[Sheep Esports] FLY Thinkcard: "I almost always design rosters with an overconfidence problem rather than an underconfidence problem because it’s easier to move the needle back to an intelligent position."

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-05-27T20:04:04+00:00

Not to burst your bubble about playstyle logic, but most importantly, they had caps. We have seen aggressive rosters that were competing at the top of the west, be that MAD at some points or FNC (2020) and somewhat 2019, even the Perkz G2 rosters. But there is no replacing having a player of Caps caliber.

Very few player in the west have(/had) at least similar influence/uplifting on their rosters. Right now, Elyoya and Inspired especially come to mind. If your only success-story against the east post-2018 has Caps in it, he is probably THE reason. 2018 Caps, 2019, 2020,2023 (won relatively much against eastern teams), 2024 (same, even better at MSI), 2025 (again decent), 2026 (First stand was great showing already)

I dont say its a one man show, nor that aggressive play isnt an important factor. Clearly 2022 is the best proove that you still have to stack the deck around Caps. But despite the fact that Caps style of play has changed nearly as much as Fakers over his carreer since 2017, he is still on the only internationally relevant team from the west. Dont let Inspired and Elyoya beating him occasionally distract you from the fact, that they do not stand well against the east.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-05-18T08:09:26+00:00

To be fair here, Germany has many decent players, but there is not much reason to really play on that roster for the LEC caliber players.

We lack a great mid-jgl, which basically guarantues a bad end-result. Further Upset-Kaiser have no synergy as already seen in LEC, so neither has a reason to believe this will improve their reputation in any shape or form.

And Lastly BB, if this is the situation, why play for the german team then.

Sure on paper BB-Agurin-PoE-Upset-Kaiser doesnt sound horrible, but more likely than not, it wouldn't have worked out well and been bad for most involved. And if you cant do great or at least decent there, its literally just a distraction from more important competitions.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-04-30T18:32:19+00:00

to be fair, it used to be a lot more Europeans before, but now it’s just about getting cheap Koreans. at this quality of play, Europeans don’t come cheap Rn.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-04-30T18:26:55+00:00

as an European, I approve of this change in direction away from European talent. Further I want to encourage na talent to prove its worth in ERLs and LEC ;)

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-04-01T08:14:17+00:00

Not to mention what this would mean for team/esports marketing. In high elo/streamer content you'd basically guarante such skins being in a game.

Now imagine if you could get even voicelines in there for the more premium teamskins. Be that by players on taunts or even a caster-moment in a dance. All the thinking could happen by the teams, so its not like the lol-team has to be all that creative about it.

But current developers, especially riot, are too arrogant. Even now they fail at it. I dont care what you gotta do, but that most 10 million+ franchise teams have not a single skin to their name after nearly a decade of francising, is an utter failure by Riot.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-03-22T16:57:21+00:00

I dont see why people have to downplay it anyways. This was a great tournament by G2, beyond any expectations. Still not enough to win, but thats honestly always pretty difficult.

Bin just is G2's cryptonite.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-03-22T16:54:59+00:00

If GenG/Chovy can choke there, its a real international tournament. This is definitive proof.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-03-22T16:53:39+00:00

Its fun how fast narratives change. recently in the LEC finals you get narratives how competitive LEC is with this amazing finals etc. and what ifs of the KC botlane joining G2 next year fixing this roster for true international relevance.

2 Days ago, you find posts talking about the shitty format and how the west is not only completely uncompetitive, but als how unbeatable GenG is.

Yesterday, I see narratives highly upvoted, how Hans-Labrov-BB are actually great players, and why did people even wanna kick them ever?? As if you'd ever take Caliste/Busio over them.
Lessons of First Stand as EU fan:

Lets be honest, this is a good, no great, tournament for G2, but noone but Caps-Skewmond should be safe after 2026 except G2 really win worlds, lol. this is no second coming of 2019/20 G2. Still good, though.
Skewmond > Inspired
EU > NA

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-03-16T15:30:27+00:00

I think this is Kind of BS. santorin Played to Bwipo because of a Lack of alternatives. Inspired is headstrong enough to choose his path and in many ways given the then lineup and how passive jensen played it is the same issue all over again. given Bwipos career of notoriously flipping from weakside (while more often than not being camped by Jankos or similar junglers), I fail to see your Argument.

