SEN Goldenglue: “I think we didn’t really get to show off all the progress we made as a team, and I think we pretty severely underperformed.”
Q: How’s the team holding up?
Goldenglue: I also didn’t really get to talk with them too much because they had to go to press, but I think we’re all pretty disappointed — to say the least.
I think we didn’t really get to show off all the progress we made as a team, and I think we pretty severely underperformed as a team today. So it just kind of sucks.
Q: Have you thought about the stylistic differences between the teams? Do you think those styles went wrong for SEN somehow today?
Goldenglue: I mean, yeah, I think typically a lot of times FlyQuest sort of prioritized stronger lanes, but maybe less engage or team fight potential.
I think we’ve always been a team that doesn’t really care about winning lanes as much — we just want to make sure we have a strong teamfighting comp. And when it comes to the third and fourth dragons, those important [soul] teamfights, that’s where we’re going to win the game.
I think it was pretty disappointing because today, in a lot of situations, we were getting picked over and over before teamfights started. And I think even then, our teamfighting wasn’t that cohesive today.
So yeah, that’s kind of what I think about the stylistic differences. [FLY] will also play a bit more of the flashy champions in general, especially in the jungle role.
Q: Perhaps surprisingly, Impact and DARKWINGS both performed really solidly today. What did you think about their level? Why wasn’t the team able to convert those leads into wins?
Goldenglue: Yeah, I think both individually did quite well today, and I just think that we didn’t do a good job of really connecting to each other in the game and utilizing advantages.
Like, we have our Viktor up 40 CS, and we need to be making sure we’re playing around him. Because a lot of times we’d make a play on Viktor, but then we’d get caught. So even though we’re in really good positions, we’re just not translating it into the game-winning teamfights and then winning the game.
Q: Despite qualifying for EWC, the team’s been eliminated really early from Spring. Do you think this shakes the faith of management — or the players — in the roster? Will SEN explore any roster changes?
Goldenglue: No, I don’t personally plan on making any changes. I mean, obviously anything can change at any point, but as of right now, I mean, we do have EWC. And I feel like overall this playoffs was an underperformance, [but] I still think on the year we’ve performed much higher than the initial expectations, right?
I don’t think anybody had us winning EWC qualifications or even going to [Americas Cup]. I mean, we’ve qualified for two international tournaments within six months. So I’m not going to look into changes, I’m just going to look at what we can improve on for our players and how we can improve for EWC — and then for the most important split of the year.
Q: EWC will be before Summer, so do you plan to take a break as a team, or will bootcamp to prepare?
Goldenglue: Yeah, so EWC is basically in six weeks. We’re definitely going to be taking a break. Not exactly sure how long that break is going to look like, but we’re going to be taking a break. HamBak and Rahel haven’t been back to Korea all year, like six or seven months.
So we’ll definitely be taking a break [and] we’re definitely looking into potential bootcamps before EWC. The interesting thing is that EWC is in Paris now, so there are a lot of logistics around flights and where we can stay.
I don’t know exactly if we’ll be bootcamping in Korea or Europe or where that would be. We’re basically at the point where we have to figure that out — because obviously we weren’t expecting to be eliminated.
Q: Since you’ll be going to the tournament on the back foot, how do you make sure the team’s able to take actual learnings away from it, coming back to LCS?
Goldenglue: Yeah, I mean, I think [we] need to make sure that we’re in a form where we can learn something from the best teams in the world — and that we don’t just get rolled over. I think that’s the most important part.
The thing that sucked about today’s games is that I felt like a lot of the losses came from us kind of tripping over ourselves: We’re not connected on the same page, we’re not engaging together at the same time.
Those are the things that matter the most whenever you’re playing better teams. It doesn’t matter to me as much if it’s the best possible angle, it’s more, are we doing this together as a team and trying to make something happen? Like, “If you go, I go.”
I think there are a lot of situations where one person engaged [but] other people weren’t ready. At least in my experience, when you go to internationals, your best shot is to be the most connected you are as a team, because they’re obviously going to be sharper than us. They’ve had better practice and better matches.
They’re going to be sharper than us, but we can be as cohesive as possible. That will basically be our best way to win versus these teams. So that’s kind of what we’re focusing on.
Q: We had a comms listen-in today where we saw that the team is still speaking Korean at times during fights. Do you think that multiple languages makes coordination harder? How do you, as a coach, improve their communication if you can’t speak any Korean?
Goldenglue: Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely not an easy job for me. We do have our manager who also speaks Korean, so I have people translate for me. I have multiple people who can translate for me [if necessary] about the sequence of things being said.
I actually talked with Impact after our loss, and he mentioned that, and I thought it was pretty interesting. He thinks we’re speaking too much Korean. And I kind of agree.
Obviously it’s complicated, because we have a multi-language team, but HamBak and Rahel’s English has improved a ton. But when we create an environment where there’s not an expectation for certain comms to be [in English] … How do I say this?
I think the main thing is that, like, we sometimes have the capacity to speak English, but the problem is it’s a little bit harder — it’s a little more, like, mental strain.
I think we are going to consider doing blocks where we only speak English and see how that goes. Because currently, we’ve had a hybrid system the whole time: If bot lane is talking, they can speak Korean. If jungle’s talking to bot lane, they can speak Korean.
I think we’re going to start experimenting with English-only blocks. Now that we’ve improved English enough, I think that is actually extremely important for us becoming more cohesive as a team.
Q: Did Impact bring that up specifically for DARKWINGS, or is it just a general team cohesion thing?
Goldenglue: He didn’t necessarily mention DARKWINGS when he said it, but he was just like, “We need to be connected as a team.” Obviously, Isaac’s the only one who doesn’t speak Korean, but it also counts for the coaching staff too, I think. […]
It’s a very difficult issue because you have less precise communication versus everyone being on the same page. That’s a difficult thing to solve. But I am interested in seeing how English-only blocks will work, and then we might move towards that as a permanent solution.
Q: That’ll be quite an adjustment. Will the mood on the team be alright? You’ve historically had some young, scrappy, vibe-y rosters — a la FlyQuest — but this team seems more mature and grounded. Is that accurate, or am I stereotyping old people?
Goldenglue: I think it’s still pretty vibey, honestly. I think it’s still good vibes. I think it’s a bit more stable. I would say it’s a bit more stable. It’s a little bit less up and down, but I do think we’re still a pretty good-vibes team.
Maybe it’s just not as much of a roller coaster as a younger roster. With FlyQuest, you can obviously see their highs and their lows — I think we’re a little more stable than that.
Q: Do you have any final message for SEN fans?
Goldenglue: No, just thank you guys for all the support. I mean, it’s disappointing. Our performance here is disappointing, and we’re going to work hard and make sure we do our best at EWC and then the final split of the year.
Header Image Credit: Riot Games
