Q: What’s going wrong compared to LTA?
Yeon: I think we’re making pretty similar mistakes to how we’ve always been, to be honest. I don’t really see that much difference from our gameplay from when we won at LTA playoffs versus right now. Because it’s not like we won cleanly, in the playoffs especially. It was just that we made more good plays.
Whenever we made a bad play, we made two more good plays to back it up.
Q: Do you think the region as a whole is just getting weaker?
Yeon: I think it’s hard to judge an entire region based off individual performances on the team, especially at Worlds and this tournament.
I think if all five players aren’t playing that well, then it’s gonna be not very clean. I would say the Eastern teams usually have, at the very least, four players playing very well, but I think TES had players that did not play very well individually in that series against KC.
Q: How are you going to resolve those individual mistakes, then?
Yeon: I think we’re playing definitely a little bit worse, but I genuinely just don’t think we’re playing the game.
It’s as simple as that. I’m pretty sure that, in LTA playoffs, even though we were making a lot of mistakes, we were still proactive. I don’t really feel that right now. We have to wake up.
Q: Is that a shotcalling thing?
Yeon: No. I think individuals just have to play a lot better. I think every inch you give an enemy team, they will take it one by one, so you have to push them off at the very least or do something else. But if we’re just AFK, not playing the game, it’s always gonna be hard. Even against NA teams.
Q: How does the team deal with something like Spawn having to leave mid-series?
Yeon: I mean, Swiffer is just the person who leads the draft at that point, and then players chime in. I think he’s very smart. I think he does well. Obviously, people will make mistakes, but I think he’s a very smart individual. We have a lot of faith in him.
Q: How are you feeling about your level as a bot duo in lane?
Yeon: I mean, I don’t think we’re playing to that win condition right now, so maybe we have to change it back a bit. But I think we are making a little bit more mistakes than we did before. I still think we are probably very good laners compared to everyone else as well in the Western Region.
Q: In Game 2, what was the thought process behind the Ziggs/Corki assignments? Did you think about taking Corki mid with APA on Ziggs ADC?
Yeon: No, because APA is very good on both Ziggs and Corki. And Corki just does better into Yone than Ziggs, so that was pretty much it. In my opinion, I probably pilot both of the champions pretty similarly as well, so I didn’t really mind. If it was better for the draft, I took the Ziggs.
Q: So speaking of those picks, do you think the Kalista-Draven style is just worse now? So you have to pick champs like Corki?
Yeon: No. I just don’t think we played for it. I think maybe based on how Game 1 went, we probably should have not opted into [the passive ADC style], because I think we were very asleep at the wheel in the first game, and we generally weren’t playing the game.
So I think I had to take a more assertive/leadership role, and then just pick a very strong champion — even if I don’t know what it would have been. So we will just go back and have more chats.
Q: Is that your gameplan into HLE tomorrow too?
Yeon: I mean, today is a different story because we’re playing against different players. What worked well — or should have worked well — today might not work tomorrow, so we’re probably gonna have to see what it is.
Q: How do you even take advantage of a bot lane as strong as Viper-Delight?
Yeon: So the way I view it is, that they’re insanely good, and I think they’re they’re top of their roles. I think their play style is definitely a little bit more opposite to ours. I don’t think they’ll go for the 110% play. But, obviously, they’re very good, and I have a lot of respect for them. [I’m] very excited to face Viper again.
Q: You’ve been an LCK fan for a long time — how does it feel to play in LoL Park?
Yeon: I really enjoy playing LoL park, especially when we won the the first match. I got more of a rush than I did winning both finals. It was very nice. I really enjoy playing here. I like the setup and everything.