Slingshot’s Andrew Kim talked to Team Liquid’s Kim “Reignover” Ui-Jin (in Korean and translated to English) during Week 1 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series.
Andrew Kim: That seemed like a very disappointing loss for Liquid. What do you think the biggest reason you guys lost today?
Kim “Reignover” Ui-jin: There were a lot of problems ranging from game play to drafting, as well as communication. I think we need to get back to the gaming house and talk about the games right away.
AK: You mentioned drafting, and there was an odd pick in Game 3 with the Kalista pick. Did you have a specific strategy in mind?
KUJ: I thought the draft for Game 3 was pretty OK. In the case of Kalista and Thresh, the laning is very strong, so we would snowball that after making plays in the bottom lane and transition that to the whole team. But we ended up losing a team fight that we shouldn’t have lost, which was the reason why we lost. In the second game, we took Rek’Sai, but it’s usually with strong lanes, and we picked losing lanes in all three games, so I couldn’t do much. I think we’ll be better if we fix that.
AK: Right now the meta seems to be very jungler-centric. Do you find this meta to fit your play style?
KUJ: I think I haven’t gotten used to the current meta 100 percent, so I’ll have to play some more. I can’t really say it’s my meta, since I’m more of a supporting jungler that assists other lanes, and if I play picks like Rek’Sai, it’ll be OK. But if I play a carrying jungle, I’m not totally used to it, so I need take more time and play those games.
AK: One of the news items for Team Liquid was the return of Chae “Liquid” Gwang-jin. As much as fans were looking forward to it, there were also some concerns. For you, did you have any concerns when you heard he would join the team?
KUJ: I was worried when I knew I was going to play apart from Huni (Heo Seung-hoon), but I had no concerns in playing with Piglet. I have no concerns at all so I just want to focus on fixing mistakes from the team.
AK: A lot of Korean players joined the NA LCS this season. Why do you think so many chose this year to join?KUJ: Since they were playing in Korea, and some of the foreign players that joined were in Korea, so they might have not have spots in Korean teams, and although life in Korea is comfortable, maybe they wanted to play while learning English. There is a trend where American teams pay a little better than Korean ones, so I think that might have played a large role in their decisions.
AK: In your opinion, where would you place Team Liquid in the LCS?
KUJ: If we can fix all of our problems, we can be in the top three. But just based on the game play today, I think in the middle. But if we work hard, we’ll do well.
AK: Is there something in particular that you have found most beneficial about joining Team Liquid?
KUJ: I was always happy with the coaching staff. I really appreciate my teammates’ personalities and work ethic as well as the atmosphere.
