FLY Bwipo: "Your mindset should always be ‘I've done this but how do I do more?’"

Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau, competing for FlyQuest at MSI 2024.

"Winning comes from playing well and being focused on. Winning doesn't make you play well."

After an impressive 2-1 victory against PSG Talon at the Mid-Season Invitational, FlyQuest is now in a great position to tackle the upcoming challenges of the tournament. In this exclusive interview, we catch up with one of the key players of that matchup, Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau. He breaks down the game strategy that led to their win, shares insights on the team's performance, and gives us a preview of what to expect in their future matches.

| We're very happy to have you here!

Bwipo: "Yeah, I mean, I'm not entirely satisfied, especially with how the last game ended because I kind of ran it down. So, yeah, still really pleased with the games I played, and I think I rediscovered my groove, reminiscent of my most successful moments while playing on Fnatic where... I didn't mind making a mistake, you know, I simply followed my gut."

"And I did it wholeheartedly. I wasn't hesitant; I wasn't passive. Even though I faced some difficulties in game one, I managed to revert to my own style in games two and three. I trusted my teammates to bring their A-game."

| FlyQuest just beat PSG Talon with a 2-1 score. What are your general thoughts after this match?

Bwipo: "I'm just really thrilled to be back on the international stage. You know, that was my initial thought. After playing, I'm glad that I... in games two and three could perform."

"Like I remembered myself performing. Like I never second-guessed myself or my teammates. I made decisions that I believed were best in the moment, and if I made a mistake, I simply acknowledged it and focused on the next move. And if I made a good play, then I celebrated and focused on the next move."

| Having been absent from international play since 2021, how are you tackling this event? Do you feel ready to face international top laners from other major regions?

Bwipo: "Well, I have an appointment with most likely Zeus, I guess it's not 100%, but yeah, probably."

"So, my approach to every international event revolves around ensuring that I'm individually capable of mastering the majority of meta matchups. And when I feel the meta matchups don't suit me, I prepare alternative blind picks with appropriate bans or specific counter picks."

"I always ensure I'm individually proficient enough to excel on those champions, and I always seek out angles for those champions because I firmly believe that one should play to their strengths in international events. You know, you've earned your spot here for a reason; if you're going to mimic what others play, they're probably going to outperform you."

"So, I enjoy injecting my own style into every event. However, I acknowledge the importance of flexibility in drafting and being able to adapt to the meta when necessary. So, in today's drafts, I think I... You know... demonstrated my preparedness where I have something unique, but that's not the only thing I'm equipped with."

| In a way, your playstyle, though different, can be somewhat compared to BDS top laner Adam as well, who brought in his G.O.D.S champion last year at Worlds.

| Can we expect any other spicy picks?

Bwipo: "Yeah, I mean I have a lot of picks people know me for. Obviously, which ones I’ve ready for the event or I think are good in the meta always going to change, but for me bringing excitement to the game and bringing unique picks that people, you know, look forward to seeing is something that's really important as a professional player. You know, you gotta have something in the back pocket that people want to watch."

| The biggest question for FlyQuest was going to be how your bot lane would adapt internationally. After today, do you feel that your team has what it takes to make a deep run?

Bwipo: "For me, allowing our rookies in the bot lane to come into themselves as players is the most important factor of this event. Whether we can make it far or not doesn't really... like... it's not something I worry about.

"Winning doesn't come from hoping you'll win or thinking you'll win. Winning comes from playing well and being focused on. Winning doesn't make you play well. Focusing on playing well makes you play well.

"So, for me, I really wanted to pass the torch from my experience when I was a rookie in 2018. That was the year where on Fnatic, I was good enough to hang with the best. I could lane, I could maybe even, you know, if the conditions are right, win a lane against some of the best players in the world.

"But for the most part, mid-game, I had no decision-making power. Couldn't lead my team and tell them what I needed them to do, how I wanted them to do it. I didn't have any way of actually carrying a team. You know, like how do you rally four other players to play to your vision of the game?

"I put in a shitload of effort over Summer and Worlds to make sure that I could be that guy and for me, I want to kind of kickstart that feeling for them where they can truly lead a whole team by themselves whether that be, you know, by themselves or on this team where they have me and Inspired help them.

"Either way, every single player on my team, I want to evolve to a level where they can lead the game and when I have a bad game, they can take over for me. That's really what I aspire for them and that's really the main focus is that they can carry that torch and teach the next generation of NA talent how to truly take over a game.

"Because I think that's the number one thing I've noticed being missing in NA. Truly carrying a game from start to finish and somebody even micromanaging your teammates and telling them I need you to do this, this, and this for me so I can do this and I will carry the game or later in team fights, you know, use your spell on this guy, I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna carry the teamfight. This kind of communication is so important to be the absolute best because even when your teammates are fantastic not everyone's gonna have always the same point of view.

