As the League of Legends World Championship looms, we catch up with MAD Lions' support, Zdravets "Hylissang" Galabov. Amidst a coaching shift and rigorous preparations, Hylissang shares candid insights into the team's dynamics, mental resilience, and strategic adaptations. From coaching styles to maintaining morale and fine-tuning partnerships, Hylissang offers a look at how he and the rest of MAD have adapted their style heading into Worlds 2023. 

What are the biggest adjustments that need to be made in your practice without the head coach present with the team? 

At first, I was both happy and sad because, while Mac is going to be with his newborn — which is great news — he's also a huge part of the team. So, I was initially a bit scared about Pad stepping up as the main coach. But he has proved me wrong. He's been very, very good, hardworking, and we've done well so far. Our team is just so awesome with him. I'm looking forward to seeing how he's going to be on stage, but so far, it's been a pleasure working with him as a main coach.

What contrasts do you see between their two coaching styles?

Pad adds his own flavor to coaching. He and Mac are very similar, but he jokes around much more and is more relaxed. We haven't gone in-depth into the drafting stage with him yet, not like we have with Mac, so I can't compare them in that regard. But I think it's a bit more relaxed in scrims, and generally, there's more joking around.

Has he adjusted his approach much since taking on more responsibility?

No, not really. Honestly, his coaching hasn't changed much from when he was the assistant coach to now as the main coach. He seems to be performing the tasks in the same manner. The main difference is he's taking over more frequently and engaging in more conversations, which is necessary, of course.

Pad talked about how we would see a “very bombastic and in-your-face kind of MAD Lions” — do you anticipate it being much different from what we saw in the LEC, or simply a more refined version?

I get what he's saying. He's more about letting players choose what they're comfortable with, but of course, within the coach's approval. We tend to play champions we personally like — kind of our pocket picks, so that's probably what he means. And yeah, we also try not to dwell on negative thoughts during the game. Instead, we're about having fun and discussing things if they go south, not just ignoring them. So, right now, we're just focused on having a good time and not ending the bootcamp hating our guts. 

Hating your guts during the bootcamp — can you expand on that? Have you experienced that a lot during other Worlds campaigns?

Oh yeah, it happens a lot, especially at Worlds. You go there, play like 50 games a day, then start scrimming, and you're just burned out. You feel like your teammate is inting, but you don't say it, right? So it just gets worse. You don't feel like he's doing anything right, and it turns into a vicious cycle. But if you talk about it, understand his point of view, you get why he's doing it. If that part's missing, you feel like you don't want to play with him or something. That's the mistake.

What did that process look like in changing up your bootcamp approach? Your team has quite a bit of international experience — was everyone on the same page in approaching it different?

There was a plan going to Worlds — even Mac was contributing to that — that we have a schedule and that we align on what we should be doing throughout the day: when we're playing solo queue, when we're having fun, when we're going for dinner, when we have gym, and when we're having review — all these things planned. It's not spamming games all day long, and then you feel like crap going to bed and then the next day is exactly the same. This cycle is very exhausting and not productive. 

So there are activities involved, there's stuff to do as a team, and obviously, you have to play a certain amount of solo queue games as well so that you feel in shape. So yeah, there's just a good balance in between. And it comes from the coaching staff, and obviously, players contribute as well by being there on time and being ready to play scrims on a good level. It's a good mixture of everything.

Would you suggest your conditioning is a lot better than your previous Worlds campaigns?

I would say so. After one bad thing goes wrong, it's not like, "Oh my god..." My mental is very stable, strong, and I'm also good mechanically right now. I can say that's because of the things we do before the day starts, the more balanced schedule.

What have been your takeaways? Since the end of LEC, what have you been trying to do in order to fine-tune your duo with Carzzy?

It's about being on the same page. In the game, it's crucial to work together towards the same goal. The primary focus is understanding our collective intentions during the laning phase: how we plan to manage wave pushing, execute wave freezes, decide on roaming, place vision, and strategize our attacks on the opponent. It's all about moving in sync during the game instead of operating disjointedly. That's what I've been working on with Carzzy.

Now that you've had more time to find success as a duo — what adjustments have you made with Carzzy? 

I think Carzzy's really adaptive. You can talk to him, point out what you think he's doing wrong, what he's improved on, how you'd like him to approach the game. The only tricky part is knowing when to give this feedback. Sometimes I'll tell him something, and he reacts the wrong way. But that's on me because I didn't choose the right moment, especially if he was emotional post-game. 

That's the only issue I've had with Carzzy, but it's completely understandable and normal. So, if you catch him at the right time and are clear about what needs improvement or discussion, he's very grounded. He's open to talking game strategy, willing to change his viewpoint, and it's easy to make progress with him. Honestly, I've had the easiest time working with him.

This interview was condensed and edited for length and clarity.