SR Fudge: “I was already kind of hatewatching [Cloud9] last week. I was hoping DSG would win.”

Q: How much does “being underdogs/defying expectations” as the SR narrative factor into a series like this for you guys?

Fudge: I mean, it’s a lot different than when you have high expectations for sure. But to be honest, it’s not too much of a difference. When you’re on stage, you kind of forget about it a bit. But before the game, yeah, there’s less pressure. There’s less nervousness because everyone expects us to lose, expectations are low, right? From other people. So there’s not as much pressure externally. But once you’re in the game, kind of the same. 

Q: Is there nameplate pressure once you’re in-game? The pressure of knowing you’re facing FLY?

Fudge: I would say it does to a degree, of course. I mean, it’s delusional to say that if I’m playing against, I don’t know, some random Tier 2 player versus playing against Bwipo or something, that there’s going to be a difference in just mentality, I would say. I think we actually lowkey play better when the nameplates are people we respect as players.

When we play against DSG, for example, I think we do play a bit more loose. We do go for the individual outplays more, and that can cause more problems. […] 

Then obviously, when we play against FlyQuest, I think we do play a little bit more safe and slow and don’t go for as many risky outplay situations, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. It’s kind of just what it is. At certain games, you know, you’re going to play better because of it, and certain games are going to play worse. 

Specifically when you need to make plays, if you have that feeling of like, “Oh, this guy’s Inspired, this guy’s Bwipo,” and you don’t go for a play, but your champions require it, then it can turn out bad. But in games where it’s the opposite effect — for example, a Lucian-Nami game — we played very slow, very controlled, and they couldn’t really do anything because they didn’t have enough engage.

So it’s just game to game, comp to comp. And I don’t think it’s as big of an effect. Especially as of recent, just because we felt pretty confident in general as a team recently. But definitely, when you feel like you’re worse, it’s a pretty prominent thing in your mind while you’re playing. 

Q: To what extent is the “team playing around Contractz-Palafox instability/X-factor” narrative true?

Fudge: I don’t think we really put too much time thinking into […] making sure that they have a good game, [that] kind of thing. To be honest, I don’t really think the narrative holds too much space in our mind about them being coin flippy or whatever it is. 

I mean, maybe the games look like that. And obviously, it is true to a degree. When you’re a player, sometimes you’re gonna have […] days where you play poorly Game 1, or poorly Game 2, or whatever it is. And then it can affect you going into the next games. You feel more desperate, more impatient. I feel like you need to do more things, and it causes more and more, kind of like a spiral. 

I mean, it’s possible Cristian — Palafox — feels that way. I don’t think it’s super prominent or obvious to me, to be honest. I think there’s many times where we’ve played a game when he’s played poorly one game, and then the next game he played well. So it’s not really something I notice or think about very often. Yeah, it’s not really something I can speak to. 

I don’t think anything in our team really points towards us trying to fix or change or play towards that specifically.

Q: Interesting — that’s definitely the narrative interpretation though. You and Bvoy are the stable players that facilitate Palafox and Contractz, who may wake up in-form to take over games.

Fudge: Maybe. I mean, I could see that to a degree — there are times [like that]. It’s also just, I feel like top lane’s really easy to be stable in, to be honest. At least from this perspective, it just feels like it’s really easy. And ADC, I feel like, just revolves around your teammates for the most part. It does feel like they’re more stable roles. 

And whenever you’re behind on mid-jungle or something, it can really show like the gap, I guess. But I’m not sure I really see it that often.

I mean, Juan — Contractz […] — is more of the person to make that X-factor play. So I can see that, how there’s times where he looks bad and this time’s where he looks really good. Whereas I’m more of just, “Play towards our condition and not really do anything outside of it,” for the most part.

Q: Does that remind you of playing with Blaber?

Fudge: I think Blaber is a lot more impatient when in winning or even positions — Contractz doesn’t really do it unless it’s a clearly losing position. And I think that’s probably for the best, to be honest. ‘Cause you need those things, you know.

And I think that Blaber is a little bit more flippy when it’s even, or I think he can spiral a lot harder even [when] the game is even. And he can also make plays that aren’t necessary — a bit more than Contractz does. But I mean, there’s some similarities, I guess.

Q: Thoughts on C9’s strength in general?

Fudge: It does feel like C9 [play differently] on stage, to be honest. I mean, that’s kind of how it’s always been. I feel like even when I was on the team, our stage play was generally worse than scrim play. I’m not sure exactly the reason for it, but it could be the high expectations because of so many fans. It could be that, not sure. 

On stage, they’ve been looking definitely very shaky. […]

I don’t think it’s actually necessarily that C9 wasn’t playing well — don’t get me wrong —- against DSG. But DSG, I think, actually was also playing quite better than expectations. And I think they were actually pretty clean, generally. 

I mean, there was obviously a lot of games with those individual oopsies. But yeah, I think DSG actually played pretty well. And I think that’s also why they put up a fight against C9. 

I don’t think it’s all C9 just being bad. But I do think… […] I feel like the players don’t have the level. Maybe it’s just Blaber, I don’t know. It does feel like Blaber’s underperforming a bit recently, to be honest. 

We’ll see how that works up against 100 Thieves. 100 Thieves is a very flippy team in my head, to be honest. They always have been, but still are. I think Dhokla does bring some stability, because I do think he’s generally pretty level-headed, and he doesn’t really make anything too crazy happen. 

So yeah, I could actually see the series going both ways. I do think C9 is probably going to bounce back a bit better after they’ve had such terrible performances against us and DSG, and they probably will play a lot better. But it’s possible they get roped into the 100 Thieves style of fighting, fighting, fighting and then get tilted and tilt off the earth. Who knows.

Q: Are you gonna be rooting for C9 against 100T? Or just hatewatching?

Fudge: I’m not gonna lie, I was already kind of hatewatching last week. I was hoping DSG would win, so [I’ll be] hatewatching again.

Transcription help from @eonmoons