Early in 2012, the Dota-based Chinese
E-sports organization, LGD, created a League of Legends team. Since then a lot has changed for both the team and the organization, but even with a roster loaded with Korean superstars, finding a winning combination has been tricky.
by Michael "Tribble" Godani
Like most new teams, LGD didn't start in the LPL. They had to battle through many promotional tournaments to access the top competition of China, finally gaining entry to the 2014 Spring LPL after defeating Vici Gaming 2-1 in the 2013 TGA Winter Grand Prix. From that point, they held their own, staying in the middle of an eight team pack and making a fair run for the play-offs. Unfortunately, the team broke up on the last day of the Spring Split, but their fans were left with a good impression of their ability to handle the toughest the LPL had to offer. Since then, the team has been evolving.
LGD's current captain, support-player Chen “Pyl” Bo, joined the team in September 2012 after leaving Noah’s Ark, another LoL organization which is now disbanded. Zhu “TBQ” Yong-Quan joined the team just prior to their initial 2013 promotion series, and midlaner Wei “We1less” Lian was obtained from Vici Gaming in May of 2014. We1less is famous for having a very wide champion pool and, according to some, he is one of the Top 3 midlane talents in China, displaying great improvements in map awareness, warding and individual skill.
The team's line-up worked decently for the LPL's 2014 Summer Split, and LGD managed to qualify for the playoffs. Unfortunately, they got 3-0’d by both SHRC (the 2014 Worlds finalists) and EDG, who were superior that split. While they didn't qualify for Worlds through the regional finals either, they were at least showing signs of growth and they felt very positive for the future.
Then late in 2014, LGD made a few huge announcements. Korean players Choi “Acorn” Cheon-ju, Lee “Flame”Ho-Jong and World Champion Gu “Imp” Seung-bin would be joining the ranks. They are names well-known to the American LCS fans, along with the powerhouse teams they come from: Samsung Blue, CJ Entus and Samsung White respectively. But can they help bring LGD their first LPL title?
(*LGD is currently sitting in the fifth place spot in the LPL. This interview was done after Week 8 while LGD was still in the fourth place spot.)
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We first spoke with team manager, Pan "Ruru" Jie.
Last split, you guys didn’t manage to get passed OMG to qualify for Worlds. This year the critics have you as a Top 2 LPL team. How much pressure are you feeling to perform at that level and make it to Worlds?
- Yes, everyone from the players to the management have higher expectations for this year. Making it to the Season 5 World Championships is our main goal. After having acquired so many talented Korean players, having such great expectations from their team is not weird in any sense. Not only does the management think that LGD should have a big impact on the international scene, but also the journalists that follow the Chinese scene agree with this thought.
Acorn, Flame and Imp joined the ranks of LGD, so that is also a reason for the critics to expect more of your team this year. What do you expect from your staff and players?
- The Korean players brought with them a very hardworking attitude, and despite (Imp) having won Worlds before, it’s very rare to find players in China capable of working as hard as the Koreans.
How do you think you can come up with the most suitable line-up for the team? Do you feel that the frequent roster changes are helping the players, or creating unnecessary burdens?
- Honestly, changing the line-up affects not just the swapped players but also the rest of the team. Different players have different playstyles, and the other teammates have to adapt to the new players’ playstyles.
Teams with both Chinese and Korean players usually have some communication issues, as the team manager how did you try to solve this? How did the Chinese players face this problem?
- We tried having the Korean players learn Mandarin, and taught the Chinese players some English. (Actually the Chinese players know some Korean, and will use Korean to make calls such as when to group.
Next we spoke with team coach, Luo "BSYY" Sheng.
Most of the time, seeing LGD play is a joy for every League of Legends fan, but still we see some games that are being lost due to a lack of concentration perhaps? How do you see that for yourself?
- Every player takes competition seriously and focuses during the match, this is the basis of being a pro gamer and the attitude pros have to have. When the team loses a game it’s because they’re still going through the phase of learning how to adapt to each other, and they haven’t overcome this yet.
What is the main reason to let Acorn start the first game instead of Flame?
- I think that Acorn has slightly better synergy with the rest of the team and is a bit more stable, and I feel that this gives the team a better chance of winning the first game.
Is it hard to have to deal with the dilemma of having two toplaners who are close together in terms of skill or is it merely a luxury issue?
- It makes it more difficult to choose, both players are exceedingly talented.
What do you think is the strength and weakness of LGD at this point in the season?
- The team is good at teamfighting, but vision control in the early game as well as gank sense and pathing needs to be improved upon.
The playoffs are arriving in just a few weeks. What are the goals for LGD regarding those playoffs?
- To be 1st in Playoffs of course, and to be able to represent China as their number 1 team in the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) :)
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BSYY's statement on wanting to attend MSI as the #1 team in China shows just how serious LGD is taking their chances on the upcoming playoffs. Personally, I think that LGD will manage at least the semi-finals this split, but from there on it will be extremely hard since they will be facing teams such as OMG and EDG.
(From left to right: Imp, TBQ, Pyl, Flame,
We1less, Acorn)
For those who follow The True LOL Show, you know that Acorn is one of
the few Korean players who is actually quite happy
to be playing in China right now. We also had some
questions for him lined up:
It's been a few months now that you've been in China. How difficult has it been adapting to the playstyle?
- I think that it’s the same as it used to be, there hasn’t been much change. I think I fit in well with the rest of the team.
Is it difficult to have to compete with a player
such as Flame for the toplane spot?
- I just want to practice hard and have a good attitude about everything. Who starts for the team isn't something that I can decide.
How do you think that you personally can influence the
inconsistent results of LGD?
- I think that the team will improve tremendously once we solve the communication issues we currently have between team members.
