“Everybody should be nice to each other, not cause any problems, and try as hard as possible”
The second Loser’s Bracket series in the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) Lock-In featured FlyQuest’s first time facing LYON, led by their former jungler, Kacper “Inspired” Słoma. The last LCS Champions had to shake off their last week’s defeat against Cloud9, and couldn’t afford to spare their punches against the Mexican Organization.Unfortunately, the youngest roster in the LCS was defeated by the Pride in consecutive 3-0 weekends and finished the first split of 2026 tied for 5th/6th place. Following the end of the series, FlyQuest top laner Ibrahim “Gakgos” Samet Bulut chatted with Sheep Esports about Johnson “Gryffin” Le playing for the top lane, the calmness of Song “Quad” Su-hyeong and Fahad “Massu” Abdulmalek when playing on stage, and the most important lesson he took from his first split as a starter.
Coaches and teammates believed the key to progress this split relied on practice. How productive was this week of practice?
Ibrahim “Gakgos” Samet Bulut: “We are a young team, so we don’t play stage games as we play scrims. I don’t have that confidence. I’m not that comfortable on stage. It’s the same for Michael “Cryogen” Luu and Gryffin, but Massu and Quad are fine. In scrims, we improved daily, but we were unable to show this progress in stage games. We were playing well against them in scrims, but we couldn’t fight back in this series. It feels bad, but scrims are going well.
Is there a reason you’re uncomfortable during stage games?
Gakgos: I need more time, but I’m getting better every game. This was our second time on stage, because we normally play on the alternative stage. I’m slightly nervous when things don’t go my way. When I make a mistake in the game, I get more nervous. I don’t know about others, but I think they need time, too.
Even if you practiced and played occasionally, you were still part of FlyQuest 2025’s roster. Could you share what changes you’ve identified in gameplay from 2025 to 2026?
Gakgos: Last year, communication was cleaner because the previous roster had played for two years. I was playing one scrim game a day and some official matches. Comms were so clean, I didn’t need to talk much and could focus on my lane. This year, our comms aren’t as clean as last year, so I try to talk more. Aside from talking more, it’s mostly our comms. I can’t think of anything else right now.
Massu spoke with Sheep Esports and shared that FlyQuest hesitates when to cede and when to claim space. Where is this hesitation rooted?
Gakgos: It doesn’t happen in scrims, but in stage games, everybody fears making a mistake. No one wants to make a mistake, so we don’t even try, and we hesitate. We fear making mistakes, but we shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes.
Game 1 was extremely one-sided. How do you stay motivated?
Gakgos: If you think about Game 1, playing Game 2 becomes tough. I try to forget it and try my best in the following games. I think everybody should disregard Game 1 because both our plan and draft changes for Game 2. It’s a completely different game. If you don’t think about it, it becomes easier to stay mentally stable.
FlyQuest mostly focused on the top side of the map for Games 1 and 2. Why did you decide to play for the top lane?
Gakgos: Game 1, we had Gwen jungle, and we had a weak early game. We tried to trade as much as possible to inject gold into our Gwen. Gryffin wanted to look top, but Renekton was level 11, and he popped his ultimate. They might have wanted to dive me. When we saw him use his ultimate, we should never fight and wait for it to run out. We wanted to play, but we can’t win a 2v2 when Renekton has ultimate.
You played Rumble in Game 3, a champion with 90%+ Pick or Ban rate, but a measly 18% win rate. Why is the champion’s priority so high when it’s been unsuccessful in the LCS?
Gakgos: Rumble doesn’t have much counter. The best counter is K’sante, and no one is good right now. He is the best blind pick right now. Why does it have a low win rate? I’m stumped, too. I was far ahead of the Galio during Game 3, but the fights were so unplayable that it wasn’t even close. Rumble has a positive win rate in the LCK, so if you know how to use it, it’s a strong champion. I don’t know why the LCS has such a low win rate. I need to watch more Rumble games.
This was your first split as a starter at a Tier 1 Tournament. What was the most important lesson you learned this split?
Gakgos: Everybody should be nice to each other, not cause any problems, and try as hard as possible.
Is there anything you would like to say to your fans ahead of Split 2?
Gakgos: It sucks. Last year, they won everything, and FlyQuest supporters were so happy. This year, we have a young roster, but we had high expectations after the first two weeks. We lost so much, and I’m sorry about it. I will try my best to prepare as much as I can before the start of the next split. I apologize to our fans because it sucks to lose every week. We couldn’t even fight. Cloud’s series wasn’t even close, and this series was so bad because we got stomped. I hope we can show better things next split and be the best team again.”