Despite a tough challenge from Isurus Estral,
Team Liquid advances to the
League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA) Cross-Conference semifinals after a three-game series. With no room for error, the team will face Cloud9 in a thrilling match next weekend, aiming to assert itself, continue its dominance in the Americas, and make it to the grand finals once more. In an exclusive interview, the team’s AD Carry,
Sean "Yeon" Sung, discusses his team’s recent performances, talks about Fearless Draft, and shares his thoughts on the level of the Southern Conference.
How did you feel about the team's performance in your match against Isurus Estral? You mentioned some frustration—could you elaborate on that?
Sean "Yeon" Sung: "At the start, a lot of people were nervous—I could hear it in their voices. I think there was some stress in that situation. But as our games progressed into mid-game team fights, frustration started to build over how the fights were being initiated. We needed to make things cleaner and play more to our composition’s win condition, which I don't think we executed very well.
Team Liquid salutes the Brazilian crowd after their victory. Credit: Bruno Alvares/Riot Games
You're facing Cloud9 next, and many are now doubtful of TL because of how your last few matches went. What are your thoughts ahead of that match?
Yeon: We're definitely in a small slump, as highlighted by how our level of play has been on stage. But as long as we play individually well, and as a team, I think we have a very good shot, especially going in as people doubting us. I think we do best when people start doubting us.
The LTA format has sparked a lot of discussions. You faced 100 Thieves and FlyQuest, and while there's no excuse, do you think your fourth-place finish in the LTA North reflects your actual skill level, or was the format a factor?
Yeon: I don’t really like the format too much—we've only played three regular-season matches, and I feel like this is not enough. I also think the standings aren’t very accurate. Still, kudos to the teams in first and second place—they played well on the day. I really feel like in most of our games, we had very strong setups and just couldn’t execute or close them out. No matter the reason, we need to take a deep look at things and figure out how to play our game well again. But we're not a fourth-place team.
Do you think the way the conferences compete against each other is the right approach? What would it take for the South to improve and eventually reach the North’s level?
Yeon: To be honest, I think the South is actually pretty decent—their skill level isn’t as bad as what they showed. In at least two of the three series I watched, one of the teams should have been able to push it to a three-game series. Their mechanics are good, but they’re a bit behind us. The more we play against each other, especially internationally, the more they’ll improve. I think by the time Worlds comes around, they’ll be able to challenge us.
If the cross-conference matches were double elimination and best-of-fives, do you think the results would have been different?
Yeon: Based on how they played this time, I don’t think so. But I do think they have potential. I’ve played solo queue here, and they’re not actually bad—the quality of practice is decent, just unrefined. It feels like they’re still learning how to play the game properly, like a fresh beginning. But with time, they’ll probably become pretty solid.
Before the split, your roster stayed the same, but you made changes to the coaching staff—Spawn is now working remotely from Australia, and Swiffer joined as your new coach. How has the team adapted to this new structure?
Yeon: Since we have a new coach, he has a lot of ideas he wants to implement, but we’re also bringing in our own ideas and trying to align with him. I think we’ve gotten pretty close to that. He’s been adding a lot of useful concepts, bringing in a fresh perspective, which has been very helpful.
Swiffer, TL's interim head coach. Credit: Bruno Alvares/Riot Games
Is Spawn still as involved with the team as before, or has his role changed? Will this shift continue in the next few splits?
Yeon: I’d say it’s similar, though the roles have changed a bit. Spawn is still the head coach technically and steps into that role when needed, but for the most part, we leave things to our interim head coach, Swiffer. They talk almost every day, relaying information back and forth, so it’s not a big deal. But we’ll have him back soon.
You mentioned wanting to play Twitch and Draven in Fearless Draft, but we've only seen your Draven once. How do you feel about the format so far?
Yeon: Yeah, BO3s feel a lot different from BO5s. The champion pool pinch in a game 3 is completely different from a game 5. It'll be a lot more exciting when we reach a five-game series—at least for me—because I’m very confident in my champion pool. I also enjoy playing different champs and learning how to pilot them within win conditions. As for Draven, I wanted to play him, but he got banned today.
Are you disappointed that there are barely any best-of-fives in the format?
Yeon: We do have one in the finals, so that’ll be exciting. But I do wish we had a few more BO5s. Since there isn't double-elimination in this format, I think it would have been good to have BO5s in the semifinals or quarterfinals even.
What do you think are the odds of Team Liquid winning the LTA?
Yeon: People disregarded us last year based on how we were playing before the playoffs, and we ended up winning the split. If people keep doubting us, we will do it again.
Do you have anything you want to say to your fans before we finish?
Yeon: Thanks for all the support, and I hope all the Brazilian fans aren’t too sad that none of their teams made it. I hope they can cheer us on. Finally, as always, thank you Honda."
Header Photo Credit: Bruno Alvares/Riot Games
