We caught up with top laner Kyeong “Photon” Gyu-tae after Team Vitality’s loss to BDS, which sent them down to the lower bracket. In this match, Photon faced off against French top laner Adam, known for his unconventional GODS picks within the top lane.
During our conversation, Photon praised Adam as not only a “good player” but went further to reveal his opinion that Adam is “currently the best top in the LEC.”
Despite Team Vitality’s rough start to the 2024 season, they managed to stage a comeback and secure a spot in the playoffs. However, their journey hit a roadblock with a 2-0 loss to Team BDS. Photon shared that he prepared for the match against BDS just like any other player and did not specifically plan for Adam or his unconventional picks.
The series started with a rough game one, which Photon attributed to a lack of practice with their chosen composition. He stated, “I think for the first game we didn’t practice our comp a lot, so I think we all just didn’t know exactly what we had to do. We also didn’t play well, I think that’s the reason why we lost today.”
Moving forward, despite being in the lower bracket, Team Vitality remains in the playoffs, which seemed unlikely after their 0-3 start. Photon reflected on their early struggles, acknowledging that they didn’t understand what champions were strong or what the meta was at the beginning of the season. However, they have since learned from other regions’ playing styles and are gradually finding their own identity as a team.
Regarding their strategic choices, Photon discussed the adoption of the top lane pick K’Sante. He noted that while his team has had success with the champion, he doesn’t believe it to be overpowered. The rise in priority for K’Sante came about because his coaches and teammates favor the champion.
In the match against BDS, Vitality opted not to pick K’Sante, allowing Adam to take it instead. Photon played Karma, a flexible pick in the draft, despite not finding success with it in that game. He still considers Karma to be a strong champion in the current patch.
Overall, Team Vitality is focused on improvement and finding their own unique style as a relatively new team. Photon emphasized that they are “slowly finding our style” and are dedicated to improving and refining their gameplay.
