100 Closer: “It would be amazing to win the LCS together because of how much we went through as a group to get here.”

Moving forward into the LCS Championship, 100 Thieves stand one best-of-five away from being able to make a return to the 2021 LoL World Championship. Entering playoffs as the second seed, 100 Thieves will await the winner of the Dignitas and Evil Geniuses series to see who they will face. Now in a position towards the top, 100 Closer wants to win his first LCS title and he wants to do it alongside long-time teammates FBI and Huhi.

100 Closer talks about how the LCS can grow through best-of-3 matches, being able to grow with teammates FBI and Huhi and how special it would be to win with them.

I wanted to start by saying congratulations on that really solidified your playoff bye. What was the preparation going into the final week of LCS?

100 Closer: FInishing top 2 is really important. It gives you more time to prepare in scrims. Our goal before this week is to at least guarantee that bye for playoffs and we were able to do that. We had a rough week I would say with GG, TSM and EG. We lost to TSM on Friday which was not fun, but I am happy with second.

What is your stance on Evil Geniuses who some view as that best team in the LCS some days? How do you feel about their playstyle and what makes them strong?

100 Closer: I think they have really good key champions like Jiizuke’s Ryze and and Impact’s Renekton. They play a really aggressive game and are able to transfer their aggression to the stage. That is something really strong on their end. They do have weaknesses though. I am curious how they will be when teams challenge them with a controlled game. It will be interesting to see what happens when their key champions are gone as well. They are still a top team, but I do fear for them in the playoffs against a team that can counteract their aggression.

Evil Geniuses are just like us. They got a huge win streak when nobody expected it. Teams and the people did not trust us immediately on our strength. We need to prove to others that we are a good team when it comes down to the best of five series and playoffs.

Compared to the week to week of the LCS regular season, how does your preparation change for playoffs?

100 Closer: I watch all of the LPL games every day. In LCK, I aim to watch the good teams, but I always skip the bad teams. I try to watch LPL and LCK so I can study other jungle movements or things I can bring to our game. In terms of preparation, I play solo queue and watch all of my replays. Right before we face an opponent, I usually check their latest games to study their jungle pathing. I also look to see what their team does in certain situations so I can capitalize on that in game. That is my preparation.

Something that many pros talk about is how there could be better practice tools to help improve their gameplay. Did you ever have any thoughts about how this facet of the game could grow from your perspective?

100 Closer: The first thing I really want to change is the best of 1 format in the LCS. When I watch the LPL, I am really impressed by their aggression. I always wonder why they can be so aggressive and make these plays in a calculated manner. It feels like they play so many games that they are able to test things out on stage. Being able to use stage games as a practice is a completely different experience than scrims. They get more stage experience and are not afraid to try new compositions or playstyles to improve.  That is something I would want to experience. I think the solo queue is not great, but not because of the player base. I think what makes it not great is having to play with 60 ping. It would be better if we could get lower ping in stronger regions.

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For some readers who are lower elos, what is the difference between playing on 60 ping versus 9 ping like Korea does?

100 Closer: The difference is huge. When we play on the LCS stage, we play with 9 ping. You can react better to skillshots. Your mechanics feel cleaner and you are able to improve your reaction speed to situations. It is not an extreme change, but it really makes a difference in gameplay and at times muscle memory. It is a disadvantage for a player.

I want to transition back to the topic of best-of-1’s. Do you feel as if less games creates more pressure to continue winning? For example, when you were on your win streak, do you feel like the mindset towards those games would be different if those were best-of-three?

100 Closer: When it is best of 1. After the games we lost, there were many moments where I knew that we could easily take that series. For example, against TSM on Friday, at minute five we made a mistake that TSM were able to capitalize on. In scrims, that would be a game that we would learn from and then continue on stronger right away. I wish we could play more so that we could test out compositions more because I am curious as to how it would affect top teams or ourselves. That is something I would like to experience.

Moving forward into your own play, you have been a pretty consistent jungler ever since you moved to North America, did you ever expect your time would be as successful as it is?

100 Closer: When I was playing on Royal Bandits, we scrimmed some North American teams. We scrimmed top NA teams and I played really well. I felt like I would be pretty good internationally. I came to Golden Guardians with confidence, but the public perception of us was terrible. We had a weak roster compared to other teams. I did not know how good my teammates would be and that was my worry. Yet, I always knew that as a team, we could grow. Even when I first came, people called us a 10th place team. I was confident that I would be in an environment where we could grow.

What is it like having this core group of players from Golden Guardians be able to challenge for an LCS title?

100 Closer: It honestly is nice. As a trio, we are able to see our own growth over the two years in how we play with each other. From starting as a bottom team to now being able to challenge for an LCS title, it is awesome. It would be amazing to win the LCS together because of how much we went through as a group to get here. We are all really good friends outside of the game now. I believe we are good players in-game as well. It would be a great story if we were able to make that happen.

Moving forward into the playoffs, are there any final words you want to tell people?

100 Closer: I believe we can be a better team than the version of ourselves that we are showing in the last couple weeks. We will prepare well and we are all working very hard to improve our problems. We did not improve as much and forgot about the qualities that make us great. It is going to be grind time moving forward into the playoffs.

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