TL APA: "Yeah, EU is Trash, don't worry."

Eain "APA" Stearns of Team Liquid competes at the League of Legends World Championship

"I think we've been competitive in scrims, so I plan on typing."

As the MSI 2024 bracket stage unfolds, Team Liquid gears up for a critical showdown against Top Esports. Representing North America's last hope, APA from TL shares in this exclusive interview his insights on their preparations and the pressures of the international stage.

| Today I am in the presence of APA, Always Plan Ahea(d), who is readying up to face against Creme. How are you feeling ahead of this match and are you excited to face Top Esports?

APA: "Yeah, I mean, I think it'll be a fun match. I think we've performed fairly solidly in scrims, and quite decently against Eastern teams, to be honest. So, I'm excited to see how we do."

| How have the preparations been going? What are your overall expectations after a few days of practicing?

APA: "Well, we've been practicing for like two weeks, so it's been more than a few days. I think preparations have been going well. We just found out yesterday that we were facing TES, as did other teams during the draw."

"A lot of us have been watching VODs and discussing drafts. We're considering what we think will pop up in the series and, well, what we should be wary of when facing a foreign team, what we believe they excel at, etc... I'm excited to see how we perform tomorrow."

| Do you think that you could take this match? Or is it going to be challenging, speaking realistically?

APA: "I mean, it'll for sure be difficult regardless of expectations. But personally, I'm not putting any expectations on the table. I don't want to think that we have to beat Top Esports or that it's embarrassing if we were to lose. I'm just going in with no expectations and want to play my game. I understand it will be hard because they're a good team, but the results will speak for themselves."

| FlyQuest unfortunately was eliminated, which has been a big topic on social media. Considering your tweet on the matter, what are your thoughts on their results? Do you feel any added pressure to perform for North America?

APA: "No, not really. Like, to be honest, I mostly stay away from social media. Obviously, I made that funny tweet since we lost to a minor region team ourselves last year. I haven't really seen much of what was said on socials, and I don't really care about what others think. I'll just perform to the best of my ability and go from there."

| You've been underestimated and received a lot of criticism and, Worlds 2023 was evidently a difficult tournament for you and your team. How are you personally approaching MSI 2024? Do you feel ready to take on the likes of Chovy, Faker, or knight?

APA: "I think on a personal level, I'm doing fine. I definitely still feel stress, but stress can be beneficial in my opinion. It just shows that I care and the team cares. In scrims, we've been doing quite well and so, I just hope our results can translate on-stage and we can show the true potential we've had in scrims."

| NRG smashed G2 at Worlds last year. Do you plan on upholding this trend if you were to face them or Fnatic later in the tournament?

APA: "Yeah, EU is Trash, don't worry."

| Do you think there are reasons to be excited about Team Liquid? Should NA fans be hopeful about the region's prospects at MSI despite FlyQuest's results?

APA: "In general, I think that, at every international event, fans are often very pessimistic about North American teams. Obviously, things don't look good when our second-best team bombs out of the tournament this hard but, I think we've improved incredibly since playoffs. I don't think we'll end up like FlyQuest. I'm very excited for this tournament, and so should our fans."

| Where is the bar for a successful tournament in your eyes? Is there a minimum threshold you would like to achieve in order to look back at MSI 2024 as a good run?

APA: "I'm not really looking or thinking like that for now. To be honest, I see MSI as just another battle for which I have to gear up."

"The Spring Season was our first battle, and we did great there, but now, we have to be ready for MSI. Even if we end up performing poorly, we'll take lessons from it and move on to the summer split, before hopefully heading to Worlds. Being at an international event is always a success in my eyes, regardless of our end results."

"That being said, I obviously do want to perform really well, and I'd say that my objective is to take series off Eastern teams."

**| Will we see a return of "YAPA" and hear more All Chat banter this tournament? Or do you feel like the language barrier is too great for that to happen?**

APA: "The best way I've explained it in the past is that, if we're competitive, then I'll definitely open my mouth and type. We've been doing very well in scrims so, I definitely plan on it."

| Are there any players or teams you are hoping to face off against?

APA: "I think Caps. He is probably the next on the bucket list of players I want to face. I played against Faker last year, and I think it would be fun to play against someone who could very well be considered the Western GOAT. I definitely see him in the running for that position so, I think it'd be really fun to play against him."

| As this is your first time in China, how have you been enjoying the trip so far?

APA: "Yeah, it's my first time here. Yeah, it's pretty nice. We haven't gone out exploring too much, but the few times we have, exploring Chengdu's scenery in particular has been amazing. It's really beautiful here."

"There is some really cool architecture here. The few places we've gone to for the Riot Media Shoot and for the hype videos have been breathtaking. I'm sure you'll get to see the end results soon. I'd say the food here is also really great so far, I'm really enjoying it."

| How does a typical day in the life of APA look like right now?

APA: "We wake up around 10:30am roughly, and get into the practice room by 11am. We'll go find some food somewhere and then we'll scrim by 1pm. I tend to play one or two solo queue games before scrims to warm up as well. Usually, we scrim from 1pm to 4pm."

"Then, we take a small break, play some more solo queue, get some more food, and then scrim again, though it depends on our bookings for the day. Sometimes you start at like 6pm, sometimes 7pm, sometimes 5pm. It just depends on the team."

"In some particular instances, we've also had night blocks which start at 10pm, which are then followed by more solo queue until 1-2am, before heading to bed."

| Do you have any last words for Team Liquid fans and people who follow you?

APA: "Honestly, just thank you guys for supporting me. Since we've won, people have been very positive and supportive. Obviously, I've gotten a lot of mean messages in the past, but they've been outweighed by the sheer amount of support. I'm looking forward to this MSI. I know that you guys might be pessimistic after what happened to FlyQuest, but I'm fairly confident that we'll do well."

Header Photo Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games