Pad: Hylissang “has been a wonderful captain”

Team Vitality’s LEC Winter split came to an unfortunate end with a 2-0 playoff lower bracket loss to MAD Lions KOI. Despite the team’s turnaround after their 0-3 start in the split, the side was unable to mount a serious playoff run and must now regroup for Spring.

Following the defeat, Lee Jones spoke to Vitality’s strategic coach Patrick “Pad” Suckow-Breum.

Esports.net: What are your immediate thoughts on the series loss?

Pad: I think that we had a really good plan coming into today’s series. I think that MAD Lions’ approach to drafting game one was really good, specifically versus us. So I think they had a good read on us. Then I think we showed a lot of expected errors. I think that Daglas was looking a bit shaky this series; was not finding his usual momentum, was not punishing the enemy team as aggressively as he would do in scrims. But you know, he’s a rookie, it’s a do-or-die best-of series. I would be happily surprised if it was otherwise, but honestly not totally surprised on that front.

I think that we are a really young team, we are very early in the year, so I think there were a few sequences — especially in the mid/late game — where we just don’t see the game the same way yet. And that caused some pretty major goal swings in this series.

Lee Jones: You mentioned that it’s still early in the season.

How do you evaluate Vitality’s first split in the year, given there’s still time to improve despite dropping out of playoffs earlier than you would’ve presumably expected?

Pad: I would have f****** loved to best-of-fives because I think that’s where you get really good practice and you get to see how your players react in between games; when they’re down 0-2, when it’s 2-2. So I’m really sad we miss out on that.

But in terms of the team’s development, I’d say that we are on a really good trajectory. We still have a lot of inconsistencies that need to be ironed out throughout Spring, but in terms of where we are hoping to land with this team for Summer and for Finals — especially when it matters for Worlds — I think we are on a really good trajectory.

LeeJones: Hylissang has been getting a lot of criticism for his recent performances, especially for today’s series.

What do you make of that situation?

Pad: I think it’s so important to understand Hyli on a human level as well as a player level because this guy has now had the brand of being very hit or very miss in the majority of his career. And honestly, when he’s very hit it’s because the entire game is played in a way where his team is on the same page.

I think that’s come to show both in the BDS series, but particularly in today’s series, that we are not quite seeing the game in the same way yet, which means that sometimes Hyli will see something that the rest of the people don’t, and it will make him look worse than what he is.

Hyli, for me, has been a wonderful team captain. So far, this is what he is on this team. He is developing our lovely rookies, he’s developing our young players who weren’t part of the MAD systems before in the understanding of the game, and we just haven’t had enough time to bring everyone into Hyli’s mind.

Lee Jones: Carzzy told us that he was surprised how well Carter blended in.

What has the coaching dynamic been like with Carter’s addition to your long-standing duo with Mac?

Pad: It’s been really good. I share an office with him. He was put in a really hard spot because he was basically head coach of Vitality, and then all of a sudden two new people move in and he sort of has to not be head coach.

I think a lot of lesser people would have been sour or let that poison the relationship, but honestly, Carter has just gone in with an:

“I’m gonna use this year to learn as much as I humanly can and be an asset to the team” [attitude].

And who knows, with the way that he’s working right now, it might not just be a year.

Credit: X | @MadLadPad

Lee Jones: I’ve noticed you on stage other weeks but not today.

How do you decide which two will be on stage during draft?

Pad: Mac didn’t have a visa before, so that’s why he wasn’t there. And for me, honestly, whichever creates the easiest atmosphere. I love doing scouting for enemy opponents and that’s a very time-consuming task. Drafting is also a very time-consuming task, so [we’re] splitting that up right now.

I think it makes a lot of sense to put me in scouting because it’s not something Carter has been familiar with in the past. So right now that’s the reasoning: I do scouting, they do drafting.

Lee Jones: Now onto the important stuff..

Who’s your preference for the new Liverpool manager?

Pad: Give me Xabi Alonso, please. Please, please…

And title chances this year?

We win it. It’s over. We got it. We’re gonna go to Worlds with Vitality and Liverpool’s winning the title.