On day 19 of the 2022 LCK Spring split, DWG KIA took a 2-0 victory over Liiv SANDBOX in the second match of the day. Heo “ShowMaker” Su pulled out a new champion in the mid lane, Veigar, to take a commanding victory in game 1. Game 2 was more neck to neck for most of the game, but all DWG KIA needed was one teamfight to destroy LSB’s Nexus.

After the match, ShowMaker joined Inven Global for a post-match interview to share how he ended up picking Veigar, his signature champion Katarina, as well as his thoughts on enchanter mids, which garnered a lot of attention when it was picked by Cloud9 in the LCS.

Thoughts on the victory?

I think game 1 was a pretty clean victory. We felt we were behind in most of game 2, but I feel that we made a good comeback victory. Today felt like we grew a lot as a team, because we won games with different patterns.

All it took was one teamfight for DWG KIA to win game 2. Can you give me more details about how that game went from your perspective?

Our team composition was really strong if we were able to take the proper teamfight, but it was hard to start the fight against LSB. I think that game 2 got dragged on because both teams tried to play flawlessly, but we were able to come out on top because we capitalized on the enemy’s mistakes.

I saw a clip of you being in awe of how well the enemy Veigar played in solo queue. Tell me how you ended up picking Veigar tonight.

Ever since Nemesis started playing Kayle and Tryndamere, I’ve started looking up his match history. I remember studying his playstyle characteristics; I remember seeing him not ever buy Control wards. So I knew that he always played Veigar, but even before then, I felt that Veigar could be viable.

Video Source: 'Wholesome LoL' on Youtube

Nemesis is the only one who plays Veigar on the KR Challenger ladder, and I think he’s very good at finding great champions.

What are Veigar’s strengths and his weaknesses in the current meta?

In terms of his strengths, his E, ‘Event Horizon’ is broken. Immobile champions that get caught inside his cage can only flash out, so his E allows some easy kill confirms. He has very high returns, so his laning phase is very weak. Your ability to lane as Veigar reflects how skilled you are.

I personally feel that Poppy’s a great jungle partner with Veigar because Poppy can just push her enemies into Veigar cage. In your opinion, which other junglers go great with Veigar?

I think Fredit BRION made Poppy-Veigar work very well in their last match. Lee Sin also goes well with Veigar because Lee can just kick his enemies into the cage. He’s also very good against heavy engage comps, because Veigar can nullify a lot of it.

Ryze’s item build recently changed from building full AP to tank. How come?

Ryze is very short range, so it’s hard for him to deal damage. Building tank items allows him to be more comfortable in teamfights. Recently, an item called Fimbulwinter came out, and it goes really well with him. I think Fimbulwinter is more efficient over Seraph’s Embrace on Ryze, so his tank build became popular.

Some say that Ryze’s late game potential diminished with his tank build.

Compared to his traditional AP build, it’s true that Ryze does a lot less damage in the late game. I think his tank build provides more stability, but in the end, it all comes down to preference. I prefer his AP build over his tank build, and I try to build more damage heavy as much as possible, but it all depends on the enemy’s team composition. 

We’ve seen more tank build Ryze in the LCK, but his AP build does a lot of damage, so it’s very fun to play. In comparison, tank Ryze does a lot less damage, so it’s a lot less fun.

In game 2, I saw you hover one of your signature champions Katarina. You’ve stated over multiple interviews in the past that she’s a terrible champion. Talk to me about her current state in the meta.

I just hovered it. Because of the teleport nerfs, Katarina’s absolutely ruined. She needs to be able to teleport early to influence other lanes and pick up kills, but since she can only teleport to towers pre-14 minutes, there’s no future for Katarina. She absolutely needs buffs.

In the LCS, Soraka and Ivern, aka enchanter champions, were picked in the mid lane. What are your thoughts on enchanter champs in the mid lane?

It’s disappointing. It’s not like I play mid lane to play Soraka or Ivern, right? [Laughter] However, as a pro player, if it turns out to be good, then I’ll need to learn it and be able to pull it out in a match. As far as I know, C9 Fudge is playing in the LCS tonight or tomorrow, so I’m excited to see what he plays next. I always imagine about the potential off-meta picks that I can play, so seeing picks like that gives me a lot of inspiration.

As far as Soraka or Ivern being good or not… I really don’t know how I feel about it [laughter]. 

Your next opponents are DRX. What’s the key point of that upcoming match? And is there anything you’d like to say to your former teammate, BeryL?

DRX is playing really well at the moment, and they’re really good at laning. As long as we get out of the laning phase well, we’ll be able to win. BeryL was recently sick with COVID, so I hope he stays healthy. He wasn’t really healthy when we were on the same team, so I hope he takes care of himself.