It has been a long while since anyone sat down to interview Optic Gaming mid-laner Crown; this is actually the first interview he’s done since the Spring Split started. When asked why he’s been declining press interviews, he answered that he was still afraid to face the fans. It’s understandable that he would feel that way; his performance in the last Worlds tournament wasn’t his best. However, he now seemed to be carrying a lighter burden. The pressure that weighed on him from all the high expectations from fans was now less heavy, but not completely gone.    

The following is our interview with Optic Gaming mid-laner Min-ho “Crown” Lee.

Q. It has been such a long time since you had an interview with the press.

I was quite afraid to do an interview. I had been thinking it would hurt me a lot if I saw the fan’s bad reactions or comments on my interview.   

Q. Why did you decide to go to America?

I didn't want to continue being a pro-player in Korea anymore and considered two places to go; the LCS and LEC. Although it probably sounds very weird to the fans, I just wanted to find the version of me that I lost during the time I suffered.  I lost my bright side, my positive personality, and so on. [The move] wasn’t not only for the comparative game, it was also for my life.

Q. It seems like you really cared about the fan's reactions on the internet.

Frankly, I didn't care about those things before. If I saw [something online] and I agreed with it, I would just think "Yeah, I need to advance further." But for some reason, they started to stick with me. Since I had been addicted to reading bad comments, I had lost my confidence and accepted their groundless criticism as fact.

Q. Now you have been in America for a month. Are you satisfied with your life here?

I am totally satisfied with it, but I still need more time to adjust. I need to be more fluent at English too. But I am happy that I started to get a more positive attitude; I’m more relaxed with this life. It's also good for me to have more time personally.

Q. Have you become familiar with your teammates?

I have to be more friendly with my teammates but I'm still lacking in my English. DHOKLA and BIG always treat me very nicely. They always come to me and make jokes for me. If I don't get the meaning of the joke, they always teach me until I understand it.

Q. Round one of the LCS just concluded. What do you think about Optic Gaming's current situation?

When I just arrived at the team-house, I hadn’t practiced enough for the match. It was okay when Optic Gaming got 2-2, but it was so much tougher for me when we lost 4 times in a row. Although we got a win today, we still need to improve. We need to focus more when we practice. Our current goal is to make it to the playoffs - but personally, I want to go to MSI.

Q. What’s it like adjusting to the meta in NA?

It's pretty hard. There is no one right method to win in this meta. I'm not sure which way is best. With the LPL at the last Worlds, they could win because they were good at team-fights. And now with the LEC, they could get a victory through macro play. It's simply the better team that wins. I think I need to keep a close eye on the patches and how meta flows.

Q. As you may know, your former team, Gen.G Esports is not doing too well these days. Do you have any thoughts on this?

To tell the truth, it's fifty-fifty. I hope that they do well, but on the other hand, I hope that they face some trouble without me [on the team]. For now, I hope that they get more victories than before. I feel bad when I see them on a losing streak.

Q. This is the very first time you’ve been introduced to the Optic Gaming Fans. Could you say something to them?

Hello to the fans of Optic Gaming and the LCS. This is the first time I’m introducing myself to you. I'm Crown; I started my career in the 2015 LCK, but now I'm in the LCS. I'm so glad to meet LCS fans. Although I haven't delivered my best performance up to now, I'll do my best to give you a better performance day by day.