With the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Winter Playoffs rapidly approaching, Movistar KOI now turns its focus to its first match against Team BDS. Despite being one of the most exciting squads of the 2025 season, the team has struggled in recent weeks. In an exclusive interview with Sheep Esports, the team's support, Álvaro "Alvaro" Fernández del Amo, discusses his team's goals for the year, talks about his upcoming opponents, and shares his perspective on the level of the league.

What happened in week three? We saw Movistar KOI struggle, particularly in the losses to Heretics and G2.

Álvaro "Alvaro" Fernández del Amo: "Of course, you will never know exactly what happened, but I would say in the first game against Heretics, we started playing decently, but we made some mistakes around defending certain vision lines for example. I think when we had both the Atakhan and the Nashor, we made one bad play, and from there, we started doubting a lot. It was kind of a rollercoaster, and we were unsure of what to do in fights. That’s why we lost to Heretics.

Then, for G2, I wouldn’t exactly know. We just didn’t perform well individually, especially Supa (David Garcia) and I—we could’ve played much better. Personally, I felt weird going into that game because I had issues with how we had played our previous match. I still didn’t fully understand what had happened against Heretics. I wasn’t in the right mindset. But then, I had a talk with my coach, and today against Rogue, I came prepared. So, I think that’s why we showed a better face this time, even though it wasn’t perfect.

Has this week helped you identify areas to improve? Do you feel like you know what to focus on before the playoffs?

Alvaro: I think it’s important for a professional team to experience losses as well. I’m not saying “I want to lose to become a better team”—that’s not the case. But losing helps you realize and learn more about both your teammates and yourself, and how you react to losses. If you're losing, it means you're doing something wrong. But of course, even when you're winning, you're making mistakes; except you might think, "If I'm winning, then I don't need to change anything." But even when we win, we're not satisfied with just winning. We want to win in a good way. The good games we had, like against BDS and SK, were solid in terms of macro—that’s what we’re aiming for.

Working with the team is easy overall because everyone puts in a lot of effort. But since we're all emotional and passionate, sometimes it can get rough. We tend to take losses to heart, and after a loss, we need to figure out the real, rational reason behind our mistakes instead of focusing on the emotional side. After a game, we’ll talk the next day, and usually, things get solved. But in the heat of the moment, we sometimes struggle to see what went wrong. Overall, though, working with the team this year has been fun, and it's easy because everyone is really motivated.

Do you think the team's emotional nature or inconsistency is partly due to your new midlaner, given the differences in atmosphere and play style? How would you compare this roster to last year?

Alvaro: I believe it doesn’t really matter who our midlaner is; the issue is that we’re emotional as a team. Whether it’s Jojopyun (Joseph Pyun) or Fresskowy (Bartłomiej Przewoźnik), it doesn’t really change much. As a block of players, we’re all emotional because we want to be the best, and with that comes a lot of emotions. We need to be cautious with it because, while you can use frustration to become more motivated, it can also lead to not addressing mistakes properly. Then, the next day, you might not perform at your best.

So, I wouldn’t say the difference is huge just because one player changed. The team is still emotional, and I wouldn’t say Jojo is the most emotional on the team, so changing one person doesn’t make that big of a difference. The coaching style is the same as before, the only issue is coming from us five as a group.

You've beaten Fnatic this split but lost to KC and G2. What are your expectations for the playoffs? Do you think Movistar KOI can be one of the best teams in EMEA?

Alvaro: There are strong opponents ahead of us, of course, but I’m always going to say that we, as a team and individually, are aiming to be the best simply because that’s our goal. And this year, I truly believe we can achieve that—it’s not just talk, it’s something we can actually realize. We’ve been playing really good League of Legends in a good amount of games.

In week 2, we had a rough first game, but we’ve been performing as one of the best teams, alongside Fnatic and Karmine Corp. G2 weren't great at the start, but now they're playing better. Still, I don’t think they’re as strong as they were last year. Overall, this is going to be some really good playoffs because there are many great teams and contenders, but I’d say we’re still on top of them. We always say it: we’re not playing against them, we’re playing against ourselves. We’re our own worst enemy. If we can just beat ourselves, we can beat anyone, even if that sounds a bit cocky.

Last year was the team's rookie season. Now, in year two, what must you achieve for this project to be a success? Would missing Worlds or not winning a split be a failure?

Alvaro: We each have our own goals, and the team has its overall objectives as well. Honestly, I haven’t thought about it much, but for example, if I became the best support in the world but we didn’t qualify for international events or only made one, I wouldn’t be happy. It wouldn’t be enough. I don't think it'll happen this year though.

Individually, I want to become the best version of myself—the most decisive support, and a difference-maker in the LEC. As a team, of course, we want to win, but winning all three splits is tough. It requires insane consistency. Of course, I'd be incredibly happy if we did win them all, but my goal is to win at least two of them and qualify for all international events.

If we want to make it to First Stand, we'll have to win the Winter Playoffs, so we'll do anything to achieve that. I really want to travel outside of Europe—to Korea, Canada, and China. I've never had the chance to travel outside of Europe yet. For now, the focus is on winning the LEC first, then looking beyond that. Maybe a boot camp in South Korea could help us improve, even if for a short time.

Many talk about players like Elias "Upset" Lipp or Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert, but where do you think the Supa-Alvaro botlane ranks in the LEC right now?

Alvaro: People tend to overlook Spanish players—there's always some drama about fewer posts or recognition—but I don’t really mind. Some players care about looking good on camera, but Supa and I just focus on winning. Even if we don’t always make flashy plays, we’re consistent. Against G2, we didn’t perform our best, but in other games, we’ve been a solid botlane, which is an improvement from last year.

As for rankings, I still think we’re one of the best. If you look at the top botlanes, it depends on what you value. Some ADCs are better individually, but their support isn’t as strong, which affects the duo. I won’t rank them in order—don’t want to get flamed on Twitter—but all the top contenders have really good botlanes: G2, FNC, GX, KC, and us. GIANTX is strong because they hired an existing duo lane from Fnatic, which I think helped them get a headstart in Winter. G2 plays well in their own way. KC’s botlane is performing well, and Fnatic is solid, too. I’d say these five botlanes will be the ones fighting for the trophy.

Do you have any message for the fans?

Alvaro: I just want to say thank you to all the fans still supporting us. This week was a bit rough—going 1-2 left a bad taste—but we appreciate everyone sticking with us. And for those who aren't supporting us yet, there's still room to join the KOIsitos! Thanks again for all the support, and see you in playoffs next week. We'll prepare as best as we can and create some great memories together."