After a rough start in the first 2 weeks, Clutch Gaming defeated one of the top teams in the NA LCS, TSM.

Opening the first game of week 4 with a unique pick, Clutch Gaming caught the world by surprise with Skarner. With the pick potential from Skarner and scaling from GP, Clutch Gaming was able to stall the game long enough to grab a win against TSM. Taking down one of the top teams in NA, many speculate if Clutch Gaming has what it takes to contest the other top tier teams.

After the game, Inven Global interviewed Clutch Gaming’s support, Hakuho. Let’s see what Hakuho has to say about Apollo’s Baron steal, the Skarner pick, and the bot lane meta.

¤ How do you feel about your win today?

I feel pretty good. I knew we messed up a bit in the early game, but I think we played better as a team. Our team fights were solid and is why we came back and won.


¤ I am curious about how the voice coms were when Apollo stole Baron and Dragon.

It was really hype, especially with the Baron steal. We were all yelling (laughs). It was just kind of crazy that he stole it with an Ezreal Q.

¤ What was the early communication like after the rough start you guys had?

We miscommunicated a little bit. Lira wanted to take the Skarner crystal by himself, and me and Apollo decided to go around the other side to poke them. However, I just went with Skarner because I thought we were going to go all in and fight them. Which we shouldn’t have because Ezreal got flash W’ed by Rakan. Afterwards, we knew we could outscale. Our team fights were stronger as well. So, we decided to stall as long as we could. We held our outer turrets really long. For example, GP held his tower and mid was just farming. It was a good scenario for us.

¤ Was the Skarner pick prepared beforehand? Or did it naturally come with the flow of the draft?

We actually didn’t practice Skarner until 2 days ago. We only started because, we played against Skarner and it seemed really strong. Our team had only 2 games of practice before we played it today. Skarner is generally a faster jungler. He is faster than Sejuani or Zac, so you can make more plays in the early game. Because of this, we thought our level 1 was stronger. Hence, the invade.


¤ How high would you rate Skarner right now on the jungle tier list?

I think if you have strong lanes, Skarner is S tier. He can always invade and is faster than the enemy jungler most of the time. Everyone wants to play Sejuani and Zac now for teamfighting. However, their clear is reasonably slow. Skarner would just out jungle them. On top of this if you have winning lanes, you could just force down turrets as well.


¤ Tell us a bit about Apollo. How has your synergy been with Apollo?

Yeah, I like Apollo. He is like the team leader. Apollo always calls out what we should do and is very vocal. I think we struggled a lot in the current meta because of all the hyper carries and tank supports. This is because us as a duo, we would be very lane focused. Last season, we would stomp lane and use that to pressure the entire map. Whereas now, everyone wants to play for scaling. Sadly, our strengths were somewhat mitigated by this. However, we are adapting to it. I think we will continue to improve.

¤ On the topic of lane priority. What do you think about the Relic Shield changes? The changes made it more punishing for bot lane to get poked out. Since you said you like to stomp lane, has this helped your bot lane in anyway?

The meta now is still the same. The poke matters a bit more since you can’t just full out sustain. But, everyone is still playing the same picks. This is because, it is better for team fighting. The games usually go for 30-40 minutes anyways. I personally prefer mage supports like Zyra or Karma. However, it is very difficult to put these champions in team comps right now.


¤ When we interviewed Lira 2 weeks ago, he told us that he isn’t satisfied with his own performance. As you may know, jungle synergy with the team is crucial. How has your synergy been with Lira and what are your thoughts on Lira as a jungler?

I think Lira is one of the best junglers in NA right now. I think the only issues in synergy we have right now is communication. Sometimes, it is hard to explain a detailed plan to him. This is because, his English is at an okay level. Lira is taking English classes, so he is getting better. Once he learns English a little more, our team will definitely jell a bit better.


¤ Lastly, anything you want to say to your fans and supporters?

I want to thank all the fans that supported us. I know the first 2 weeks weren’t super solid, but I think we will continue to improve. Maybe, we will get some wins off the top teams in the second half.