With the help of a translator, I was able to ask Jae-hyeok "Carpe" Lee about how the current meta favors Fusion, his World Cup dream realized, and the only way his team can lose to Boston Uprising in the 2nd playoffs match.

Last time you spoke with Inven Global, you expressed a personal goal to make the South Korean World Cup team. Now that you have made that team, how do you feel?

I had no contact with the World Cup committee so I was certain I wasn't going to get on the team. But I was picked and when I learned about that, I was so happy. It gave me the motivation to play even harder during the playoffs.

You once talked about the "desperation" mentality that motivates Korean players to perform their best -- did you feel that on stage vs. Boston Uprising?

Yes. I think the most important thing is winning above all else. I want that so bad and that is why I perform the way I do.

Tell me about your individual performance during the first playoffs match -- any moments that stood out?

On Eichenwalde during the additional attack, I had a huge flank and won the Widowmaker Duel. Then I got 2-3 more people and that felt big. It was the biggest moment of the match for me.

What is the most important thing during a Widowmaker duel?

Generally, positioning is the most important thing. But sometimes, it is all about reaction timing. About the Widowmaker duel I talked about earlier, we both had wall hack active so it was entirely about reaction time. 

I got a bit lucky, but positioning is almost always the most important. Only sometimes is reaction timing the most important.

Of all your teammates, who do you think was performing particularly well against Boston Uprising?

Hotba needs more credit. He has never played Tracer before but he played so well today on Volskaya. That is why we were able to capture 2nd point so fast. Hotba did very well and more people should praise that.

Are you still the most worried about NYXL? How have you tried to prepare for this challenge in particular?

I have no fear of NYXL because of the new meta. My team is doing very well in this current meta and if we continue to play like this, we can win against NYXL.


Can you elaborate a bit on why this meta is so good for Fusion?

This is a double sniper meta and it is very strong. This means that every engagement,  the two sniper players have the chance to clutch kills -- DPS players are very impactful. This favors us as our DPS players always play very well.

With regards to beating Boston, I could also tell that they also had some communication issues and we didn't. That was a big factor. 

How will you prepare for your next match against Boston?

The only way we will lose is if their DPS players pop-off. In this meta, you must suppress their DPS players flanking ability and control them. If we do that well, we will win again.

Any last thoughts you'd like to leave your fans with?

Even though our end of the season rank was the lowest out of the playoffs teams, I know we can climb higher. So, please, continue to cheer us on!