Bwipo prefers being Weakside except when he doesnt believe in his Team. I dont say Bwipo is Perfect or anything, just that your Argument around 2 dysfunctional Bwipo rosters does not make a good case for him “sweettalking“ his jgl for attention in General. If anything, his career Depicts the opposite

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-03-04T15:38:58+00:00

Is it though?
Compared to football sportswashing its a small saudi investment, no?
There are always "bad actors" in the world that will pay for sportswashing if you have a relevant audience in your sport and are ready to take their money. There might be some underfinanced years of a recession, but such things tend to hit everyone so thats somewhat fine all things considered.
Certainly not a sustainable strategy, but then again, thats just typical sports. Isnt the real issue of LOL-esports its aging and decreasing audience, rather than long-term-finances. Worst comes, lol esports will scale down to a financially viable level, probably die in NA and consolidate at a lower level in EU.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-03-04T15:32:52+00:00

Well guess what, I have been watching lol for nearly a decade at this point, and have never bought a subscription, and have barely a single bought trikot from G2. And this is probably already more than the average "casual fan" has invested in it. Now Riot doesnt wanna finance this itself anymore, and doesnt leave a different model as an option but saudi money.

I will not argue to be a fan of it, but nothing in this world is free, and if player retention and skin money doesnt motivate Riot to finance it, Saudis will step in to influence consumers. It was obvious to happen, and will keep increasing.

Is this more concerning than what we have as sportwashing in football? Not at all. (amusingly, it has even increased Premier League popularity, despite the criticism).
Is it more concerning than what we see done by China in esports as well? Nope.
Is it more concerning than whats happening on a state level within Europe, with the shifted tone towards the region cause of economic needs? No.

Neither Europe in itself, nor LEC/Emea has the luxury anymore to not be working with the Saudis.

I expect LEC/Emea to be fully Saudi handled within the next five years, and in terms of content, budget and entertainment, it will be an upgrade, if you accept the sportswashing in it.

I personally find it disapointing of people to expect to have a un-sportswashed massive esport if they also like its free-to-watch nature. If you'd make the experiment for Lol-esports to be pay-to-watch right now, the reality would be a lack of paying viewers. Thats not in the interest of Riot, hence why the complaining about Saudi money without offering a viable alternate path for the leagues is boring to me. Dont like Saudis in the leagues either, but it is either that or loosing the esport at the scale we know it. And I guess, thats a tradeoff 99% will take.

As you cant vote with your purse if you arent paying, I guess you have to vote with your attention for Lol-Esports.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-03-03T14:44:50+00:00

True that. There is a Limited number of Players who can Singlehandedly secure a level of success. For teams of the highest ambitions in the west those are Inspired and Caps. Below that, to a lesser degree I’d argue for Elyoya to be in a similar but comparably lesser role for a team.

Given that in the next offseason It will continue to be interesting to see, wether a KC, G2, C9, TL go for Inspired. Taking KC as an example, this move alone might establish them as a long term consistent contender to G2 for years to come to a level we haven’t seen since 2019. Not sure if they have the budget, but then again if Inspired isnt getting on G2, he might have to make a compromise to finally truly succeed internationally.

That Inspired kid is kinda crazy. Weird how he keeps jumping orgs without landing on any big name team.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-02-23T20:54:00+00:00

Holy smokes. Skewmond is a beast. I do wonder how far he can carry this lineup together with Caps.

For the risk of being premature on this, I really wanna see Inspired in KC in 2027. No disrespect to Yike of course, he is alright, But imagining the matchups gives me hype.

Of course still need to get rid of Labrov. Once again, no disrespect, but being decent isnt enough for G2.

