We took some time to chat with GAM Esport’s mid-laner Kati and ask him about being in London, his first international event and the team.
For GAM fans and anyone who supported the minor regions, the loss to R7 was a heartbreaking one as despite winning game two, it wasn't meant to be. GAM Esports from the VCS had carried the hopes of the VCS to MSI 2023; following missing appearances at international tournaments in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Esports.gg spoke to GAM Kati after their elimination about the match, the story behind his name, and more.
This loss was equally crushing due to the fact that for many of the players, this was their first time on the international stage, and had high hopes to compete with the other regions. Additionally, for the VCS region as a whole, having missed several years and managed to reach MSI 2023; this was a chance to show they hadn't lost their edge. While it was a heartbreak moment for fans and players alike, there is no doubt that we won't see GAM Esports on the international stage again very soon.
Facing R7 in a match that was theirs to lose
R7 came out a lot more dominant than we had expected – did you expect this from them?
Kati: We did not expect them to put up such a fight honestly. In practice games [scrims], we had pretty good results, and as such we really didn’t expect how hard they went in the series and how well they played.
What were your thoughts on R7’s draft, did they pick champions that you prepared for or different?
Kati: Their champions were already expected and planned for, but we did not play well enough to compete with their picks.
You took Lissandra into the mid-lane for game 1, what about her seemed like a good pick against r7 over other mid-laners?
Kati: Lissandra is more of a team facilitator than one used to win lane and because it is a facilitator this is why I took it into our games, as I play to facilitate the team.
We wanted to ask about the early game in game one, from the audience's point of view it looked like they had a good lead and threw it away. How was the game playing out from your perspective?
Kati: We had already prepared for the draft beforehand but our draft was based on team fighting, so we let them have the early game and then would plan to catch up later on, as you saw in both games. We would then use our team fighting as a surprise to catch them off guard and flip the game to get the gold back.
Their drafts were made based on team fights but when we have our ults around objectives we would just go all in.
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The journey to MSI 2023 with the hopes of the VCS on their shoulders
Let's talk about the format, you had major region teams in play-ins, which makes it harder for other (minor region) teams to get out, do you think the format should be adjusted for the play-in stage?
Kati: I think it was a tough task because of the presence of the major regions but if you want to go further in MSI, then you have to be stronger and you’ll only get better by facing better and stronger teams.
In an earlier interview, Kiaya said he felt you guys could take on and beat LLA, what is going through your head having lost this match?
Kati: Kiaya saying about our confidence because we thought we could win this is true because it was ours to lose, and it is disappointing that we were not able to do what we thought we could do. Kiaya’s statement was well founded, even if some people may think it wasn’t, he was not wrong. But it was our execution that was at fault within these matches, which makes his statement seem incorrect not because he himself was incorrect.
Before coming to the international stage, I always thought I was on par and could compete with the big teams and the big names. But by coming here, I’ve realized I have a lot to improve on and have learned from the bigger teams.
Getting to know Kati a little bit more
You are known by some as puppyk is there a story behind this?
Kati: Basically I like puppies, and because of that, when I started playing professionally it just seemed like a good choice for my gamer tag.
You were unable to reach the international stage previously because of covid restrictions back in 2020, what are your emotions at finally playing an international tournament?
Kati: Before coming to the international stage, I always thought I was on par and could compete with the big teams and the big names. But by coming here, I’ve realized I have a lot to improve on and have learned from the bigger teams.
What is one food you would bring from Vietnam to eat here?
Kati: If I could bring something from Vietnam to here, then I would bring rice-noodle with fried pork.
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