AL Flandre: “The part I’m really looking forward to right now is whether I can have the jersey exchange from T1.”

Q: How is Vancouver? Any jet lag?

Flandre: After coming to Vancouver, we adapted really well to the food. And also, the hotel is good as well. 

We haven’t adapted well to the jet lag. I think the first two days were kind of a very hard time for us, because after we slept two or three hours, then we woke up and couldn’t sleep again. But today, it feels like we generally feel very good, so no worries about us.

Q: If G2 wins, you’ll face FLY. What do you think about that matchup?

Flandre: We have already did a full mental preparation, because we felt like, for today, either G2 or GAM will qualify to the next round. Our potential opponent will be either FlyQuest or T1. 

No matter which opponent we’re going to face off against, we have already done some mental and also some team preparation, so we’re not too worried about that. 

Q: FlyQuest seems like an interesting matchup, because the West hasn’t had many strong teams in a while. Bwipo mentioned that he’s really excited to play against you. What do you think of Bwipo?

Flandre: Similarly, I’m also really looking forward to play against Bwipo. Because, in my perspective, if one champion got picked, there’s some [established] counter picks against those champions. But Bwipo can always bring some new or unexpected picks — and find very good counters. In the end, he can always find a win and go further. All the pocket picks from Bwipo work really well on stage.

I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be a very interesting Bo5 if we face off against FLY, I think.

Q: What’s your favorite part of international events outside of the game? Anything you’re looking forward to?

Flandre: The part I’m really looking forward to right now is whether I can do a jersey exchange from T1. That’s what I really care a lot about.

Our mid laner Shanks and I, the two of us, are really, really, really huge, big fans of Faker. So we keep struggling and fighting for the chance to do a jersey exchange with T1 and Faker. 

If I can’t get this opportunity, maybe I’ll have a jersey exchange with Ruler. But also, if Shanks gets the chance to exchange the jersey with Faker, I’ll be there as well, because I really would like to have a picture together with Faker.

Q: Would you be jealous if Shanks traded jerseys with Faker but you couldn’t?

Flandre: The only thing I can do under that situation is, I’ll just watch the two of them exchange their jerseys with a very jealous face, and then I’ll just wait for the photo together with Faker. 

I’ll just try to calm down. I’ll try my best to hide my jealous face.

Q: Are there other players, especially from the West, that you’re looking forward to meeting or facing?

Flandre: Bwipo. That would be definitely pretty cool, because we have met each other — not on the stage, but in an interview previously. After that, we really [wanted to] face off against each other one day on stage. 

Q: Are you the person that keeps the vibes and energy up on the team?

Flandre: In terms of energy, yeah, I’ve got a lot of energy, but I rank myself as the second person in my team because the top one will always be our mid laner Shanks. I don’t know why he’s always so energetic, like, never feels tired. And also, even if he throws a game, he’s just like, “Oh, I had some mistakes here and there.”

He always has a very optimistic mindset, and won’t let losses affect the next game. Sometimes, if I just lost a game, I feel a little bit annoyed. But for him, never. He’ll just be like, “Yeah, I had some mistakes, but I’ll not let this game’s loss affect my next game.”

Q: Generally, people say the best top laner in the world is either you or Kiin. What do you think?

Flandre: I don’t really care a lot about who’s the strongest top laner, because I feel like the one who helps the team bring the final trophy, to be the champion, is definitely the strongest one.

So what I need to do is really concentrate on my own next opponent and not be influenced or affected by the external effects. Just concentrate on my own game, and together with my teammates, try our best to go further. 

Q: What’s it like working with Tabe? He’s been praised heavily by the English-speaking community.

Flandre: I feel like Tabe has a very good read on the meta changes. Immediately, he’ll let us just try to prepare or practice more of the buffed champions. 

For example, I know in one meta, Warwick got buffed. He immediately told me, “Oh, you need to practice more on this champion.” And after that evening, Riot Games have renerfed this champion. Yeah, that’s a sad story. 

But after that, I [realized] Tabe did a super good job. And because he has his own ideas, instead of just following the mainstream, like what other teams picked in draft, he likes to just create his own compositions and match our champion pools. Because of that, all of us can really play very comfortably. 

So I would like to give a big shout out to Tabe. He’s a really great coach, and I really appreciate him.