Esports
The LCS has changed a lot with Mark 'MarkZ' Zimmerman as commissioner. Blaber and Jojopyun give their view on the LCS’s direction and look to the future with Thanatos and Reapered joining their team.
The League of Legends LCS Summer Season is fast approaching and Cloud9's Robert 'Blaber' Huang and Joseph 'Jojopyun' Pyun are well prepared for revenge.
The Spring Playoffs didn't go to plan for Cloud9. They fell short against a much improved Team Liquid, who would go on to win the title. After missing out on qualification for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), it has been a long break from competitive play for the jungle and mid duo.
The pair spoke to reflect on what went wrong in spring, as well as look forward to the future with Park 'Thanatos' Seung-gyu joining the team, the LCS changing to best-of-threes and the possible introduction of fearless draft to the top level of pro play.
Jojopyun, this was your first split on Cloud9. How have you found your time so far with your new team-mates?
My first split on Cloud9 was great. Besides the result, I got along really well with my teammates and the organisation has treated me great so far. I’m very grateful to be here.
Can you talk briefly about why you think Cloud9 wasn't quite able to qualify for MSI. What went wrong in-game?
I think there were a lot of reasons why we didn't make MSI. We didn’t have a good idea on how we wanted to play the game. Basically, our ideas on how to play the mid–late game didn't always align with each other.
There were sentiments that Cloud9 was unconnected and played more as individuals. Is that something you agree with?
I agree partly with the sentiment. I don't think any of us wanted to play as individuals, but our ideas weren't always aligned. Towards the end, we tried to just make one play, even if it was worse or not what we believed in, just so we could at least be on the same page.
Jojo, you tweeted that you know what to fix for the next split, can you elaborate on that?
The most important thing is to get on the same page, since we have five very good players individually. We need to fix our mindset and peak at the right time.
How do you feel about Thanatos joining the team as your new top laner and Reapered rejoining as C9's coach?
I'm excited to work with both Thanatos and Reapered. I watched Thanatos play in LCK CL, and he’s definitely someone I'm looking forward to playing with. As for Reapered, I would say we worked pretty well together in the past, so it's good to be reunited again.
What are your thoughts on the LCS changing the format to best-of-threes?
I'm quite excited for the LCS to change to bo3s. I've never played in a bo3 regular season before, so I'm looking forward to it.
A change that was brought in for the LCS is the pre-recorded drafts during the regular season. Did you like this change?
I thought the change was really good for broadcast and I liked the smooth transitions between the games when I was watching.
Does that extra time to reflect on the drafts before playing have a significant effect on matches?
I wouldn't say it isn't significant, but it definitely has an effect. For example, if someone were to pick a matchup you've never played before, you're able to ask your teammates to practice the matchup with you beforehand, whereas before you would have to go into the matchup blind.
How do you feel about the LCS seemingly encouraging trash talk more than ever?
I think it’s completely fine if it's not forced. Players should be able to show their personality.
Something the NACL has implemented this year is fearless draft. Could you give your thoughts on the system and whether it's something you'd like to be implemented in the LCS and internationally?
As a viewer, fearless would be fun to watch since the same champs are always played. As a player, it would be fun to have to learn how to play more niche or unique champs.
Could you talk about your time on an academy team. Do you think it was important in your development as a pro?
I thought academy helped me understand how the pro scene works and the lifestyle of a professional player. There are similarities in academy that allowed me to easily adjust.