Do you feel that the way the team is rostered now suits you? Is there anything you’d like to change about that?
- I think that the current way of fielding who’s playing better at the time is a good way to go about it.
Acorn has to compete
with Flame, who seems to be playing a bit less (whereas at the start of
the split both players would play one game each series). Flame, who came over
from CJ Entus, has to work with being a substitute in the current LGD team. His
thoughts on the current situation and his goals:
You made the step towards China, but instead of being
a starter you often come in at the second game, were you aware of the current situation
that you are in?
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In various sports there are always players who feel that having someone vie for their position will help to unleash their own potential, and help them improve. Do you feel that this logic is applicable to you?
- I’ve competed with someone for the same position before in the past, and I feel that it does make me work harder to up my own game.
When you were in Korea you very regrettably never won OGN Champions, how much do you want to win LPL right now?
- I will work very hard to take the LPL crown. Besides winning LPL, I also really want to improve my own skills
Do you think that you will have a definite spot on the team in the future? Or is it still too early to discuss this?
- Right now the most important thing is to raise my own skills, and then think about other matters.
We arrived now at one of the
players who have been in LGD for quite a while, TBQ (or Quan as most call him).
His thoughts on team synergy and the current jungle:
The new jungle has lowered Lee Sin a bit on the priority list for
junglers and yet he is still a top pick for you. How do you explain that?
- We don’t prioritize picking Lee Sin. We pick him if the team composition needs him, but I also have confidence that I can win matches on Lee Sin..
You are still a very young player but already with
quite some experience, how has the addition of the new players affected your
playstyle?
- Having new, strong players join the team definitely fires us up to play better. My playstyle depends on the patch as well as the playstyles of the other players as a team.
In China they tend to wait a long time before they
jump into the next patch. Can you say that with all the changes to the jungle
this is a good or a bad thing for you?
- There’s good and bad, but it’s ok as long as you can adapt to the patch. I play on the Korean server to get used to playing on new patches before they’re rolled out in LPL competitions.
One of the unwritten rules in any sports is that in order to improve your team's results. you have to improve your own qualities. What is a
point that you would really love to improve?
- Team, mid/jungle as well as support synergy. I also need to work on my champion pool.
Next we spoke to We1less, who, while perhaps is not
the most talkative person on the team, is still one of the most talented!
Great quadra kill on the Diana in your second game
against Snake last weekend, do the buffs that Diana has been given really make
her a top pick for competitive play?
- She was always a priority pick.
I see a lot of teams simply
giving Snake’s Baka his Xerath, the only champion he plays now. Also you
guys gave him the Xerath in Game 2. Is that because you prioritize other bans or perhaps it slipped through, or is it more that you know exactly how to deal
with him?
- All the team members thought that Xerath was still ok to deal with, and not as important to ban out as the other 3 champions.
Playoffs are on the
way and we can almost surely say that LGD is going to qualify for that. Until
that time, how do you individually think you can lift your team up just a bit
more?
- The team members are all working hard together, and I have to become stronger too!
How do you explain the
great games you guys play? Really, some games make me doubt if EDG is really
the current #1 in China and then you follow it up with a game where it just doesn't seem to work out all too well?
- Our team synergy still isn’t quite there yet.
Imp, one of the most
dominating ADC’s in LoL history had the chance to pick out any team he wanted and he chose to join the ranks of LGD because he insisted on playing with Pyl.
Let’s see how he has been doing until now in China.
Many people consider you to be the world’s best ADC, especially after your stellar performance to win S4 Worlds and your 2 pentakills during the competition. How has the new season and change in environment affected you (or changed your champion picks)?
- I haven’t changed much, I still feel like the same Imp.
Witnessing the old Imp’s godlike play around the map during teamfights and small skirmishes was always a treat. Is there any reason for you to have lost this “explosiveness” lately?
-
My old teammates could create better opportunities, so…
You’re now 4th in the LPL and people have fairly high expectations for LGD for the upcoming playoffs. How is the team intending to face up to this pressure?
- We will work hard to improve team synergy and communication, and achieve better results.
Some players in the West don’t quite feel as if China is the next strongest region after Korea, what are your personal thoughts on this?
- I think that there isn’t much difference between the regions’ leagues. We’ll see how everyone performs when they meet in competition.
Last but not least
the team captain, Pyl, had time to answer a few questions including about his
best “friend”.
China has a lot of great support players of which you
are one, but you have a World Champion as ADC by your side. Does
this give you a big advantage when laning or when you decide to roam with TBQ?
- Yes, Imp is very strong in lane and can frequently 1v2, which lets me roam comfortably with the jungler.
You have a very large champion pool, you are 3/3 with
Nami this season, how much of an advantage does having a large champion pool give to you and your team?
- I can compliment my ADC better, as well as try out more new team compositions.
Bard has just been released and I personally love the champion and his
kit. How do you think that Bard will do in the competitive scene and will you
be playing him soon enough?
- Just looking at his kit he seems pretty strong. Bard isn’t live on the Chinese server yet but I will definitely analyse him closely and play him a lot.
Some days ago on Twitter we saw your cat holding a
lollipop, did he eat that lollipop?
- Haha, he likes eating mice more.
Doubi, Pyl’s cat
I want to thank the entire team from LGD Gaming that made these short interviews
possible. Also thanks to Jenny Lee @ivorybells and one other anonymous person who translated my questions to Chinese
and the answers back to English.
LGD
Gaming has a few more games left this split before the playoffs start, you can
support them by watching the streams when they play and following them on
twitter and facebook.
Remaining
games for LGD in the spring split 2014:
April
3rd - King
April 6th - Vici Gaming
April
10th - Gamtee
April
11th - OMG
April
12th - Invictus Gaming
