Carrying the dreams of the Asia-Pacific region,
PSG Talon marches onward at the
League of Legends 2024 World Championship toward a certain death against the titans of the LPL,
Bilibili Gaming. Despite these expectations, the team remains undeterred and hopes to complete the task they began at MSI 2024, where they took BLG to five games and nearly claimed victory. In a short interview with
Azhi, the team's top laner, Sheep Esports discusses the team's loss against FlyQuest, the current meta, and the evolution of minor regions in the current ecosystem.
You had a strong early game but couldn't close out your match against FlyQuest. How do you feel about the game, and what do you think went wrong?
Huang "Azhi" Shang-Jhih: "I believe we had good champions for the mid-game, but we didn’t control our tempo well. We did not force enough good team fights, and that’s why things ended up like this. After today's loss, we'll go back and review the games. We'll focus on how to improve and prepare to play the next match better. Our performance today wasn't that good. I'm not happy with how I played.
As a top laner, how do you feel about lane swaps? As you were on the losing side today, did it feel frustrating not being able to lane?
Azhi: Overall, lane swaps aren’t that bad, they make the game more diverse. But as a top laner, there is definitely some difficulty in adapting to those strategies. Being able to play weak side and endure the swaps is a very important thing to master to win games at this level.
Azhi had his first taste of international competition at MSI 2022. Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
Do you believe that the PCS is far from the four current major regions in terms of skill? As a player, what is your personal goal when playing at these international tournaments?
Azhi: Both our region and other minor ones are steadily improving. By next year, I hope that we’ll have grown significantly and have a real chance to compete with the bigger regions. Our goal is to keep improving each year and bridge the gap. If we continue like this, we’ll reach our goal and win the championship. Personally, my short-term goal is to reach either the quarterfinals or go further, like the semifinals.
Supa mentioned that PSG could be a serious contender if the team were to play in the LEC. Where do you think PSG would rank if it were to play in the LCK or LPL?
Azhi: If we were to play there, in either of these leagues, I think we could potentially make it to top 3 and beat quite a few teams.
What are your personal goals for the next few years? What do you wish to achieve before retiring?
Azhi: I personally want to beat the 1st and 2nd seeds of the LPL, LCK, or LEC. I hope to achieve that in the next 1 to 2 years at most.
What is the atmosphere like playing with your current PSG teammates?
Azhi: I feel happy playing with these players. I hope that I can play with them next year."
Header Photo Credit: Adela Sznajder/Riot Games
