FLY Cryogen: "I do see that people love rookies, and we’re always scrappy, so I think we’re just a very fun team to watch"

"Mom buff is pretty real"

On Saturday, FlyQuest geared up for a best-of-five against Sentinels, fresh off a nailbiting near-reverse-sweep against Cloud9 the previous week. That experience seemed to leave them stronger and hungrier, and rematching Sentinels, who’d beaten them in the past, they were a whole new FLY. It was a clean 3-0 win, a stomp facilitated by exceptional botlane play, with Fahad “Massu” Abdulmalek taking kill after kill in lane and beyond. Beside him was rookie support Michael “Cryogen” Luu, shining with some his finest support play yet on a slew of enchanter picks. Sheep Esports sat down with Cryogen to discuss the exceptional series, his career so far, and more.

When we last spoke, it was in January, on the day of your very first LCS games. Now, you're in the middle of your second split playoffs. Looking back, how do you view your rookie year so far?

Michael “Cryogen” Luu: “Honestly, based on rookies’ histories, I’ve had a stronger, or just decent, rookie year compared to the majority of rookies. There’s still a lot for me to learn, a lot of room for improvement. I’m doing pretty decently, but I’ve definitely gotten a lot better since the beginning of the year.

You've shown a real penchant for enchanter play, today picking Karma, Lulu, and Milio, for a total of 15-3 on enchanters to non-enchanters this split. Is this a metagame choice, or your particular playstyle as a support?

Cryogen: Enchanters are just really good in the meta right now, and we’re really good at playing with them; especially me and Massu in lane. It’s something we’re really strong at, so we keep prioritizing it.

Speaking of Massu, he had an absolutely terrific series today, and you shined in supporting him, with the two of you getting 2v2 kills and leads very consistently. What's facilitated your growth as a duo lately?

Cryogen: Massu and I talk a lot outside of the game. I talk to him about my personal problems and honestly, it brings us a lot closer, just as two individuals. In-game, we work a lot on what we can both do to help each other improve. If I see something, then I’ll point it out, and if he sees something, he’ll always talk to me about it. That’s very important for botlane duos, to be confrontational, but obviously constructive in how you give criticism. We’re very close, and we work very hard together.

In an LCS clip of FLY right before game 2, Johnson “Gryffinn” Le could be heard reassuring your playoffs nerves, telling you to "look to your right" and trust in all the "Fakers" on your team. How do you deal with stage anxiety, and how helpful have your more experienced teammates been for building confidence?

Cryogen: Whenever I have something that’s on my mind, I’ll always go to my teammates, and they usually give me very good advice, ‘cause they have a lot more experience than I do. I trust my teammates a lot. Just hearing reassurance, airing out how I feel usually helps. They always try to lighten the mood, help calm the nerves a bit.

About a month ago, you got your first LCS player of the game, tweeting "it only took [your] mom talking to LCS to finally" make it happen. How 'd that happen, that your mom had to step in?

Cryogen: It was coincidental, just coincidence, that I got a Bard game that day, and she happened to be there. I don’t know. The series against SR, we were all just playing well. I mean, mom buff is pretty real. On playmaker champs like Bard, it’s very easy to get “player of the game,” and yeah, she was there to support me throughout the series.

So, the final verdict is coincidence, or mom buff?

Cryogen: I think mom buff for sure. Having your mom there definitely makes you play a lot better.

Today, you were huge in kill participation today, with over 90% KP in all three games, 100% in Game 1. Are you getting really attuned to the flow of FlyQuest's gameplay, to be making a difference on nearly every kill?

Cryogen: Yeah, we play an aggressive style, and we definitely like minmaxing everything. It’s just the team we are. We always try to play on the edge and push our limits. A big part of the kill participation today was me and Massu playing very well together, finding a lot of 2v2 kills. We’re just playing very well as a team.

A scrappy lower-bracket NA rookies team is always a fan favorite. Do you feel any of that EG 2022 style, Danny Jojo aura, in players like you and Gryffinn?

Yeah, especially with our manager being Andrew Barton. Like, he used to manage that team. I’m not too sure, but if I remember correctly, my upbringing to Tier 1 is pretty similar to Danny’s (Kyle Sakamaki): I think he also went from Tier 3 to Tier 1. In a way, I do look up to that run that they had. Damn, I really wonder how great Danny could’ve been if he still played. I do see that people love rookies, and we’re always scrappy, so I think we’re just a very fun team to watch.”