FLY Inspired: "I saw that Reddit thread saying 1 monkey team would make it to quarters due to the draw. We’re the chosen monkeys!"

Kacper "Inspired" Słoma, jungler of FlyQuest at Worlds 2024, North American representatives.

"If we just play standard against Gen.G, they will roll over us"

After a grueling Swiss Stage at the League of Legends 2024 World Championship, FlyQuest now stands as the sole survivor of the West and its last hope. With nothing to lose, the team must now charge onward toward near-certain death on Sunday against Gen.G, the reigning champions of the MSI. In an exclusive interview with Kacper "Inspired" Słoma, the team's jungler, Sheep Esports delves into the team's unique playstyle, talks about the Worlds format, and discusses the North American team's upcoming match-up in the quarterfinals.

How does it feel to finally make it through the Swiss Stage of Worlds 2024? How do you feel about defeating Team Liquid?

Kacper "Inspired" Słoma: "It feels really good, but we were expecting to beat them honestly. We were really happy after the draw because we felt like they were going to be the easiest opponent for us. And yeah, it went pretty smoothly today. We lost game two because we mis-executed our champs, but in games one and three, we knew what to do from the start to the end, and it looked pretty easy. I could tell I was playing against an NA team because when I played against HLE, it felt way different. It’s just so clear now—the difference between playing an NA team and a Korean team. It felt much easier today.

Many people have commented on the tournament draw. How do you feel about your team's relatively favorable draw? Do you think it's fair that your team is the only Western one to make it to the bracket?

Inspired: I don’t think it’s fully deserved, honestly. I think if we had played against G2, it would’ve been fairer for whichever team won that game. I actually think G2 can be better than us—though not 100%, since in practice the games felt really close. We won some, they won some. So yeah, I get why G2 fans are upset and salty about the format. If I were in their shoes, I’d be mad too. It is what it is. I saw that Reddit thread saying that if eight professional teams and eight teams made up of monkeys from the zoo competed, on average one monkey team would escape the Swiss stage just due to the draw. We were joking like "We’re the chosen monkey team"! It just doesn’t feel fully rewarding. I think if we beat a strong team right now, like a top Asian team, or if we had beaten G2, it would feel way better. But yeah, we kind of got the easy path.

This is your first time making it to the Quarterfinals, right? Does it feel special for you?

Inspired: Yeah, of course. Last time, I played a tiebreaker against an NA team, and today I had the opportunity again against an NA team to make it. I knew I couldn't miss this opportunity—losing twice in my career in a game to make it to the Quarterfinals against an NA team would be really embarrassing. So, I’m happy we managed to win today.

[Joking] We just watched the Quarterfinals draw, and you seem to be facing an unknown Korean team—Gen.G, I think?

Inspired: [Laughs, Joking] I don’t know who is playing. I don’t know the players, like Canyon and Chovy? I’m not sure; I don’t think they are the best players in the world. So, I think it should be chill.

[Joking] Are you confident that FlyQuest will stomp Gen.G then?

Inspired: [Bursts Laughing] Oh, yeah we're for sure confident.

Jokes aside, you will be facing one of the tournament favorites, and one of the best junglers in the world. How do you feel about this match? Do you think it’s winnable?

Inspired: I think a game is winnable. I don't know if all three are winnable. Canyon is definitely the best jungler in the world, and Chovy is for sure the best midlaner. So, yeah, the draw was lucky until it wasn't. But we’re trying to prepare some weird tactics. They aren’t going to scrim against those types of champs because only we play them, so maybe we’ll surprise them—who knows?

If we just play standard, they will roll over us. They’re a well-made team that doesn’t make mistakes. They play well with tempo for objectives, and they don’t overstay, so it’s hard to make proactive plays against them. Every time I played against Canyon and tried to make something happen, it instantly backfired, and I couldn’t play the game for 25 minutes while they finished us off really fast.

So, I feel like we need to be patient and try to make one or two good plays as a team during the game, and maybe that way we can win. Other than that, we just need to cook a bit in the draft.

Inspired's stats at Worlds 2024. Credit: Sheep Stats

Do you think not having expectations gives you an edge? It feels like Gen.G has much more pressure not to choke. Does that mean there is less mental pressure for you?

Inspired: I think no matter who we face, we won’t have much mental pressure. We’re just going to try to do our best. We are a very different team than the ones left in the tournament. As I said, I think it’s an advantage; we don’t really care. We’ll try to do our best, and if it’s not enough, then it’s life. But we’ll for sure try to keep it interesting.

How has FlyQuest improved throughout the Swiss stage? What key areas have you grown in, and where do you feel you stand now?

Inspired: We've been playing against Asian teams, and we learned how they snowballed the game. That’s why today, when we played against TL, especially in game 3, when we had the lead, we snowballed it pretty cleanly. I think that comes from the experience we gained playing against those Asian teams for a couple of days.

We realized how to end the game a bit faster and how to play with a lead—how to manage the waves and how Asian teams don’t overforce plays. They just play. When someone gets caught, they abandon that player and try to make a different play, keeping tempo on the side lanes. That’s what we were trying to do, especially today. Overall, we gained a better understanding of how to snowball the game once we’re ahead.

Do you think that your team's unique approach to the game is what the West needs to keep competing at Worlds and eventually beat the LCK? Is it what we need instead of just trying to catch-up to them?

Inspired: Yeah, I think the biggest thing that EU and NA need to work on to beat Asian teams is the draft. I feel like G2 today had a competitive series against BLG not because they are better players than them, but because they hard out-drafted BLG in game 2 and 3. That's why the series was so close. After the game 3 draft, I actually thought that G2 might take it home. Bilibili Gaming really didn't know how to play their comp out against the Ryze. I was like, wow, they're actually winning it. The draft is that important.

So, yeah, I feel like copying Asian teams is not a good idea because they have been playing the way they are for the whole year. We are not going to just catch up during the month or whatever there is during the tournament. I think it's better to prepare your stuff and your counterpicks for what your team and the enemy team are going to play and try to execute it as well as you can. That way, maybe they are not ready for it.

Worlds 2024 Knockout Stage Bracket. Credit: Sheep Esports

Do you think there are more niche champions that are viable but pros either don’t know about or haven’t trained enough?

Inspired: There are a lot of champions you could pull off in certain situations, but it also comes down to being comfortable with them. It's not like the champion will win the game for you instantly; you have to be really good on the champion to make it work, especially when you're playing against the best players in the world. So, it's kind of hard to have so many different picks prepared.

I do believe there are many situations where you can prepare a champion that no one really thought about, and if you're able to perform with it, you'll have an edge going into the game. But yeah, it's hard to have those picks. You actually have to put a lot of hours into training them, and I don't know if it's worth it to put like 50 games into a champion just to pull it off one time because the situation arises for it, but maybe it will never come, and then you just don’t use it at all. Having a big champion pool is definitely an advantage when you play against Asian teams though.

What are your plans for the next few days as you prepare to face Gen.G in Paris?

Inspired: We're just going to think a lot about the draft and what we believe will give us the highest chance of winning. So I think that's the most important thing. And yeah, we'll try our best.

Are you excited to be in Paris and explore the city?

Inspired: Yeah, I've never been to Paris, so I'm excited. I've never been to France overall, so I want to see what the country and the city look like.

Do you have any final words for the fans?

Inspired: Thank you guys for the support. Now that we are the last Western team, I assume the EU fans will cheer for us as well. I'm sorry that G2 is not here and that we didn't get to face them. But I didn't make the format, so don't be mad at me! I will do my best against Gen.G, and hopefully, we can make something happen."

Header Photo Credit: Adela Sznajder/Riot Games