LR Nemesis: “I think we did quite well. […] I guess my goal was to reach playoffs.”
Q: After that loss, are you the kind of person who keeps every scenario in their mind, nervously watching the rest of the day, or do you prefer to let things play out as they will?
Nemesis: Whether we’re in playoffs or not [will depend on] the rest of the matches, so it’s kind of, like, out of our hands — but we have a good chance to still be in playoffs. […]
I’ll watch the matches and the results, but I don’t have every scenario in my head… like a nerd, I guess.
Q: You’ve been praised for your performance, alongside LR in the resurgence. Do you agree with the community sentiment about your level of play?
Nemesis: I don’t really focus or think a lot about what other people have to say because it’s going to be negative or positive at any given time.
Yeah, I just played my game. We were in a very bad spot, obviously 0-4 — we were in a much tougher position than any other team, I would say. So the fact that we are here now, we still have a pretty good chance at making playoffs — I think we did quite well.
And I mean, I guess my goal was to reach playoffs. I’m hoping that’s going to come true today.
Q: Regardless of where LR ends the regular season, most people hold the opinion that you’re much stronger. Do you have an idea of where you’d rank LR in terms of strength?
Nemesis: I think you can never really judge things based on scrims, because there’s too many teams that play either too well or too bad in scrims — and then on stage it’s completely different.
I think it’s fair to say that we are a lot better than we were in Week 1, and maybe we look a bit better now than we used to. But I also think it’s Bo1s, [so] you shouldn’t really over-judge teams.
I think Bo1s are extremely random; even the best teams can drop games or the worst teams can win games.
Q: Do you think MKOI and G2 are struggling with that randomness, or are they actually at a much lower level than expected?
Nemesis: I have a really hard time judging other teams. We didn’t scrim all the teams — and even if you scrimmed them two weeks ago, every team can look completely different week-to-week and they can change a lot. It’s very hard for me to judge any team. Of course, people look on paper and they see players from G2, MKOI and stuff like that, and they obviously think they’re very good players, so they expect those teams to be on top.
I do think G2 will turn it around — because they always do and they’ve shown this every year at this point — they’re just really good when it matters. […] For the rest, I guess we’ll have to see.
Q: Do you watch a lot of other teams’ games?
Nemesis: I watch other games before we play them, usually, because then it sticks into the memory the freshest.
Q: With all of that, have any mid laners stood out to you (obviously, with the exception of Caps)?
Nemesis: I would say Poby, probably, was actually the toughest mid laner I faced, at least in scrims and onstage. Like, he plays really, really well [on] his champions. He was probably like the biggest surprise to me. […]
That’s mostly in lane because … out of lane is a lot harder to judge.
Q: So do mid laners just improve when they leave Fnatic? You, Humanoid, Poby…
Nemesis: Do mid laners do better when they leave Fnatic? I mean, probably, because usually they talk about how depressed they are when they’re there — and then they leave and they’re usually happier.
Q: And you’re happier right now, too — you’ve talked about that.
Nemesis: Yeah, of course I’m happier.
I mean, it’s also a different time, right? A lot of years have passed — back then, there were a lot of problems. Not just in the game. Mostly outside the game. Living life was not easy.
Q: Different time — and now you have a sick beard too. Do you do a lot of beard care? It looks super clean.
Nemesis: No, I don’t do anything. I trim it maybe once a week, once it gets too long a little bit, [and the trim is] probably really badly done. I just have good genes … and I feel like I have more aura. That’s why I have the beard.
It’s mostly genetics.
Q: How do teams and players prepare for playoffs after weeks of Bo1 games and scrims? It’ll change a lot as playoffs start, right?
Nemesis: It’s… I would say it’s very… I’m trying to think of [an appropriate] word I’m supposed to use here, but I just think it’s a horrible experience as a pro player, in a lot of senses.
Just to give a random example, playing solo queue on a completely different patch for weeks and weeks, and then having to make solo queue and stream with the new season. Then it’s like, the new season isn’t even the same [on release] as it was weeks ago when you scrimmed on — allegedly — the same patch. They changed the patch completely, you know, while it was still on PBE. So you have to, again, relearn the game.
It’s like … sometimes they just delete a champion or a buffer champion completely randomly out of nowhere, like, “Okay, now the meta is gonna change completely.” […]
[Playoffs] are gonna be a lot different, because right now everybody’s practicing Bo1s. You’re playing 500 games of Azir-Orianna and all of a sudden you’re gonna walk into Bo3s and you’re gonna be first-timing some matchups you haven’t even played in scrims. So it’s not easy and, yeah, it doesn’t go smooth.
Q: Do you see yourself as someone who adapts well to those constant changes?
Nemesis: I see myself as someone who complains a lot, but — at the end of the day — I do what I have to do in order to win. I do what I have to do in order to adapt.
So, I would say I adapt quite well, yeah.
Q: Any final message to LR fans today?
Nemesis: Well, I really hope we make playoffs. I’m kind of cheering for all the teams that will basically lock us into playoffs today and… it would really suck to be eliminated here.
I think we had a little bit too much fun today. I think the game was extremely winnable and we messed up in so many scenarios — I’m not particularly happy with the result today.
Header Image Credit: Riot Games
