VKS Morttheus on Brazil’s support at Worlds 2025: “Brazilian fans are very passionate and want to see us win.”

Against a team stacked with iconic and prestigious players, Vivo Keyd Stars (VKS) entered their match against PSG Talon with little public support. Yet, defying all expectations, they delivered an impressive performance and managed to avoid elimination from the League of Legends (LoL) Worlds 2025 event.

After the match, VKS Matheus “Morttheus” Motta spoke with esports.gg about the series, his synergy with Trymbi, representing the Brazilian League of Legends on the world stage, and his outlook heading into their next matchup against Bilibili Gaming. Could VKS’s Cinderella run continue all the way to the end?

Sofia: Let’s talk a bit about your great series today. How do you feel after this game?

VKS Morttheus: Relieved, because I think in the last two games we still couldn’t show anything. Honestly, I think those games were well below our level, especially mine. I believe I wasn’t able to perform properly. I actually feel really good now.

Sofia: We can comfortably say that Yunara is the most broken champion in the game.

VKS Morttheus: That’s why many teams aren’t letting her through. I think she’s really strong.

Sofia: In the first game as well, we saw your Sivir, a champion we don’t see you play that often. What was the reason behind that pick?

VKS Morttheus: I really like the Sivir matchup against Corki. I also think Rakan isn’t a support that puts much pressure on her in lane. Overall, their comp was very low range. We had a way to play front-to-front, with Taliyah and tank champions. It was a really good game for a hyper carry, especially for Sivir.

Sofia: How did you prepare for this game against PSG?

VKS Morttheus: We had a bit more time to prepare, so we were able to really focus on them. I think we wanted to have good matchups, especially in the mid lane. We decided to play more with tanks, something we hadn’t been doing in the previous games.

We came in with a plan to use tanks in the top lane, which opens up a lot of space in the draft for us to pick other champions. I think the idea was to give Mireu room to grow, to have a good lane, and to play a more controlled game with tanks on top.

Sofia: It’s also the second Pacific team you’ve faced. The first time didn’t go so well, but did you find any common patterns between the two teams you played against?

VKS Morttheus: Both Pacific teams really like to fight. They always draft comps that can engage and have tools to start fights. Especially in jungle and mid, they always go for champions that move forward. Wukong and Qiyana, for example, that’s the kind of style they always look for.

That’s why, in this series, we specifically targeted Karsa. I think that attacking his champion pool was really important for us to win today. That’s something we took away from the game against Team Whales.

Sofia: How would you define this bot lane duo, Morttheus and Trymbi?

VKS Morttheus: I still have a lot to improve. Trymbi helps me a lot. We’ve already spent a year playing together this season, and I feel like we’re still not at our prime yet. But our energy is definitely improving. I think practicing against the best teams here helps us play better. Today, we managed to show a bit more synergy and even won some lanes. That was really nice, because I think that’s something we were struggling with at the start.

Sofia: How does VKS define the meta for this Worlds? Does it favor or hurt the team?

VKS Morttheus: I think it’s a good meta for us. But I don’t think our adaptation was as fast as it could have been. This meta features a lot of fighting, skirmish-heavy junglers, and active top lanes, and I believe that actually fits us quite well. We were a bit slow to adapt on the bot lane side as well. Our first two drafts weren’t that good either, but it’s a good meta for us.

Sofia: And now that you’re going to face BLG, a very strong opponent, what are your expectations for the match?

VKS Morttheus: The expectations are high. I think it’s going to be a really fun meta because the top teams always adapt quickly, and we know they’re teams that play very fast, especially BLG. They’re a team that plays heavily around the bot, so we’ll have to see how the bot meta plays out, because they’re very aggressive and like to use their tempo on the bot side. It’ll probably come down to how well we can draft around our strengths and see if we can scale through that.

Sofia: Since this is your first LoL Worlds, how has the experience been so far?

VKS Morttheus: The beginning was really complicated for me, but in the last couple of days, I’ve managed to adapt much better. I feel like I’m improving really quickly. At the start, though, with all the travel issues and everything else, and since we arrived kind of last minute, it took me a while to get into the rhythm. But I didn’t let it get to me. I know the level here is the best in the world, so I’m treating this as a premium learning experience.

Sofia: You came from the Academy, and in a short time, you managed to help the team win a split and even qualify for Worlds. Can we say that the future of League of Legends lies in the Academy?

VKS Morttheus: Absolutely. I think Brazil has an Academy league with excellent players who will emerge in the coming years.

Sofia: How would you assess your growth as a player since coming from the Academy, from the beginning of the year until now?

VKS Morttheus: I think I’ve grown immensely as a player and as a professional. We had several problems in the first and second splits. There were many games where I noticed a lot of gaps, but after Mireu joined, we managed to find ourselves more as a team.

I think it’s been a linear learning process for me; my growth never stopped, which is why I was able to move up from the Academy. We became champions, qualified for the Cross Conference, and I think that was essential for us to secure today’s victory. I don’t know if, without that international experience in the U.S., we could have won today.

Sofia: You’re also the only Brazilian team at Worlds right now. How has the fan support been, even mostly from a distance, since you’re on the other side of the world?

VKS Morttheus: Due to our performance, expectations were really high at the start. So when we lost, especially the way we did without putting up much of a fight, I think people were pretty disappointed. They were like, “Wow, we expected so much from them.” But I think being able to show something today, securing this victory, brought that hope back.

I feel like the support from fans is really rewarding. When you show results, you give back to them. It’s really great. The Brazilian fans are just very passionate about the game, and they want to see the team grow and win. It makes sense that at first they were a bit disappointed, but now I hope they’re feeling some joy. I hope they’re a bit happier now.

Sofia: Next year, we’ll also see the CBLOL return, and The First Stand will take place in Brazil. How do you feel about this almost “comeback” of the region?

VKS Morttheus: I’m really happy. I’ve never played in CBLOL myself, since I debuted in Tier 1 with LTA. It was a great experience for me, and I think LTA had a lot of positive things as well. I’m actually really excited to make my CBLOL debut. It’ll feel like being a rookie again.

As for The First Stand, I think it’s going to be really cool. Only the best from each region will be there. In Brazil, it’ll be just the top teams. I’m definitely looking forward to winning this first split and then facing the best teams again, continuing to improve.

Sofia: If you advance and manage to defeat BLG, and then eventually make it to the playoffs, which teams would you like to face there?

VKS Morttheus: I think a team everyone would love to face is T1. It’s a really tough choice. Their experience, their players, they are basically all legends. I think everyone dreams of one day playing against them. It would be an amazing experience.

Sofia: People were a bit disappointed at the start, but you’ve stayed alive in the tournament. What message would you like to send to those who doubted you, and, in a way, doubted the region too?

VKS Morttheus: Man, the message is that Brazilians never give up. No matter how deep we fall, no matter how bad the situation gets. We weren’t going to quit until we were actually out. As long as we still have a chance, don’t count us out. Sometimes the games might look a bit rough, but we’re giving it our all.

Sofia: What would you like to say to the fans who have supported and continue to support you throughout this Worlds run?

VKS Morttheus: This year has been really turbulent for us, so to everyone who believed from the start and never stopped believing, thank you. If you trusted us at the beginning of the year, you won’t stop now, because you know we’re still alive, and as long as we have a chance, we won’t stop fighting. A huge thank-you to everyone who keeps believing in us. We hope to keep bringing you even more.

Note: This article was originally written in Portuguese and translated into English, with slight adaptations made for clarity.

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