"So being able to make everyone get on that same page just like that through a couple of seconds of communication is an invaluable skill. And then obviously you got to be good enough individually to perform. And I felt Massu and Busio this actually at this event, I felt them look guys, I think you can be the next generation of goats in America.

"I firmly believe that Massu can be as big as Doublelift when it comes to performance at least, obviously its fan base maybe. I don't know about that. I know that when it comes to individual skill he can be even better. I think he can set international records for NA. Together with Busio, I think they're extremely talented and I really am trying to push them to take that responsibility and feel that because I think that they've got it in them, and it would be a damn waste if they didn't make use of it."

| We heard from Inspired's LCS Finals interview that there had been disagreements within the team. Do you feel like the team environment is better now?

Bwipo: "I think definitely it's been better. Obviously, a lot of stress because it's international competition so it's not easy, but I think Jensen has done a fantastic job today even though... you know like for example in game two, he ended up dying to a gank, and then he took an arrow to the forehead and died again, and it just didn't faze him. I think that's where his experience really showed, where he was able to stay calm and continue to play the game... you know... at his maximum."

"So, for me, even though you know, I guess I worry about Jensen and Inspired the least and I mentioned them the least because I just trust that they'll show up. So, for me, the focus really is on our bot lane and trying to help them. And I guess I want to apologize for not praising him enough because I think he, generally speaking, plays really well. And he's always very consistent."

"Personally, just so worried about my bot lane. For me, I came to NA actually because I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to kind of help the region get on their feet and be performers internationally and truly make a difference because back in Europe I felt like, I'm never going to be greater than Wunder, I'm never going to be greater than Caps, Perkz, you know, there's Jankos there, there's Mikyx, Rekkles, Hily like I can never be greater than them really unless a miracle would happen and I know they're still playing so."

"I wanted to go to a region where I could truly make a difference. And I felt like helping rookie players come into themselves and teaching and spreading that responsibility of like, 'Hey, you're not a team. This is how you carry and rally four players all to come to your cause.' That was my goal. That's really what I wanted to accomplish."

"And I think these two guys are my ticket to revolutionizing the region. I think APA last year for me like I tried to help him a bit, but I think I had my own struggles, so I couldn't quite follow through on that and I regret that. So, it's time for me this year to truly give it my all and really help what I think is the backbone of NA and going to be the future of it."

| North American fans need some hope. What would you have to say in order to make them believe in you and Team Liquid?

Bwipo: "For me, I think that the amount of hard work Team Liquid and FlyQuest are putting in to be the absolute best is exactly what a region needs to surpass its past. I think."

"Reminds me of 2018 when I came in... we're putting in several amounts of hours and that's like extremely important and cannot be understated that you need to put in the hours to catch up, you know, you can’t just change something about your routine or be more aware, whatever."

"No, you need to have that awareness in the game, and that comes from grinding so you don't have to even think about mechanics; you're only thinking about what more you can do. And for me, I want to change the mindset because I think that the biggest issue about playing in any over the years that I've played is… like a lot of players are all about like 'I've done this and that was sufficient'."

"That's just a loser's mindset; your mindset should never be that… your mindset should always be 'I've done this but how do I do more?' And that is what I'm trying to really ground into my bot lane. How do you do more? How do you communicate better? How do you play individually better? What can you do to squeeze the absolute maximum out of your champion at any given time? And every single factor that plays into that, whether that's communication, individual mechanics, decision-making, you should always aspire to do more."

"And I think I've really been able to get that through, and I'm extremely proud of my bot lane. And also, Jensen, because I think that for him, that was also something hard because I think that was kind of the culture in NA. I don't want to speak for every team and every player. I don't know. That was simply my experience."

"You know, working with players in NA, even when I was doing some freelance coaching back in 2013, I noticed that was what was happening all the time, you know, that was the focus. It's time for that to die. It's time to ask ourselves how we can be the absolute best and how we can do the absolute most to achieve victory as an individual player on the Rift, an individual champion."

| To conclude, what are your overall expectations? Are you aiming for a top 4? Something else?

Bwipo: "No, no, like I said, winning is not what I'm focused on. I'm focused on making sure that as a team, as all of us individually, we feel that call to step up and do the absolute most our champions can do on the rift and then be there for each other."

"When anything goes sideways, anything goes wrong, I want us all to feel that urge. You know, when I make a mistake on the Elder and I misplayed, I don't want us to look at that play and think, well, whoop-a-fuck-up, that's why the play went south. Let's move on. I want every single player to take their time looking at it individually. What could I have done?"

"Despite that, you know, and the opposite for me too when something went wrong in the team fight. What could I have done to keep the game alive? What could I have done to still find a winning angle for my team even though mistakes were made? That is what I aspire to really focus on in this MSI, and we're scaling up."

Header Photo Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games