It has been anything but smooth sailing for Beyond Gaming thus far at the 2021 League of Legends World Championship. The #2 representative from the Pacific Championship Series struggled to a 1-3 record in Group B of the Play-in and faced off against League of Legends Continental League representative Unicorns of Love in a tiebreaker following the conclusion of the group. 

With elimination on the line, Beyond Gaming AD carry Chiu "Doggo" Tzu-Chuan lived up to his reputation as his team's hard carry, locking in Draven and ultimately being the X-factor in a back-and-forth, messy victory for BYG that eliminated UOL from Worlds 2021. As a result, BYG will move on to the knockout stage of the Play-in to face off against Turkish Championship League representative Galatasary Esports in a best-of-five series to see who will stay on the Worlds stage.

Following the tiebreaker win against Unicorns of Love, Doggo joined Inven Global to discuss his performance on Draven, how subbing in for PSG Talon at the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational is impacting his performance at Worlds 2021, and Beyond Gaming's chances against Galatasary Esports.

That was a close tiebreaker, but individually, you had a great performance on Draven. How are you feeling right now after this game?

I think I really put on a show in the early stages of the game, but later on, I made some mistakes and it stopped our snowballing. We actually faced a bit of a mid-game collapse.

Ultimately, it ended up working out for you, but all in all, Beyond Gaming struggled more than initially expected to get to the next round of the Play-in. Have there been any new obstacles in playing internationally with your team for the first time?

I think it's great. The last time I came to Iceland, I wasn't able to bring my teammates. It felt like such a pity. This time around, it's great to have them here.

Do you feel that because of your experience with PSG Talon at MSI 2021 you're able to remain calmer under pressure than your teammates? If so, do you feel extra responsibility in leading your team at Worlds 2021?

I think it was a huge success for me to play at MSI this year because even in my very first game at Worlds I was not stuttering or shaking at all.

We've seen a lot of new bot lane picks that people are excited about, but so far, Amumu support is not working out for teams as much as expected. What do you think is causing such a low win rate of 12.5% through eight games of Amumu support in the Play-in?

I think it's an issue of familiarity. From the perspective of an AD carry, Amumu is such a powerful champion. If you have the Amumu/Miss Fortune combo and you are even with or ahead of your opponent, if you get an engage, the teamfight is instantly over and you've won.

Your next match is a best-of-five series against Galatasaray Esports, who got the best of you in Group B. Do you think your team will do better in a best-of-five, and do you have any other thoughts you'd like to share regarding your next Play-in match?

It's going to be a 3-0. I'm very confident in my own team. As long as we don't make any big mistakes, we should be able to win this series easily.

To many Western fans, you are the familiar face on Beyond Gaming because of your impressive play as a substitute for PSG Talon at MSI earlier this year. Is there anything you'd like to say to the Western fans you've gained this year by performing on the international stage?

I want to thank you all for your support. I will continue to work hard and show you an even better side of me.

All images by: Riot Games

Live translation by Clement Chu