Despite preparing the perfect heist,
100 Thieves were arrested this weekend by Team Liquid in the
League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA) Cross-Conference Grand Finals after a 0-3 series. Nonetheless, the organization returns home with one of its most successful splits yet with the current lineup. In an exclusive interview, the team’s head coach,
Greyson "Goldenglue" Gregory, reflects on the opening split, discusses the mistakes that led to their elimination, and shares his thoughts on the squad's future.
How are you and the team handling the loss?
Greyson "Goldenglue" Gregory: "I think there's a lot of disappointment and frustration because, for the most part, we didn't show up nearly as strong as we wanted to today. When we go back and review the games, the mistakes we made were pretty basic, so it's pretty disappointing. I'm still trying to get the sentiment from all the players, but yeah, the worst part for us right now is just knowing that we could have played better.
100 Thieves defeated reigning champions FlyQuest before losing to Team Liquid. Credit: LTA Sul/Riot Games
Despite the loss, this was still the roster’s best split—first in the group stage, second in playoffs, and a big win against FlyQuest. Do you see strong potential in this roster moving forward? Was this split a positive overall?
Goldenglue: I definitely think we're still making progress and growing. Today reminds me of when we played semifinals last split against FlyQuest—we got 3-0’d and completely dumpstered. We always seem to struggle the first time we experience things. At Worlds, our first international event, we didn’t perform well. Now, in our first finals, we didn’t either. So, we’re improving every split, but our first time in a new experience never seems to go well. That said, this was still our best split so far, so there are definitely positives. But right now, it just sucks because we know we could have won. In a fearless format, we should have been the better team, but we got out-team-fought.
Were there any positives from today's performance? Were there things you prepared that went well, even if execution in later stages wasn't quite there?
Goldenglue: Yeah, we were actually making the right plays a lot of the time, but then we overextended. In both games, we ended up killing ourselves going for the bot tier two tower when we didn’t need to. We had it for free, but we got greedy trying to secure extra kills afterward. So, I think it’s a good lesson. This is what happens when you're not disciplined and overstep with a lead. In game two and game three, we were in full control, but we let it slip.
Did Team Liquid do anything unexpected, or was it more about battling against yourselves?
Goldenglue: I think TL did like exactly what we expected out of them. We knew they would fight for every objective, and they love to cheese in bushes. They like to stop recalls and set up traps, and they got us with that in game three with the Nautilus at the Atakhan. So, they played just as we thought they would, but they showed up and played well.
As a coach, do you have any regrets about adjustments you didn’t make earlier in the series?
Goldenglue: We look a bit stupid for not banning Ziggs in game one, but our mindset was that he wouldn’t kill tanks as well as the other bans, Hwei and Aurelion Sol. So, while it might seem like a mistake, I still feel like it was the right decision. When it comes to regrets, I think we focused too much on what the enemy was doing rather than what we wanted to do. We looked a little lost in terms of our game plan, and that might have led to us overstepping. So, shifting our focus more toward ourselves rather than the enemy would have helped.
100T's coaches. Credit: LTA Sul/Riot Games
We’ve seen growth from players like Sniper (Rayan Shoura) and Eyla (Bill Nguyen), as well as the addition of FBI (Ian Victor Huang). How does this team differ from last year’s 100 Thieves, and what are your expectations for Split 2 with the upcoming break?
Goldenglue: Sniper and Eyla both had pretty big step-up performances compared to last year, and they’ve been a big part of our success. Obviously, FBI has also played a role in Eyla's improvement—they have good synergy as a bot lane. I still need to figure out exactly how much time we have off, but the first step is to take a short break. We’re pretty exhausted and jet-lagged, so flying back to Los Angeles and getting our bearings is the priority. Playing in these finals and losing the way we did was a valuable lesson. It showed us the importance of discipline and not being too greedy. A lot of the time, we get away with it, but this time, we were punished. Hopefully, we all remember this and understand why disciplined gameplay is crucial.
Now that this is the last match in Fearless Draft for the year, what are your thoughts on the format and do you think it should be adopted more widely in the future?
Goldenglue: Personally, I think best-of-three Fearless is the premier format for competitive League of Legends. I just hope we get as much BO3 Fearless as possible throughout the year. From a competitive side, from a fan side, and from every perspective, people like it and want to keep it. I hope Riot makes some changes to incorporate Fearless more. I’m not sure how they would do it, but I’d like to see more of it. I also hope they include more best-of-five Fearless because it feels bad that we only had one BO5 throughout all of playoffs.
Now that you’ve beaten Balatro a few times, what’s next for you? Are you going to try to 100% the game or focus on something else?
Goldenglue: Yeah, I’ve been enjoying Balatro. I’m not sure what’s next when I get back. I think I’ll go snowboarding and try to get away from screens for a bit during the off-season. Maybe TFT, but I’m really looking forward to Slay the Spire 2. I’m a big rogue-like card builder kind of player. I 100% completed Slay the Spire 1, so I’m excited for the sequel. I think it comes out soonish.
Do you have anything you want to say to the fans?
Goldenglue: Thank you for all the support. I know we weren’t able to bring it home, but I hope you can be patient with us. We’re working really hard, and we’ve grown each split. I truly believe this year is the year we can win a championship. I’m disappointed it wasn’t the first one, but I think we still have really good chances in Split 2 and 3."
Header Photo Credit: LTA Sul/Riot Games
