GorillA shows up with another surprise pick in the botlane

On July 13th, 'Longzhu Gaming' and 'bbq Olivers' had their fight on top the stage of OGN. With dominating performance from all 5 members of the team, LZ took down 'bbq' with a score of 2:0. As Khan and GorillA had the biggest impact in both games 1 and 2, they received the MVP title for the series. As the players climbed down from the stage, the two proud MVPs were invited for an interview with the casters.


As soon as Khan entered the interview stage, he described how he felt on winning the title. "For me, this is the first time receiving an MVP title in the 'Sangam studio', so I am actually pretty nervous. And before every match, I usually think of lines to say just in case I win the title, but today, I wanted to yield the title to my other teammates. But I guess I am too good to not receive it(laughs)." Then, GorillA joked, "I guess it feels good being young. Everyone goes through that stage during their lifetime."


On a previous interview with LZ's head coach Hirai, the coach mentioned that he now believed LZ is a top 3 team in the LCK. And surprisingly, with today's win, LZ has climbed the leaderboards to take the 3rd place spot. Regarding this, GorillA commented, "It feels good receiving praise from fans. We want to keep this momentum going and qualify into the 'World Championships'. 


As the interview continued, Khan was asked for the reason of blind picking Jayce. "I honestly thought they were going to ban him. Jayce is a champion that can make or break the game depending on the player piloting him. Well, I am very good with him, so I didn't hesitate to pick him." Then, Khan was asked for his opinion on possible counters to Jayce. "There really isn't a champion that can beat Jayce 1 on 1 effectively. To anyone watching, I advise you to ban my Jayce." As the proud toplaner's confidence filled the room, GorillA commented, "Sometimes, Khan's overwhelming confidence scares me."

As a support player, GorillA is known by many fans for bringing out and playing unorthodox champions in the botlane - such as support 'Miss Fortune'. On the 2nd set of this series, he pulled out another surprise pick in the form of Kennen. Regarding this, GorillA said, "Currently, Rakan is a very popular pick. To counter him, I took Kennen. As a champion, Kennen's ability to initiate and counter-initiate is very valuable for teamfights, especially against the likes of Rakan. If Rakan tries to get on you, all you have to do is ult, and he won't be able to do anything. When I was practicing Kennen in Solo Queue, I only played him in the toplane, as I was afraid of other players realizing and copying the strategy. He is also far more mobile compared to Zyra, another great counter-initiate champion." GorillA also mentioned that he wanted to create more botlane combinations with PraY. And on top of that comment, Khan added, "It is actually an honor playing with such an innovative botlane."


Recently, the playstyle of LZ started to shift around to having a defensive botlane and an aggressive toplane. Regarding this, Khan said, "It is due to our team trying to find the correct playstyle to match our synergy. It is not a one-man game."  


For the last question, Khan was asked if he had anything to say to GorillA, the known "Caretaker" of the team. "When I first came to the teamhouse, I was very nervous to talk to anyone; especially since PraY and GorillA have so much more competitive experience than me. But the two constantly tried to befriend me by starting conversations with me and buying me food. I am very thankful for their openness."


Finally, GorillA was told to give a final word to the fans. "Thank you so much for cheering for us. We have a series against SKT next week, so we will make sure to prepare and perform."