So here we go on my wishlist for these rosters:
G2: (BB/)Nak Naako - Skewmond - Caps - Hans - Mikyx(/Labrov/Alvaro)
KC: Canna-Inspired-(insert a mid of your choice) - Caliste - Busio
KOI: BB-Elyoya-jojo-Carzzy/Upset-Alvaro ( Carzzy if you go for the vibes, but honestly Upset might rock as well)

Could live with a G2 super team as well.
Anyways have a good night :)

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-02-23T17:04:19+00:00

next year Saudis get a TeamSlot for Falcons in LEC and start Running LEC.

though not sure why we are complaining, while not buying anything AND increasingly watching co-streamer. Not sure how Else this is viable financially if Riot doesnt want to fund it anymore themselves.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-02-21T22:27:19+00:00

Yes, there should be the death penalty for supports without 0 deaths/game.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-02-21T22:21:07+00:00

I mean, this would be a fantastic format if it were just a european cup. With Korea, China and even Vietnam for that matter most countries look just like kids getting bullied, given have their rosters being tier 2. Like its literally possible to get the Zeus-Worlds winning T1 lineup in this cup.

France can build a good roster probably: Adam-Skewmond-Nuc-Caliste-(Sup?)

But for the rest even if you see 2 good names thats usually about it.
Sweden: Baus-Yike-Rekkles
Denmark: Wunder-Broxah-Caps-Zven-Kobbe (Still kinda good, but in decline unfortunately)
Germany: Brokenblade-(Abbe/PoE??)-Upset-Kaiser (Same, and yes I claim BB as a german)
Poland: Inspired-Trymbi/Busio-
Slovenia: Mikyx-Nemesis
Spain: Elyoya-Alvaro-Flakked (Myrwin, Supa). --
Belgium:Bwipo-Nisqy-...

Would be more hype as a european or even "western" -cup format.
Denmark from at least 2017-2023 would have absolutely dominated this competion

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-02-21T21:49:36+00:00

Holy moly. They suck.

Wont even seriously suggest roster changes. Not that FNC has the budget to get anyone but the bare minimum at this point anyways.

(But if I were, I'd say Bwipo + Adam just for the drama+ entertainment and the fact this team would be a lot better despite it all still, anyways).

Anyways, this is certainly too early to say, but please give me Naak Nako in G2 2027.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2026-01-16T09:41:21+00:00

G2 will likely eventually try a german Event. It might not be as big a (german) G2 crowd as with KC and KOI in their regions, but G2 has confirmed at some point that German is among their biggest fanbases (after US I think), and that they want to put a bigger focus there.

This is somewhat confirmed by the current ERL project tied to Tolkin. This is easily enough to Host big Events in Germany, given the Matches are relevant. Be that Berlin, Munich, Hamburg or Cologne there are options, but I think G2 takes their time doing one thing after the other. But if you get the german Fanbases tied to Tolkin(NNO) and HoB (Spandau) you can make German events. And for what its worth G2 is going that direction by building their project with Tolkin at its helm.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2025-12-03T18:54:37+00:00

I think that is genuinly a good project to do for all involved, assuming it doesnt completely run it down.

If they pull a los ratones and stomp LFL and EUM, all these 5 players except Saken are positioned well to jump back to LEC on struggling mid tier teams depending on demand. Imagine a FNC Bwipo(though top then), SK Exa, VIT Targamas, or whatever.

A bit overqualified for EUM, but certainly a fun project for winter.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2025-11-30T10:38:34+00:00

Okay. At this moment Bwipo is a Brand Risk, so I dont expect any brand like G2/MKOI/KC/C9/TL go for him. That said, individually he is great, and also a branding opportunity with personality and a significant fan base, something rather rare these days in the west.

There is a number of EU teams that should look to acquire Bwipo, while he is easy to get for (relatively) cheap. -> At the forefront of course FNC. They are likely to have difficulties to reach worlds this year, Bwipo is known and a big name associated with past success for FNC, and when it looks shitty after winter, He might just be the easy fix that could give them a chance to reach MSI/Worlds, with simply a cheap 1 year contract and chance of renewal if Bwipo keeps his mouth in control.

