On the 5th of July, Rift Rivals made its way onto the NA LCS Stadium. With the first anticipated game of the day, Fnatic took down Echo Fox.

Everyone wondered how Fnatic’s crazy draft will match up against Echo Fox’s even crazier style of play. We were not disappointed. Right off the bat, we saw sOAZ play Heimerdinger and Echo Fox implement a gold funneling strategy. Unfortunately for the Echo Fox fans, Fnatic closed out the game and secured their first win at Rift Rivals 2018.

After the game, we sat down with Caps to hear his take on NA weather and food, Echo Fox, and Team Liquid. Let’s see what Caps has to say about his first time visiting North America.

¤ Is it your first time in LA?

Yeah, it is my first time in America actually.


¤ If you had to compare NA weather and food to EU, which one would you choose?

The weather is obviously insane. It is always perfect weather. Not too hot or not too cold. Since I have been here, it definitely never rains (laughs). In regards to food, it is also insane. Obviously, it is unfair since we will try the best food out here due to our short visit. The places we have been at were absolutely amazing.


¤ What is the best food you have had so far here?

The steak we had at the hotel on our first night was really insane. I have said this a few times now, but I really like the smoothies they have here at the NA LCS. The smoothies and berries are all fresh, so it tastes really good.


¤ Going into more in-depth questions, why do you think EU is so experimental with their meta compared to NA? I believe EU was the first to try triple support-Kai’Sa jungle and Heimerdinger.

In this patch specifically, it was such a huge patch. It made everything really random. For example, the Heimerdinger pick we picked up was from Hjarnan. Hjarnan has been a one trick Heimerdinger ever since and always plays Heimer whenever he is off-role. After the changes, he tried Heimer out. It was extremely strong.

A lot of it really comes down to randomness and what other people play in solo q. Maybe there is one random solo q player that plays something broken and other people try to copy him. Then all of a sudden, we are playing it as well. I think the only thing that you can really say is how we adapt throughout once the patch stabilizes. The good teams might drop the bad picks while the bad teams might still play them. Therefore, it is going to be very interesting looking forward.

¤ Not only your teammates but also other players in EU have labeled you as the best mid laner in EU. What are your thoughts on this?

I am definitely honored to be known as the best EU mid laner, at least for MSI and what not. Also when I was in Korea, they used to call me “Best mid EU” when I was playing Yasuo. That was a lot of fun. I have always practiced to become the best mid laner and compete with Perkz. This is because Perkz has obviously been the best EU mid laner for so long. A lot of people are saying that I overthrew him in Spring. But now, it is all about keeping that title. Right now, G2 has the most points in the EU LCS. Ours doesn’t count too much till playoffs. I still need to practice really hard, so I can keep being the best.


¤ What does EU really think of NA? Is it different from what you thought?

Normally when we think of NA teams, we think of ARAM. Always run down mid and leave the side lanes how they are. Everything in NA is just extreme. It is extreme in the sense that you can get HUGE burgers. We got a big burger, and I have never seen such a huge burger before (laughs). Everything is just extreme and super nice. All of the things in NA are taken one level above. Ever since coming here, even if we played against NA teams before, we realized that there were more to the gameplay than running mid (laughs). It has been really nice. Even the studio itself has taken one level up.


¤ Do you think EU is going to grab a significant lead during Rift Rivals day 2? Or do you think it will be a bunch of close games?

So, I don’t know what games there are for day 2. Day 1 was number 1 team vs number 3 teams and vice versa. In that sense, I think it was what was to be expected. I believe things will get a bit more interesting when teams meet their counterparts. When we meet TL for example. We beat Team Liquid at MSI so hopefully, we can beat them again. I hope that the rest of the EU teams can perform as well.

¤ In the player interview with Bwipo, he trash talked Huni a bit. It was refreshing to see more trash talk as Doublelift is mainly the only one doing it in NA. Does EU like trash talking more or is it just Bwipo?

We always kind of trash talk. It makes the games interesting when you trash talk. But in general, I’m not really sure. I think we were very worried about the game because of all the randomness from Echo Fox. Sometimes they will do a lot of crazy things. Obviously, it can win them the game or fail. I think Bwipo was just relieved that we could win against them.


¤ Doublelift’s take on trash talk is that you need to say some banter before a game, so you have something on the line. For the game against TL, do you have anything you want to say?

I believe TL is the type of team to play really standard. On the other hand, Echo Fox is the type of team that goes crazy. So actually, Echo Fox had a better chance of beating us because they play so crazy. Since Team Liquid is playing very standard, I think we are just going to win. They are probably going to try out macroing us, but they won’t be able to. TL has no crazy ideas ready. In that sense, we will just beat them. Both Bwipo and sOAZ have an upper hand against Doublelift. Honestly, I think my team will sub me down bot lane and I’ll s*** on Doublelift (laughs).


¤ Why do you think all the best EU mid laners come from Denmark? Froggen, Jensen, Bjergsen, and yourself all come from Denmark. Is Denmark secretly fostering elite mid laners?

Yeah, it is definitely crazy how many we have since Denmark is so small. I’m not sure why (laughs). Maybe it had something to do with how our school system works. We have a lot of free time. Or maybe it is because our parents are very supportive of us. Uh… I’m not sure (laughs).


¤ Out of all the players that came from Denmark, do you have a favorite one?

Looking back when I wasn't even a pro player, I always watched Bjergsen. He was always the big guy, especially back in the day when he was by far the best. It was always fun watching him. I definitely watched a lot of highlights and streams as well. Bjergsen is definitely a fun person.


¤ Do you still favor and look up to Bjergsen?

I don’t really look up to Bjergsen. I still enjoy watching him play and watch videos with him. Whenever I can, I definitely watch TSM: Legends and things like that. But, I don’t necessarily look up to him as a player anymore. I try to take the best aspects of his play. If Bjergsen tries something new, I will try it out. It is not like I want to copy him or be like him. I just want to play like myself and become my own personality.