[M Zedd] : First of all, congratulations for your two wins of the day. You are playing in a chinese team, how is it to play in Shanghai with such a big crowd supporting you all the time ?
Mata : I don’t have that many fans, but it seems that a lot of people are cheering for our team so that’s really good, it feels good. Even though we are in Shanghai, all the stage and the stadium set up are Western style and LCS style, so it doesn’t really feel like playing in China.
[M Zedd] : This is your second year in China, did you feel any differences ? You said you are not very supported by other fans, so was it hard at the beginning when you first came in China and is it the same right now, did it evolve in a good way ?
Mata : The biggest difference is that first of all, I moved teams. And the other differences are that I started to communicate in much greater details with my team in game and I also tried harder, I put more efforts. And finally we’ve been performing well and it starts a « good circle ».
[M Zedd] : Your first win was against CLG and it was a very close game : what allowed you to win this game ?
Mata : A lot of mistakes have been made on both sides, but I think we are the one that have been able to capitalize on their mistakes. And I think it was just pure luck.
Scene of the MSI, with RNG v CLG on stage
[M Zedd] : At the beginning of the game, you decided to do the first Dragon while CLG decided to do the Rift Herald : which one is more important and why ?
Mata : I think when you can take the Dragon, the Dragon is the better choice. The reason is that Dragon is always helpful through the late game but if you go for the Rift Herald, you have to take advantages otherwise it is useless. If I have the choice I would always prefer the Dragon but if I have a specific reason to use it, I would take the Rift Herald.
[M Zedd] : Last year China won the MSI, what are the chances of China to win the MSI this year ?
Mata : Zero, except if all the players of SKT got sick.
[M Zedd] : So, what about the second place ?
Mata : I think it is 10% chance.
[M Zedd] : Thank you for this interview Mata, and good luck for your next matches !