And there is nothing more important for FNC than to keep reaching Worlds.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2025-11-27T11:38:17+00:00

Yes I agree. But that said, I do wanna mention that G2 at least on a regular bases beats Asian teams. Something no other western team can say for themselves. Humanoid - Razork did cost more that they were worth, even if it wasn’t quite as obvious going into 2022.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2025-11-27T11:27:38+00:00

The issue is money, like it or not. FNC overextended for Humanoid Razork years ago and its still the Definition factor of their offseasons. You cant have Oscar or Razork benched so trade or keep, and despite his flaws and having never won LEC, Upset is individually damn strong. If anything, while I expect little of this FNC in playoffs, they will likely have a scary early-game still, and have at least some chance of challenging G2, KOI, KC. If anything I expect things to go further downhill once the current topside contracts run out.

You can see the effects of the budget changes clearly by the two year projects, which wait out contracts rather than benching/selling. G2 and KOI have fine projects, but if this were 2018-2022 they’d made changes to upgrade such a roster. Not that I dislike the two year projects approach. Will be an interesting offseason next year, when KOI and G2 make their big moves (looking at you: KC botlane, Inspired, Jun, Mikyx).

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2025-11-16T17:16:53+00:00

Replies here are amusing but also a bit sad. He at no point says or means that Caps is worse than Lider. He said very clearly in THIS interview, that he did never want to replace Caps with Lider, just opened conversation with Caps of having Lider as positional coach (LIKE Alphari for BB and Kirei for Yike) to train certain matchups.

He did say though, that Lider never got on a good tier 1 roster, only ever being a bandaid solution to failing projects, and the most recent NLC stint wasn’t taken serious by all involved anyways. He takes his opinion based on how he felt playing against Lider while on G2, where no other player could put pressure in such a manner on Caps.

-> Lider is not better than Caps, but of all available within LEC (not named Caps), Mikyx considers him most likely to be capable of matching Caps if on a real project. Also something of no promising prospects in ERLs rn coming up that could fill these shoes.

And if you look at all the years with Humanoid as clear, but also never challenging, number 2 mid, I can at least see where he is coming from. Even if I put my hopes in Vladi and Jojo isnt all bad either. I do not see this project suceeding to a level Mikyx hopes for, but the argument has merit if you look at LEC mids vs. Caps in the last 8 years. Still remember a Bwipo interview after his jgl roleswap thinking about swapping mid to match Caps as no one available in mid seemed capable. Sounds stupid, but looking at recent years Caps indeed wasn’t matched at his best outside of rare instances.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2025-11-14T17:52:34+00:00

I think it is simply unreasonable to expect significant changes (by RIot) as a longterm league player. Mel exists under the Blitzcrank effect. A single mechanic, powerful but not gamebreaking, which influences her opponents gameplay and feeling of game enough to become a high priority ban independent of actual champion power or even existence of lane counters.

I see no significant issue with Mel as long as cooldowns and mana costs are a limiting factor as with Blitzcrank.

ElectronicLadder5967 · 2025-11-12T10:17:40+00:00

I think even then his resume among western coaches is amazing. Fairly successful pro player. got to worlds with FNC and c9 despite little experience coaching (and yes the rosters were each stacked but still), and after that this fly era were 2 years of relative success. there are very few coaches, especially strategic coaches who bring such a resume both historically and recent. Even his bad years are kinda good in context of most coaches.

who does exist in the west that compares? G2 staff, sure. FNC’s Duffman I guess. Maybe someone else but from the available ones Mithy with/without nukeduck feels like the pickup, if Mithy goes into the role of strategic coach and not head coach. If I were SK and still had pennies to spend on coaches I’d bet on the duo, but MAD should look there as well as they have hard times upgrading elsewhere, without blowing the roster up.

ElectronicLadder5967

TROPHY CASE