PSG JunJia: “The reason why I wanted to switch from LPL.. I was not that confident about playing on stage”

We are down to the final two teams in the MSI 2023 play-in stage, Golden Guardians and PSG Talon. The two will face off in a best-of-five later today to determine the final team to qualify for the bracket stage. MSI 2023 marks the international event debut for PSG's Yu "JunJia" Chun-Chia. The former EDG Jungler has impressed on the international stage thus far and will look to continue that impressive run against the former PSG Talon star Kim "River" Dong-woo.

Esports.gg had the opportunity to sit down with JunJia following his 2-0 victory over the CBLoL's LOUD. We spoke about the preparation he and his squad had for this series, why he left EDG after so many years, and his learnings from their defeat to G2 Esports.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today JunJia. Firstly congratulations on the win you guys looked incredible. Can you walk us through the series a little bit? What made the series so easy?

PSG JunJia: "We watched LOUD’s game yesterday against DetonatioN FocusMe, and we noticed their Maokai pick. Once we figured out their strong pick and banned it away from them, it can be an easy game for us."

In game one they picked Ryze into the top lane, a very unconventional pick in the current meta. Did picking Ryze make you adjust your game plan at all?

PSG JunJia: To be honest, we didn’t expect the top lane Ryze, but this champion in this meta really isn’t a strong pick. Our top laner Azhi told me this top lane Ryze can super easily be caught. We can just go Top a lot to try to help our top lane, and after that, we can easily open up the whole game.

You pulled out Kindred in game two. Looking at your career statistics, this is your second ever competitive game on the champion. Were you nervous about bringing out an 'untested' champion in a crucial international game?

PSG JunJia: "Personally, I’m not that nervous. I played Kindred on stage because I’m really familiar with this pick and I’ve got enough confidence in my Kindred."

You and your team have bounced back well after the defeat to G2 in the previous round. Did you have any learnings from that series that helped you today?

PSG JunJia: The thing we learned from G2 is that we really need to be more proactive, especially in the early game to try to help the team. If our mid-laner got a chance, maybe we can make a tower dive happen, then we need to do so. It's just about being more aggressive.

So then G2 helped you learn to be more aggressive?

PSG JunJia: Yeah, I believe that this kind of experience, as well as playing against G2 can help us a bit, but still, we want to be more aggressive but at the same time try not to give the opponent the opportunity to punish us.

So this is one of your first international appearances if not your first. Could you walk me through how this experience has been for you? How has it been traveling to London and playing in a new environment?

PSG JunJia: "First of all, I want to say that in London, the food has no rice [laughs]. But still, in the venue, we‘ve got a huge crowd and I can feel their presence. I really enjoy this part and can really feel a different atmosphere compared to the PCS."

So not just you, but also your roster doesn’t have too much international experience outside of a couple of events here and there. From your time with EDward Gaming, were you able to pick up anything that you could help your other teammates with?

PSG JunJia: "I’ve attended a lot of international tournaments with EDG, although I didn’t manage to perform on stage. But still, I talk a little bit more to my teammates, things such as we really need to stay calm, and we can’t be nervous while we’re playing on stage. If we just try to focus on our own performance, we still have a decent chance to win every single game."

This is the first time you have played outside of the LPL and more importantly, under the EDG banner. What were the reasons you decided to leave EDG after being with them for so many years?

PSG JunJia: "The reason why I wanted to switch from LPL to PCS is that previously in LPL I was not that confident about playing on stage, so I wanted to just give myself a try by moving to a totally new environment. And previously in LPL I really felt like, while playing the game, I was too nervous on stage. So I wanted to change this part of it."

The final question looking ahead, you said in another interview you were looking forward to playing against NA and EU Junglers, how was it playing against Yike and are you looking forward to facing an old PSG jungler in River?

PSG JunJia: "To be honest, in the game against G2, we thought we may have a chance to beat them, but I still feel regret that we couldn’t take that win and somehow G2 just smashed us in that series. After that, we really had very good feedback, and it even feels like we’ve got a second chance and still have the possibility to get a win over G2.

For the match with Golden Guardians, because we’ve played against each other a lot in scrims, we’re quite familiar with their play style. In tomorrow’s game, I definitely would like to put more attention to River."

JunJia and the rest of PSG Talon will face North America's Golden Guardians later today at 12:00 BST. The winner will earn a ticket to next week's bracket stage.

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