Golden Guardians' win over Evil Geniuses in week 5 of the 2020 League of Legends Championship Series Summer Split was far from perfect from other side, but featured the best individual performance of the split thus far. GG Jungler Can "Closer" Çelik hard-carried on Lee Sin to an  incredible 12/3/11 KDA. After the match, Closer spoke to Inven Global's Nick Geracie about Lee Sin's place in the meta and the changes in his LCS experience from spring to summer.

Closer, your win against Evil Geniuses could only be described as a banger, but despite the back and forth nature of the game, you were phenomenal individually. Would you say this is your best game in LCS so far?

*Laughs* Yeah, I think this might be my best game so far. Right now, I'm just really tired because it WAS a banger game! *Laughs* It was really stressful, but we ended up winning the game, so I'm really happy.

Lee Sin is in an interesting spot in the current meta for Junglers. What was your game plan heading into this match?

Lee Sin was a really risky pick for this game. For example, my first death was getting one-shot by Daniele "Jiizuke" di Mauro's Leblanc because I was really squishy. In the early game, I didn't know how to play, but after that death, I kind of figured out how should play the fights.

After that, it was really easy: I was starting off the fights by kicking Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen's Trundle most of the time, and my team would just trust me and follow me. I was not hesitant and I was confident in going for kicks and picking off members of the enemy team. I think it pulled us really far ahead, and because of that, it was a good game. 

How do you make Lee Sin succeed in a meta of power-farming or tank-focused jungle champions?

*Laughs* I don't know the answer, but I think today's win specifically was about the draft. Lissandra and Lee Sin was a really strong draft duo for Mid/Jungle.

Lee Sin is not the best pick right now, but he's clearly good in some situations. If you are a really good Lee Sin player I think you can always find the windows to make an impact on the game. That could just be as simple as one teamfight where you kick the enemy AD Carry into their teammates. I think Lee Sin has a very high mechanical ceiling, and if you can use it well, you can change the game. There is always a chance to make a difference.

What has it been like developing synergy with your new Mid Laner Tanner "Damonte" Damonte?

Synergy comes from playing more and more with your teammate. The more you play, you learn how to play within each other's playstyles. I'm usually shotcalling everything in the game, and if we have the right synergy and picks, we end up getting ahead or at least being comfortable. I'd say we're doing well on developing synergy.

You had a great LCS Spring Split and Golden Guardians qualified for the post-season. How do you think the team has improved since that time?

Well, we beat Evil Geniuses, and we've had a lead against every team in the league in the early game, even Cloud9. We were ahead 2,000 gold against C9 but we ended up making mistakes. In other games, we've had draft issues, and in other games, we've just played really badly.

I'm not worried about any specific team being a problem for us in the future. We've shown we have the capability to beat every team if we continue to improve. If we keep improving like this come Summer Playoffs, we will be in a good spot.

Has your perspective on competing in the LCS changed after proving yourself in the Spring Split?

When I first came to the LCS, I didn't know much in terms of what to expect because I had never played against many players at this level of fame or talent. However, a few weeks into starting scrims, I gained confidence that I was going to do well in this league. I think that I have done well so far, and the time that I've built trust with my teammates gives me confidence. I think I perform well because of that confidence.

Thanks for speaking with me, Closer. I know you're tired after that match, so is there anything you want to say to the Golden Guardians fans before you go?

*Laughs* Yeah, I think in the end, the quality of this win doesn't affect us too much. We are going to continue to learn how to get better and stay on top form by the time we reach the best-of-five series in the Summer Playoffs. Thanks for all of the support, and please, keep supporting us. Our goal is to be really strong in the post-season, and I think we're going to achieve that. 

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