Gaming
Gaming
How Alphari and Maxlore are training for Worlds
The UK's finest League of Legends players tell us how they're preparing for the biggest tournament of their lives.
The 2017 Summer Split saw British League of Legends top-laner Barney 'Alphari' Morris and jungler Nubar 'Maxlore' Sarafian reunited on the Rift. Misfits’ dynamic duo led the team through a thrilling play-offs stage where they shocked viewers with wins against Unicorns of Love and Fnatic to guarantee qualification for the World Championships. Both players have been a big part of Misfits’ success and their carry plays have given them the tools they need to carve out a new legacy.
We caught up with Alphari and Maxlore to discover how they’ve been preparing for Worlds.
Maxlore in action for Misfits
© LoL eSports Flickr
How have you been preparing for Worlds? What things are you doing to take your gameplay to the next level?
Alphari: Straight after the EU LCS finals I went to Korea to spam soloq to try and improve as much as possible individually from playing 20+ games a day on what is by far best soloq server.
Maxlore: Doing the same as I’ve always been doing. Playing ranked games, watching vods and always looking for improvements in my gameplay.
Has your training changed at all? What are you doing differently?
Alphari: Playing more soloq and taking it more seriously (it’s a lot easier to take Korean soloq seriously than it is for EU).
Maxlore: No, I’ve just changed my approach to the game.
I normally try to be as happy as I can before the games, so I make myself a cup of tea!
How do you prepare mentally? Are there any special techniques you use?
Alphari: I don’t think I really do anything,. Perhaps I just think about players I respect – such as Untara, Cuvee, Khan, Smeb, Marin, Sohwan – and acknowledge that there’s no reason for them to better than me, except for if they practice longer or harder than me, so I just need to match them in that regard.
Maxlore: I normally try to be as happy as I can before the games, so I make myself a cup of tea!
Alphari has been spamming soloq in Korea
© LoL eSports Flickr
Do you have any specific fitness regimes and do you think it’s important as an eSports athlete to stay fit and keep sharp?
Alphari: No, but I think it’s up to the individual, although spending too much time keeping fit (more than one hour a day I would say) could be harmful to the amount of practice time there is.
Maxlore: I think it’s important but I don’t do it.
Does having a healthy nutritional diet help your performance?
Alphari: I don’t think so, at least it’s never been something I’ve incorporated or tried to incorporate into making me a better player.
Maxlore: I think it’s important especially since I’m not doing much exercise. It’s pretty easy for me to keep a diet to as my willpower is not weak.
How do you relax during your downtime?
Alphari: Watch TV or browse Twitter.
Maxlore at the EU Summer finals
© LoL esports Flickr
How do you keep up morale when things get tough?
Alphari: I remind myself that it’s part of the job and overall this job is pretty great. Also, that I’m a good enough player with a good work ethic [that will help me] achieve whatever I want to achieve.
How do you get into the zone?
Alphari: I don’t know. I don’t really think there is a zone that I go into. I get slightly nervous before important matches but I think that’s natural for nearly everyone and I have confidence in myself.
What are your prospects going into Worlds?
Alphari: It would be nice to get out of group stages, but personally I think the thing I’ll hope for most from Worlds is being able to learn and improve from playing against great teams and having so much time to play Korean soloq.
It would be good to play against Cuvee and Untara – they are both really good top-laners
Lastly, who are you most looking forward to facing?
Alphari: Samsung or SKT would both be fun to play against, even though we’d have a good chance of getting smashed. It would be fun to play against Cuvee and Untara – they are both really good top-laners who are well rounded in their playstyles and champ pools and have good lane phases. TSM could also be fun to play against, just to see how I’d fare against some of the best top-laners in NA.
