The long awaited ‘Top Die’ has returned.

On the 3rd in the NA LCS Stadium Week 7, the first game was held between Team Liquid and 100 Thieves. Team Liquid claimed the win. With this win against 100 Thieves, TL is now standing 8-5 and 3rd place in the ladder. TL is now only one short win away from contesting 2nd place with Cloud9. Impact’s performance in today’s game was amazing to say the least. By picking Shen into Ssumday’s Sion pick in the top lane, Impact kept gaining advantages throughout the game to tow his team to victory. Especially the 2v1 in the bot lane, Impact showed exactly why his ‘Top Die’ meme was so famous.

Below are the responses from the interview with Impact after the game.

¤ You showed an incredible performance in today’s game. How do you feel?

We won without much trouble. I think they didn’t predict the Shen pick. I saw Shen being played in EU, so I tried him in scrims. The results were amazing. Because I am good on Shen and I can help my team a lot, we decided to go with that pick.


¤ Sion is currently ranked as the one of the strongest top laners. However, you won against Sion as Shen. How did you win this matchup?

If the Shen has a good reaction time, he can easily win. When Sion is charging his Q, you don’t get airborne if you taunt him early. As long as you don’t let the Sion cancel you with the Q airborne, you can easily win with Shen. I think Ssumday took Comet instead of Glacial Augment in order to win the lane. In my opinion, it is way better to take Glacial Augment and kill Shen with the jungler’s help after he taunts in.

Because Shen synergizes well with other pocket picks, I think we are going to use Shen more often. Combos like Shen+Kassadin or Shen+Rakan have really good synergy. Since the early to mid game is so heavily focused right now, Shen’s global presence will be a much needed tool in future games.

¤ Last time, we saw you have a hard time against Licorice. Has this made you improve more as a player?

Although I did well in scrims, I got extremely nervous when I got on stage. I couldn’t even see the minimap. I got impatient and started to look for fights. Since I was playing Gangplank, all I needed to was farm and not die. But, I failed to do this. Now, I am trying my best not to get nervous. I force myself to eat breakfast and prepare beforehand for scrims.

I think I was especially nervous in the games against C9 and Echo Fox. I was so nervous because I knew they played well and the matchup was important. I overwhelmed myself with the constant thought that I needed to do well in order for my team to win. I believe this is what made me even more nervous than I already was.

As of now, I believe the playoffs is the most important. As long as I find the best champions to play in the meta and adjust well into it, I believe I can perform well. Also, I think the removal of Tracker’s Knife is beneficial for me. Because there is now a reduced number of wards, the player with the better lane management will win.  

¤ Because of the new patch, do you predict there will be a shift in the NA LCS standings?

I don’t believe it will. Since this patch looks like it will last till the playoffs, there will be more assassin junglers emerge due to lesser wards. I predict there will be more squishier supports in the bot lane, and this will naturally bring out more tankier champions in the top lane. When it comes to tanks, I have the advantage.


¤ Do you think this patch will be much difficult on the lesser experienced top laners?

Yes, I think the rookie top laners with little experience will have a hard time in this patch. I think there will be a variety of picks that will come out. I predict Singed, Shen, Maokai, and Cho’gath to come out. The inexperienced top laners also need to know when precisely to build Banner of Command. Since the more Banner of Commands your team gets weakens your overall teamfighting power, you need to also decide which member on your team will build the item.


¤ Lastly, is there anything you want to say?

I have had times when I would show a good performance and other times show bad ones. From now on, I am going to try my best to show a more consistent performance in my games. Because there are going to be a lot more fights in this new patch, it will be a hell of a lot of fun to watch. I only hope a lot of people watch and support us.