Top Esports came into the tournament as favorites alongside DAMWON Gaming but almost made an early exit in the quarterfinals when Fnatic got a 2-0 lead over them in their series by dominating through the bot lane. TES was able to right the ship, however, and after a solid third game victory, they kept their momentum going to finish out the series with three straight wins. 

Top Esports' reverse sweep is the first-ever in Worlds history, and their victory ensures that the LPL will have a team in the finals, be it them or their semifinals opponents, Suning Gaming. After their series concluded, TES spoke with the press about their performance and their upcoming games. 

Watch the press conference here or read the transcript below:

(To JackeyLove) Do you feel like it was easy to beat Fnatic today, and how do you feel about your performance individually?

JackeyLove: Fnatic always plays utility marksmen in the bot lane, so if I pick something like Ezreal and farm to scale up, I think it is a very good pick in the mid and late game. I don't think I had a very good performance in the laning phase, but I still think Ezreal is a decent choice when playing against Fnatic.

(To Karsa) When down 0-2 to Fnatic, you locked in Lee Sin for game 3. Can you explain why?

Karsa: Last year, FunPlus Phoenix got a win against Fnatic with Lee Sin on its way to winning Worlds 2019. I used FPX Lee Sin as a way of asking Gao "Tian" Tian-Liang to help me in game 3.'

(To Knight) You were disadvantaged at times in this matchup, so how did you stabilize in those moments and continue to perform well individually?

Knight: I tried to do some more farming while finding opportunities for a comeback. In that state, a game is still winnable.

(To Knight) How do you keep your mind clear when you're at a disadvantage and under pressure as a mid laner? 

Knight: I thought a lot about the opponents mid and jungler and tried to identify opposing targets to my teammates and individually, just focused on trying to die less.

(To Karsa) Beyond overcoming a European team for the first time in a best-of-five series, you move into the Worlds 2020 semifinals for the first time. In the upcoming rematch of the 2020 LPL Summer Playoffs semifinals — which was a 3-0 against Hu "SwordArt" Shuo-Chieh and the rest of Suning — one of you will be playing your first Worlds final ever. What do you think of this situation?

Karsa: We really want to grab the win, but yes, Suning's support SwordArt is a close friend who was my teammate on Flash Wolves. Regardless of who wins our match, the LPL will be represented in the Worlds final for three years in a row. We really want to hold this trophy in China again.

(To yuyanjia) You and JackeyLove had a rough start in the bot lane this series, especially in the first two games. How did you manage to keep your competitive mentality?

yuyanjia: In the first two games, I don't think we were in very good form. We tried to stabilize ourselves afterward by focusing on farming and scaling up for the late game.

(To Crescent) A lot of people have talked about the incredibly aggressive LPL playstyle. As the TES Head Coach, do you think the Worlds 2020 meta been advantageous to Chinese teams?

Crescent: I think many people are familiar with LPL's aggression. LCK is well-known for its macro, and when its teams play against us, they may not be able to handle the tempo of our playstyle. I don't think there's a specific 'good' way to play in this meta. If you are smart about your own tempo as a team and play in good form, it's very easy to grab the win.

(To Knight) A lot of people have felt that you have not lived up to individual expectations at Worlds 2020 thus far despite consistency. How do you feel about your performance at your first Worlds?

Knight: In terms of my own performances, I've performed quite consistently, but I haven't managed to have as good of a performance as in previous competitions. I think that later in the tournament I will have an even better performance than before.

(To JackeyLove) You are the first team who has ever reverse swept a knockout stage series in World Championship history. What were your thoughts heading into game 5, and what are your thoughts on the series as a whole?

JackeyLove: We didn't manage to have a very good performance, actually. If we performed better in the first few games we could have secured this win much more easily. In game 5, I didn't have many thoughts at the time outside of whether my momentum was good enough or not to have a strong performance.

(To Karsa) Before today's matchup, you said that you really want to take revenge against Fnatic. How do you feel about beating Fnatic, and do you have any thoughts ahead of the semifinals against Suning?

Karsa: Last year on Royal Never Give Up we didn't manage to grab the win against Fnatic at Worlds 2019 to avoid elimination from the group stage, so I really wanted to get revenge. I'm happy about achieving this goal for myself and for my RNG friends and teammates.

In terms of expectations looking ahead at semifinals, one LPL team will be heading to the finals. We will try our best to have a good performance, but no matter who gets to the finals, I hope that team can keep the Worlds trophy in China.

(To 369) In your Sion game, you were able to use your ultimate ability to make the perfect engagement despite having low health. Was that your decision alone or a call from your teammates?

369: I just made my own decision.

(To yuyanjia) What did you learn from your first international best-of-five series?

yuyanjia: I don't want to talk about that, sorry. 

All images via: Riot Games

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