On Sep. 28th, SuperMassive Esports of TCL faced off against Legacy Esports in day 4 of the 2020 LoL World Championships. A lot was on the line for both teams, as the outcome of this match decided on who faced Team Liquid in the tiebreaker match for 1st place in the play-in group.

LGC was able to defeat SUP, and guaranteed themselves at least 2nd place in the group. The jungler for SUP, Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon, joined Inven Global to talk about the loss, his hot take on everyone’s favorite jungle champion, Lee Sin, and his mindset in playing at Worlds. 

What do you think are the reasons behind the loss against LGC?

Not only were there problems with our draft, but I also think there were communication issues during the game as well. In-game calls were divided, where one player said that we should teamfight, while another player wanted to catch the wave coming in. Those are the things that we need to talk about during our feedback session.

What was the team’s overall game plan for the match?

The plan was to safely go into the mid-late game because we had Ornn and Lulu. We wanted to play front to back, with Lulu supporting Ornn in the front lines, while Aphelios cleaned up, supported by Nautilus. However, the huge loss in front of the Rift Herald in the early game made us think that the only chance we had of winning was through getting dragon stacks, and unfortunately for us, the game plan didn’t work out for us. 

Coming into the play-in stages, MAD Lions’ underperformance is something that not a lot of people predicted. Having faced them yourself earlier in the day, how do you rate the team? Do you still believe that they’re a strong team?

I think that they’re in a huge slump at the moment. Not only is the team’s gameplay quite poor at the moment, but they’re also not grasping the latest trend both in drafting the right champions of the current meta. We’re not properly following the latest trend as well, so in that sense, they’re kind of like us. Individual performance matters, but it’s critical that teams can properly analyze the meta.

"We’re not properly following the latest trend as well, so in that sense, [MAD] are kind of like us. Individual performance matters, but it’s critical that teams can properly analyze the meta."

Speaking of the meta, jungle champions such as Hecarim, Shen and Evelynn are highly contested. Has the 10.19 patch changed a lot since the latest competitive match?

I don’t think so. However, after today’s match, I think that the jungle tier list can be properly organized. What I’ve noticed in the play-in stages is that tank champions in the top lane are very good, so it’ll be curious to see how teams already in groups make use of this trend.

Is there a pocket pick that you prepared for this tournament?

I think it’s really hard to pull out a pocket pick in the current meta. If the jungle falls behind, then the whole team falls behind. I think it’s just better to just pick a champion that’s good in the meta. However, if I really had to choose, it’d have to be Lee Sin… Hmm, though maybe it’s too popular to be called a pocket pick.

Speaking of Lee Sin, many people rate him quite poorly in the current meta. What is your take on him?

I think he’s pretty bad as well. It’s hard to pick him blind, and we only pick him when we have too many AP champions in our composition and have no other champions left to play.

You spent a very long time in Challengers Korea, and after your tenure with Seorabeol Gaming ended, you made it to Worlds with SUP. Coming into Worlds, how has the team atmosphere been like?

To be honest, we know that we’re not the best team in the world, so we decided to find and utilize the champions and team comps that are not only easy, but can properly utilize. We’re just like, “It’s okay if we lose. We’ll just go home.”

In GBM’s recent interview, he stated that the team’s biggest strength lies in not having any “normal” player on the team. 

I think what he meant by that was that we all have distinct traits, both in and outside the game. I don’t know what his standards are of being normal, but I think I’m pretty normal [laughs].

SUP will either be playing MAD or INTZ in the team’s next match. Who do you think you’ll face?

MAD’s on a three-match losing streak, so I think INTZ has the momentum. Also, INTZ did beat TL, the team that we thought to be the best team in our group. During a loss streak, a huge win like that is important to the team’s morale. Also, the support player for INTZ, makes very bold and aggressive plays. (Which team would you want to face, then?) It’d have to be MAD. [MAD ended up beating INTZ and will be SUP’s opponent in the play-in playoffs — Ed.]

"Our team is considered one of the weaker teams in the play-in stages, so I just hoped that we’d at least take one or two victories and leave a good impression."

You returned to the Worlds’ stage after a very long time. How do you feel, and what is your resolution for this year’s Worlds?

Our team is considered one of the weaker teams in the play-in stages, so I just hoped that we’d at least take one or two victories and leave a good impression. However, after going 2-0 on day 1, I thought, “Oh? Maybe we could go to groups as the 1st place team!” While it’s disappointing that we couldn’t, we still have best-of-5’s ahead of us, so we’ll be talking a lot to fix our mistakes. I feel that as long as we give it our all, that’s all that matters.

Is there a team and/or a player that you’d like to face in groups?

Not really, but there is a group that I’d love to avoid, and that’s Group B. If we do move onto the groups stage, I’d love to avoid playing against DAMWON, JDG, and Rogue. Especially DWG. They look incredibly strong.

Lastly, is there anything you’d like to say to your fans cheering for you and SUP?

Thank you for all your support, and please continue to cheer for us.

For more LoL Esports news and content, head over to our dedicated League of Legends section!

Find full schedules, brackets, and more for your favorite esports on Juked.gg!