After 10 long years, the Asia-Pacific region is back at the top, ready to proudly stand as one of the eight best teams at Worlds 2025. With CTBC Flying Oyster leading the charge, the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) now dives into the unknown, preparing for their next match against KT Rolster. In an exclusive interview, head coach Wong “Chawy” Xing Lei sat down with Sheep Esports to discuss the historic qualification, his relationship with his players, and the pressure the team faced during the Swiss Stage.

It’s been 10 years since a team from the Pacific made the top 8 at Worlds, with the last time being in 2015 with ahq eSports Club and Flash Wolves. How does it feel to finally reach this milestone with CFO?

Wong “Chawy” Xing Lei: “I feel finally able to release all that pent-up stress. We didn’t do this just for our team—it’s for the whole region, for the fans who have been supporting us for 10 years. It’s been a disappointing 10 years, and we really wanted to make them proud. We knew that if we missed quarters this year, we might not know when the next chance would come, so it was really stressful for us.

You’ve been part of the scene for many years and witnessed its ups and downs. Does that make it even more special?

Chawy: It’s really touching. I’ve been trying to hold back my tears the whole time, even up to now. I’ve been through everything, you know? And being the one to bring the team back to the quarterfinals means so, so much to me. It means that everything I sacrificed was all worth it.

Before today, there was a lot of pressure on you. After losing the last two best-of-threes, things looked uncertain, and you mentioned in the vlog that there was chaos in the comms. How does it feel to finally lead the team past the finish line and fix those issues?

Chawy: After we went 2-0, the next two draws were not very nice to us. As a coach, I didn’t mind because the games we played were actually pretty good—it was a strong performance from us. But for the players, it really affected their confidence. So as a coach, I had to step up, keep them grounded, and let them know they were doing great, not letting it shake their confidence. I’m really glad I had that talk with them, we managed to get a decent draw, and I’m just happy everything worked out.

You only had two days to prepare before facing FlyQuest. How did the preparation go leading up to that match?

Chawy: I said this before in our last interview together— FlyQuest was one of the best Western team in recent years. Beating them is not easy. I checked my Twitter before the match and realized that in 2023, when I was with TSM, I also beat FlyQuest. I think I must be a counter to FlyQuest! So it felt really great when we drew them. We planned a lot around the draft because we knew they were very smart in that area, and we had to make sure we won during the drafting phase so the players could feel comfortable on stage. And when they’re comfortable, game two happens.

When Chiu "Doggo" Tzu-Chuan dives in with Corki like that in game one, does your heart ever skip a beat watching him play?

Chawy: He always makes me skip two beats. I might have a heart attack watching him play one day. But that’s the team I built last year—I knew I wanted to go with Doggo and HongQ (Tsai Ming-Hong). I wanted young players who aren’t afraid to fight, because that’s the only way we can beat top teams from the LCK, LPL, or even LCS and LEC. If you don’t have the courage to make plays like that, you’ll never make it far. I’m just glad they keep making those plays.

How do you feel about HongQ’s growth? Just a year ago he was in the PCL—and now he’s one of the eight best midlaners in the world.

Chawy: I’m very proud of him. Like everyone says, he hasn’t really been performing at his best this Worlds because every opponent is world-class. Today, it’s not like he played badly either—it’s just that Inspired (Kacper Słoma) and the whole FlyQuest team were doing really well, especially when playing from behind. They actually did a lot better than we expected. I think HongQ has improved a lot this whole year, also because the team atmosphere is friendly. So I’m happy for the team, and I’m happy for him.

Now that you’ve reached quarterfinals, how ready do you feel to go even further next week?

Chawy: I feel like right now we’re very ready because there’s no more stress. We’ve already reached somewhere we haven’t been before. Next up is best-of-five, and we already have experience playing against most of the teams. But I’d be really excited if we draw KT or Gen.G, since we haven’t faced them on the international stage before. Other than that, I think we’ve played against everyone else already—hopefully we don’t get the same teams again, since they know us too well.

You’re one of the few teams that faced every region in the Swiss Stage, right?

Chawy: Yeah, I think our results were acceptable. We went 1-1 against the LCK, 2-0 against EU and NA, and 0-1 against the LPL — but we did take one game off them. I just hope that in the best-of-five, we can play at our best and have no regrets.

In the vlog, you said that no matter how far you go —top 16, quarters, or semis— you want to leave Worlds with no regrets. After today’s win, do you feel like you’ve done that, or is there still room for regrets if you don’t perform next match?

Chawy: I feel like there’s no more stress now. But of course, if we can go further, we will. Our goal now is to win every next game, because in a best-of-five, anything can happen. Winning one series means reaching semis, and then maybe even finals. So we’ll do our best and hopefully go far—not just for our region, but for all the fans. We know now it’s not only our region supporting us; we have a lot of Western fans too, and that’s really touching to see. In the past, no one cared much about our region—if you drew us, it was considered a free win. But now we’re coming back, and we’ll do our best to take down the teams people expect to win Worlds.

At Worlds, your six-man roster seems to be working differently than before. Hsu "Rest" Shih-Chieh and Shen "Driver" Tsung-Hua used to alternate a lot, but recently both have been covering each other’s champion pools. For the AL series, Rest played all three games. How has this role evolved on the team?

Chawy: First, as a coach, I have to consider the players’ emotions going into a game. At Worlds, when we face top teams like T1, Hanwha Life, and Anyone’s Legend, if my players don’t feel comfortable, I won’t force them to play. I have to talk to them and really listen to their responses—are they firm, or is there hesitation? A player will never say, “I’m not ready.” They’ll always say, “Okay, I can play, I can play.” But as a coach, you have to understand your players well and make the best decision for the team.

At this point, do you feel you have a good read on every player on your team?

Chawy: Definitely, definitely. I’m very close with the players, and just one word from them or a look into their eyes, I know what to pick for them, what to do, who should play, and how to draft for them.

You’ve shown one of the best early-to-mid games at Worlds, but late-game tend to get chaotic, like in game one today. How are you addressing that to prevent it in the quarterfinals?

Chawy: After losing to HLE, we had a meeting, and I told the team that in scrims, we would focus only on the post-20-minute game. No matter how much we win or lose early, we’re going to practice beyond 20 minutes. Usually, scrims end quickly, especially against top Asian teams, and we often lose before even reaching that point. So now we hang on and practice our endgame. I think that helps a lot—we had a long break, and I feel we’re pretty well-prepared for our late game.

Is there anything you’d like to say to LCP fans?

Chawy: Sorry that you guys had to wait 10 years, and I’m glad you did. This year, because of CFO’s performance, many fans have come back—both new and old. There are a lot of people watching us, and I’m really thankful to everyone supporting us.”