Interview in English - Interview Flash Wolves

We will start with the coaching staff (questions were asked to Steak, coach of the team)

The coaching staff is now one of the strength of the team. They even won the Best Coaching Staff award during the LMS Spring Season 2016. The team lineup was changed several times during the regular season. The staff swapped Rins in the toplane instead of MMD multiple times (Rins played 13 games, most of them during the first half of the season) while Breeze played 4 games during the regular season. Yet, the team finally kept the actual roster, with MMD in the toplane and NL as ADC.

 Steak during the 2016 MSI

LiquidityTrap : Congratulations, you won the award for best coaching staff in the LMS. What was the most important adjustment you had to make to become a coach? 

Steak : Thanks ! I would say, the main difference between being a player and a coach is about time management. Instead of practice, I can spend a lot more time on studying strategies and learning the game.

LT : During the course of the season you used several line-ups, what made you pick this one (with MMD and NL as starters) in the end? 

Steak : We made several evaluations based on team practices. We choose this lineup because we believed this was the best setup given our tests.  Also, the communication between the players was the best one.

LT : Your team dominated the Playoffs with two impressive 3-0 victories. How can you explain such a drastic change between the regular season and the playoffs? 

Steak : The roster was changed several times during the season, so our team was still getting adapted when the Playoffs started. We were looking for the most suitable formula and luckily, we found it just before the Playoffs.

With the difficult task of replacing Steak (who became coach), MMD had a lot of weight on his shoulders during the season. Replaced several times by Rins after subpar performances and results, the young Toplaner illustrated himself during the second part of the season. Highly depleted in gold (with the third lowest team' gold share in the LMS for a Toplaner), he had to learn to play a more supportive role, focusing on playing tanks only.

LT : You are perceived as a low resource toplaner, which is very different from what Korean teams and NA teams are doing. Do you wish to play a more aggressive play style? Or do you prefer to be a tank supporting the rest of your team? 

MMD : I think in the actual Meta, the Toplaner is just here to be a tank to support the other team members. It's unnecessary to take out a lot of resource. But, if there is a change in the Meta,  focusing on bruiser and allowing a more aggressive play style, I would be very please to pick champions who can snowball games.

LT : During the season, your matchup against Ahq Ziv has been a difficult one (Ziv received the Most Valuable Player award during the LMS Spring season). What changes were made to explain your solid performance during the LMS Spring split Final? 

MMD : I used to call the Jungler (Karsa) a lot to snowball my lane. But the problem was, if the gank failed, it also hindered the development of the Jungler. So I decided to alter my approach to make sure I can develop myself normally even without my Jungler support. I focused on playing safer, to avoid dying to my opponent when he calls for a gank. I transformed my play style from a carry type Toplaner to a more supportive type player. It allowed my team to have a better chance of success.

A bit like the former duo Faker-Bengi, most of Flash Wolves success is based on his Jungle-Midlane combo. Karsa is usually protecting Maple during most of the laning phase. Because of the new Meta in the Jungle, Karsa had to change his play style at the beginning of the season. Now a very complete Jungler, his amazing performance during the Playoffs (he took part in 5 First Blood out of 6 games) was paramount in Flash Wolves triumph.

LT : Your synergy with Maple seems to be even better than last year, could you share how you improved? 

Karsa : Actually, the communication between Maple and I didn't change much to be honest. I believe the improvement in synergy can be explained by the fact we both improved individually during the season.

LT : You will face very aggressive Junglers, with players likes Mlxg (Royal Never Give Up) and Trick (G2 Esports), how do you plan to deal with them? 

Karsa : When facing aggressive players, the preparation is as important as the execution in a game like League of Legends. During the first week, we focused on executing a strategy but our performances were sometimes subpar. I hoped we could match our opponents in that matter in the second half of the tournament but we failed.

LT : The Jungle position is dominated by pretty much the same champions since the beginning of the season; would you like a change in the Meta?

Karsa : In my opinion, with the exception of the Midlane, all the lanes have mostly limited champions to choose from. I don't really want to use bizarre or different champions unless it is in response to some Meta and patches changes.

Maple is the main star of the team, that's why the main strategy of the team is focus around him. Bless with an impressive champion pool and greats laning phase skills, Maple usually takes over most of Flash Wolves' resources. Highly talented, the Taiwanese midlaner has been able to showcase during several international events why he is probably one of the best player in the World.

 Maple during an interview at MSI

LT : Given your extremely good season and your international experience, you entered the MSI as one of the best midlaners in the tournament. Which match-up were you most looking forward to play? 

Maple : Every opponent deserves to be taken seriously in a international event like MSI. I am always trying my best no matter who my opponent is.

Perceived by some analysts to be one of the weaker point of the actual roster, NL has been a member of the team since the Gamania Bears days. His very long playing career next to SwordArt has develop a very tight synergy between the two, allowing them to compensate for some of their early game weaknesses. Often swapped with KKramer (now playing for CJ Entus in the LCK) last year, he proved he was a more steady player.  

LT : A lot of western analysts call you a safe ADC, who prefers to kite during teamfights. Do you think it’s a fair statement? 

NL : It's the exact opposite of what I think to be honest with you. I Believe I am relatively aggressive ADC.

LT : Did you fashion your play style by watching or playing against another ADC player?

NL : No, I don't really watch VODs or other player's video purposely. Basically, I would say SoloQ and training with the team shaped my current style. Also, I like to discuss a lot with the coach and analysts about the problem encountered during practices in order to make improvement accordingly.

SwordArt is believe to be the best support in the LMS for the past few seasons. Known for his very aggressive playstyle, he is a very solid laner who also likes to roam. His ganks in the Midlane were game changing during the regular season, allowing Maple to dominate the late game.

LT : You have always been considered as one of the best supports in Asia. What do you do think are the traits of a great support? 

SwordArt : I think, to be a great support, besides his own rich champion pool, a player needs to be able to control the match completely. It is also paramount to know as much information about what's going on as possible, in order to command and dispatch the rest of the team in time.

LT : You are going to face against some of the most talented supports in the World, which one do you believe is the best? 

SwordArt : According to me, Royal Never Give Up Mata is the most terrifying player at MSI. He possesses all the traits of a great support. It was a really exciting opportunity to face a player like him during the competition.

Once again, a huge thank you to the Flash Wolves organisation for allowing us to do this interview. You can follow the team by using twitter and Facebook.