[Worlds 2020] JDG LvMao: "We changed our team's history this year, so maybe we will come back even stronger next year."

Oct 16, 2020

In what was considered an upset by many, Suning Gaming took down JD Gaming in the League of Legends 2020 World Championship quarterfinals. This was Suning's first series victory against JDG in almost 800 days, and JDG showed that frustration in the post-game. JD Gaming coach, Homme, took much of the blame in the press conference that followed, calling out his drafts as a large part of the reason for their failure.

You can watch the press conference here, or read the transcript below:

(To coach Homme) JDG was thought to have a style of scaling and funneling all the gold into Kanavi, but people think that since Kanavi started to underperform in summer that JDG lost its style. What are your thoughts on these comments?

Homme: It's maybe because I wasn't doing the best job, but I also think players can have ups and downs. Still, I don't think something player-related was the critical reason for it.

(To Zoom) You played against Gangplank three times in a row this series, which is one of Bin's best picks. What was your plan to shutdown GP?

Zoom: Actually, I didn't manage to get a lead in the beginning, but because Gangplank is a late game champion, there are opportunities to grow a lead as the game continues before it gets too late.

(To Kanavi) What went wrong in today's series, and overall, how was your first World Championship?

Kanavi: I think we performed worse at Worlds 2020 and made more mistakes, so that's why we lost. This was my first World Championship, and my journey ends at quarterfinals, but if I can, I'd like to extend my run in the future.

(To Homme) Even though JDG's journey at Worlds 2020 is over, overall, the season was very successful for the organization in terms of performance. Is there anything you'd like to tell your players?

Homme: Everyone worked really hard, so I want to say that I appreciate all of the hard work. Because of me, we were not able to extend further past the quarterfinals, but I hope all of my professional players remember this experience. I hope that maybe next year the JD Gaming players can go further on the Worlds stage.

(To Homme) You've taken down Suning all year in the League of Legends Pro League. What changed that put your team at a disadvantage in this series?

Homme: First off, I think Suning had a bigger champion pool and far better preparation than we all expected. To be honest, I think there are two clear reasons we lost today. The first is that our players made far more mistakes than usual, and also, maybe I should have picked a better composition for the players to come back after making mistakes in the early game.

Perhaps we should have gone for the late game comps, but coming into the series I thought we should take a lot of action and go for early game setups. I focused on early-game oriented picks in the draft, but I'm thinking I maybe should have gone for more late-game focused picks.

(To Kanavi) What are your thoughts on Lilia? She seems to be a very polarizing pick at Worlds 2020 with mixed results.

Kanavi: If Nidalee and Graves are not available, I think Lilia is quite good.

(To Homme) Suning is in semifinals now, and Top Esports plays tomorrow. How do you see the level of the LPL this year? Do you think China will win its third World Championship in a row?

Homme: I'm not really sure who is going to win Worlds this year, but I want to say that DAMWON Gaming, Top Esports and Suning look really strong. I think all three teams have a very strong top side of the map, and in the current meta the team with the stronger top side is in a better spot. I think those three teams will continue to perform well.

(To LvMao) LoKeN has spoken about how much you've helped him grow. What is something in his level of play at Worlds 2020 that you are proud to have helped develop?

LvMao: I think LoKeN has really grown a lot and modified a lot of the parts of his game in which he didn't do as well in the past. I think he played quite well.

(To Homme) It has been a tough journey where a lot came down to narrow margins this season. Overall, what are the positives you will take from the players' development and reaching Worlds 2020 after showing potential in 2019?

Homme: I wish we could have reached higher, but the fact that we made it to the quarterfinals is because these players have been working so hard and have developed so much throughout the year. Also, our players didn't perform as well we usually do today, but I think we were less desperate than Suning than therefore made more mistakes. We were first looking for early game picks and then we had to mix them up for the late game. However, our players are such great players that I believe they can do even better next year.

(To LvMao) How would you like to comment on this year's performance? Have you made any conclusions now that the season has ended?

LvMao: Actually, I didn't manage to perform that well in this matchup. I made some mistakes, so I feel pitiful that we didn't manage to grab the victory. However, we have changed our team's history this year, so maybe we will come back even stronger next year.