“The main thing is victory, and only victory”: an interview with Sunset Lover from the MLBB Mid Season Cup 2026
Team Spirit’s mid laner gave an interview to our website during the MSC 2026. Kemiran spoke to OFFSTAGE about his personal impact on team play, assessed the meta for his role, and shared his thoughts on Lilia.
Hi! The “fearless draft” was recently removed from MLBB tournaments—what do you think of the change? Did you like that system, or was it worse?
The Brave Draft was mainly used only in EECA. In all other regions, if it was used at all—for example, in Indonesia—it was only in the lower leagues. It’s a great mechanic for developing your hero pool and strategic thinking, but it’s hardly helpful for preparing for major tournaments because the meta changes after the regional leagues, and you have to practice new heroes. It all depends on the meta.
During the last MCC season, you had perfect stats for a long time with the highest KDA in the world, but you yourself said that you don’t pay attention to that. Would it be fair to say that stats and the number of deaths don’t matter to you at all—the main thing is for the team to win?
Of course, stats aren’t important to me. Let’s say you go 10-0, but you lose—those stats mean absolutely nothing. At best, people will praise you for playing well. In my opinion, that’s not particularly important. The main thing is victory—and only victory.
In your opinion, to what extent does the current MLBB meta depend on personal “records” or standout performances? Is it possible to win “solo,” or is teamwork more important and effective?
I don’t think it’s possible to win matches on your own. Teamwork is more important, especially now. Of course, someone might play better than their teammates. Let’s say the total result is 100%; one player might contribute 25% with their performance, and another 15%. But to influence the game by more than 30%... There’d be absolutely no chance of winning, since a team’s draft is built around its players. In other words, everything is done for each other and against the opponents. Teamwork is paramount here.
With the recent patches in MLBB, the junglers have been changed, and now they can join ganks right after the first jungle monster. Has this changed your mid-lane gameplay?
Right now, I have to play very passively in mid against Hirara, Fanny, and Baksia because they’re just too mobile. For example, Fanny and Hirara can start with “blue” so the buff doesn’t go to waste, and then head to mid lane once they reach level two. That’s why I sometimes have to play passively in situations where I could have been more aggressive before.
This also applies to our own laners, because, for example, Baksiy will start with a creep near the experience well and can immediately roll out for a gank. You won’t even have time to clear a wave at the exp lane before the jungler is already level two. He can show up and make your life miserable. You have to be careful against junglers like that—first figure out where he is, then dodge his gank.
This spring in the regional leagues, Zhuxin and Valentina were way ahead of all other mid laners in terms of effectiveness. How much do you like the current mid lane meta? Which other heroes stand out?
Zhuxin, Valentina, and Eidora are very strong. Overall, the meta is fine—it’s more support-oriented. A patch came out two weeks ago—before that, tanks were mostly played in the jungle, and you had to pick a late-game mage to support them. For example, Gord, Eve, and Zhu Xin herself. Back then, the mid laner was more of a damage dealer. Now, though, you’re a support who has to give your carry space and let them farm, because the assassins are in the jungle now, and they’re doing most of the farming.
Overall, there’s less gold in the mid lane, while in the jungle, on the contrary, there’s more, so all the attention is now focused there. I’ve suffered a bit because of this. I can’t pick late-game mages because the enemy Kor, with his high farm, will just one-shot me in two or three hits. I have to find a way to survive. It’s a bit annoying, but overall it’s playable. I can handle the support role.
Lilia is one of your signature heroes, and in March you put her at the very bottom of your tier list—the only one. Has anything changed since then? Or is she still bad on the pro scene?
I just don’t like Lilia in general; I don’t like that hero. Sure, there are compositions that work with her, but they lack mobility—they have three fighters and a couple of tanks. If you’re up against an assassin or a mobile marksman like Cloud, your impact drops to almost zero. Yes, Lilia is strong in the early game, but against someone like Valentina, she’s practically the worst mage—you’ll lose to her in a 1v1 matchup. Eve, Gord, and really any long-range mage will beat Lilia. And in team fights, it’s hard for her to hit mobile heroes.
