From last year to all the way through the Spring Split, CLG’s fans have gone through nothing but frustration. In addition to CLG being unable to qualify for Worlds last year, they also failed to make it to playoffs and placed 7th in the Spring Split.

During the Spring Split, there was a bit of anticipation and expectation that Reignover had the possibility to change up CLG. Although his performance has been lackluster for the past few seasons, Reignover is still a heavily experienced veteran and was titled MVP for the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split.

Despite having Reignover, CLG still was unable to continue moving forward. When will CLG fans be able to regain their hope? After Sunday’s win, Reignover explained that there is a slow improvement and assured that this season will be different. Reignover hopes CLG fans will continue to support him and his team. Let’s see how CLG has been improving.

¤ How do you feel about today’s win?

Although I am happy that we won, I don’t feel as satisfied because I made a few mistakes in the early game. Luckily, our Ornn helped us out a lot. It was to my liking to see the game being played out as slow and as safe as we practiced. It was overall a good team performance.


¤ How is practice? CLG was in a slump for quite a long time.

Practice is extremely good. Both the team’s atmosphere and results are great. We plan our practice regiment and take on things one by one.


¤ On Saturday, you guys lost to TSM. Where did things wrong?

We couldn’t seize the exact moment when we needed to snowball our lead. Despite playing our own style and keeping the gold lead, we lost a team fight we couldn’t afford to lose. Since it was also our first game, we were a bit nervous and made mistakes here and there. It was even more unfortunate since we didn’t lose to TSM because they played well.


¤ Let’s talk a bit about the last split. The performance from yourself and your team was not as good as everyone hoped it would be. It must have also been extremely difficult mentally.

Personally, it is still quite difficult (laughs). It is not like the results we want to see have come out yet. Until we receive better results, I don’t think my mind will be at rest. It just feels like it is all my fault, and a part of my mind is telling me my ability is the problem. It is extremely strenuous to keep control of my mental issues.

I assume that it will go away once our performance gets better, and I am personally satisfied with my performance. I am always giving it my all. I can only hope that there will be an opportunity to regain my confidence.


¤ Do you still have confidence in your ability to perform? I would assume it would be an important aspect for you to make that next leap as a player.

I always have faith in my ability to perform. However, I feel a lot of burden and nervousness on stage. If I have the chance to regain my confidence, I know I could fly around the competition. There is nothing I can do but keep working harder.


¤ Can we expect a good performance from CLG this split? What are you expecting?

I believe so. We are improving faster as a team compared to the last split. While other teams are struggling to find what is meta, we have already found it. We have our own take on the meta. Despite not knowing exactly what is going to happen mid to late split, I am sure we will do well in the early parts of the split.

¤ Some people have mixed feelings towards CLG laners. What are your opinions on the matter?

While I do not agree with this, I can see why people view them as such. Our team does not necessarily look towards aggressive plays. We try to play the game as safe and team-orientated as possible. This is why our laners inevitably look passive. Whenever our laners do play aggressive, we are always wary that it might backfire. Hence why it is not beneficial.

But, we are trying to change this. When the opponent has no vision, we are trying to seize the window of aggression as much as possible. Before, there were a lot of times when we wouldn’t act.

Now, for example, I would say to my laners 'Even if we don’t see the jungler right now, I think it will be good for you to trade aggressively' or 'As long as you burn flash to stay alive from a gank, I can create a lead elsewhere'. We already know that playing passively in lane is not necessarily a good thing.


¤ I would assume that you would want to go to Worlds. It must have been forever since you have played in front of a Korean crowd.

It has been so long since I last went to Worlds. I went to Worlds in 2015 and never went back. In 2016, I had a great regular season performance but played poorly at playoffs. Above all else, I want to go to Worlds this year solely because it will skyrocket my confidence.


¤ You are very close friends with Huni. How do you feel about Huni’s recent role swap?

I went against it in scrims. I always thought it was surprising to see, but I would have never guessed that he would use it on stage. To be honest, it was not only Echo Fox that used this strategy. Other teams implemented it in scrims as well.

Personally, I don’t think it is that great. Since the communication is bound to change, I would assume team plays will be less common. Instead of increasing the knowledge of another lane, wouldn't it be faster to increase a meta champion's mastery?

However if a team is able to role swap and win, the players will gain a deeper understanding of each lane and increase the team’s overall ability.

¤ There is a lot of people saying that jungle is a very influential role.

If you pull out Yi-Taric or Kha-Nunu, I think it is a very jungle centric meta. However if not, it is hard to say that jungle is strong. The meta is not much different from before. Of course, since the change to Krugs, there is a prevalence in the early game snowball.


¤ What are your thoughts on Yi-Taric? It seems that it would fit CLG a lot?

We have actually practiced Yi-Taric a lot and have prepared counter measured for it as well. Whenever we practice team comps, we don’t attempt multiple comps at once. We master a comp one by one and then move onto the next. I’m not sure if we will ever use Yi-Taric (laughs).


¤ NA is still playing the standard Markman in the bot lane. Why do you think NA is still doing this?

Although I don’t know completely, I believe it is because of champion mastery. NA ADCs still have a
lack of mastery and knowledge regarding non-Marksman champions. They are still practicing.

However, if the win-rate for Marksman is decent, NA will continue to use standard ADCs.


¤ Lastly, is there anything you want to say?

I am not too sure if the Korean fans will still remember me. It just shows how long it has been since I have stepped foot on an international stage. I am trying my best. Since I have a very good feeling about this split, I hope you guys will continue supporting us.