On the 15th of January (CST), LGD Gaming went against Bilibili Gaming (BLG) for the 2019 LPL Spring in Hangzhou, China.

This matchup was the first time former Afreeca Freecs teammates, Kramer and Kuro went against each other after their move to China; it was also their LPL debut as well. Although the high expectations, the series itself was a rather one-sided 2:0 victory for BLG.

With BLG’s top-mid laners receiving early game care from their jungler, Meteor, they easily went ahead early in the game. He was on Camille in both games 1, 2 and successfully led the team to snowball to the mid-game. Also, their new Korean players, ADD and Kuro delivered solid performance throughout the series. Most notably, BLG players were outstanding in teamfights. Although they went through a big rebuild during this preseason, their new players seemed to click well as a team.

The following is the after-match interview with BLG.

Q: [To head coach Sim] The team’s level 1 vision control seemed outstanding. Is vision control important in this patch?

Sim: There’s not a lot of change compared to the past ones. We played our macro game better than our opponents in the early game.

Q: [To Coach] What is BLG’s goal for this season?

Coach: The goal is to get into the playoffs for now. We will set a higher goal once we achieve that.

Q: [To Meteor] Since Mid-Jungle carry is still the main focus for the meta, how well are you and Kuro playing together? Do you have any communication issues?

Meteor: It’s alright. There are some language barriers but we will slowly work on that.

Q: [To Jinjiao] How do you feel about Kramer picking Kai’Sa for both games? How did it feel playing against him?

Jinjiao: Since we have Camille, our early game is stronger, we were able to pressure them more.

Q: [To head coach Sim] Despite changing some players, BLG maintains a similar playstyle. How do you rate the players’ performance today?

Sim: All 5 of our players are very good. Our sub players are also very good. I am optimistic about our results.

Q: [To ADD] How did it feel playing in the LPL for the first time? Can you rate yourself?

ADD: I’ll give a 9 out of 10.

Q: [To Kuro] This is your first LPL match, and your Galio was indeed very good. Did you feel nervous or pressured during this match?

Kuro: I was nervous since it was my first match outside my region. I will try to keep my composure for the upcoming matches.

Q: [To Meteor] You picked Camille in both games and delivered solid performance. You even led your team to a huge advantage in the top lane with ADD in game 2. What do you think was the main focus for game 2?

Meteor: Every lane had an advantage in game 2. Though mid-game wasn’t great for us, we used Zoe’s poke to win the game.

Q: [To head coach Sim] Though there are many new members in BLG including yourself, the team was still able to display good performance. How did you get the team together and what type of problems did you encounter?

Sim: Within my capabilities, I got the best players I could. We didn’t encounter any big problems since our players are very good.