On the 4th day of the NA LCS stadium located in LA, Team Liquid won against Golden Guardians in week 3 of the split. Team Liquid is now 1st place with a 5-1 score. Although Team Liquid is a fairly new team, Team Liquid has shown a great performance alongside Echo Fox and Cloud9. Interviewing with Team Liquid’s top laner, Impact claims he is confident that he will win against Cloud9 in their match in week 5.

Below are the responses from Team Liquid’s top laner, Impact.

¤ Team Liquid is currently performing extremely well. How is the team atmosphere?

When we went to bootcamp in Korea, we didn’t do too well. We thought that this season was going to be hard for us. However coming back to NA, all the teams have improved and from that we knew exactly what we needed to do and how. When we wake up in the morning, we would even watch the LCK games together. Due to the extra length that we go to, I think is the source of our performance.


¤ It feels like your role on a team has changed ever since joining TL. It almost seems like instead of carrying, you are more of a consistent anchor for your team?

It differs from time to time. When I play GP or Gnar, the team focuses towards me. On the other hand when I play tanks, I tend to sacrifice for my team. I didn’t want to take smite again today, but I took it because it would help my bot and jungle.

¤ Who do you think contributed the most to the success of TL?

Personally, I think it is Pobelter. Pobelter is good at everything. He is good at roaming and carry champions. Because he can do well without jungle help, Pobelter helps the team a lot. It feels like he is the top lane for mid. He does well in 1v1 scenarios. He can handle 2v1 as well. Pobelter makes it seem so simple.


¤ Do you have good synergy with Xmithie?

Yeah. Xmithie helps often, but it seems like he only comes if I give him something in return (laughs). Yesterday, it seemed like he only came top because I took smite. We talk a lot. Xmithie frequently asks if I am okay, and it helps me out tremendously.

¤ Do you think there is no issue with TL at this point in time?

Yes. If we lose, it is because of our individual mistakes and not the team’s. The loss against 100 Thieves was because I made a lot of mistakes. We lose only off individual mistakes. The team has no issues. Because our team is especially good at wave management, we win easily by ending the games faster.


¤ If you had to pick one team to stop Team Liquid, what team would it be?

It is unfortunate that we could lose a game off of one mistake because of the bo1 format. However if I had to pick one team, it would be C9. C9 is not that good of a team, but C9 is incredibly good at laning. They can snowball the game through it. This is why I am wary of C9.


¤ Don’t you miss C9?

I don’t miss it too much. I think it is because they play a bit dumb...


¤ Since you said C9 is playing a bit dumb, why do you think everyone is saying C9 is playing ‘dumb’?

I think it is because Reapered may have said it. Even when I look at them, they play a bit dumb. Regardless, C9 plays a lot better on stage compared to that of scrims. Because of this, I don’t think they are playing that stupid.

¤ If you think C9 is playing dumb, why do you think they are constantly winning?   

It is because the opponent always throws. Even if C9 plays bad, the opponent doesn’t punish them. In the NA LCS, there are a lot of instances where teams would poorly manage their side lanes and not capitalize on other people’s mistakes. On top of all this, I think C9 wins a lot because they are good at teamfighting and laning. No matter how stupid you are playing, your mechanics need to be good. Even if you know macro if your mechanics are not good enough, there is nothing you can do. This is why C9 will and are doing well right now.


¤ What are your thoughts on C9’s top laner, Licorice?

He is very aggressive but doesn’t think things through. I understand because he is a rookie. I felt it when I saw him managing the side lanes. Even in today’s games, I saw him die for no reason. Other than that, I think he is a good player. Licorice is good in lane as well.


¤ Do you have anything you want to say to your former C9 teammates?

Because Jensen, Sneaky, and Smoothie are doing extremely well, C9 is going to do even better in the future. However next week, we are going to win. I think we are probably going to win.