HLE Zeus: "These days, tankier champions feel better and seem to suit me more."
Following Hanwha Life Esports' victory over T1, toplaner Zeus spoke in an interview about his Player of the Match award, his choice of Cho'Gath, and HLE's recent losing streak.
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Hanwha Life Esports HLE Zeus at LoL Park. Credit: LCK/Riot Games
HLE secured their first victory of the Summer Split against T1
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Following Hanwha Life Esports' victory over T1, toplaner Choi "Zeus" Woo-je spoke in an interview about his Player of the Match award, his choice of Cho'Gath, and HLE's recent losing streak in the LCK Rounds 3-4.
First of all, congratulations on today's win. Could you share your thoughts on the victory, along with your thoughts on winning POM today?
Choi "Zeus" Woo-je: "First off, we snapped the losing streak, and in a way, this win feels like the signal flare of our comeback, so that feels good. It also feels like a really long time since I last got a POM, so that's nice too.
Last time you took a disappointing loss-win-loss result, but today you won with a loss-win-win. What do you think was the biggest factor in today's victory?
Zeus: After losing the first game, we could have felt mentally that things were getting rough, especially since we were on a losing streak. But the whole team held on to the belief that we could win and stayed focused on the game, and I think that was what mattered most.
Where do you think the Game 1 loss came from?
Zeus: Well, Olaf was just really strong, and somewhere along the way, our team ended up with a comp that had no damage. That's the part I find disappointing.
In Game 1, you picked Anivia, the counter to Olaf, but took a disappointing result. In Game 2, the opponent drafted Gnar as the counter, and you still won on Ambessa. How difficult are these matchups, and how do you explain the results going against the counters?
Zeus: Honestly, Olaf versus Anivia is less of a counter matchup than people think. I picked Anivia simply as a champion that could hold Olaf off well. And Gnar versus Ambessa really comes down to how each side plays it, so I see that matchup as a genuine 50-50. I didn't worry about it much.
Today, you pulled out Cho'Gath for the first time in your pro career. Where did that pick come from?
Zeus: The first expensive skin I ever bought as a kid was Battlecast Prime Cho'Gath, so I always had this thought that if I ever played pro games one day, I wanted to use him. He's a champion I've always liked. Separately from that, I also think the champion is in a really strong spot performance-wise, so I felt he would be a usable pick as the series went on.
In the post-match interview, you mentioned there is a Cho'Gath expert on the team, presumably Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyung. Did he give you any Cho'Gath tips?
Zeus: I never got any actual Cho'Gath tips. He just told me something from his solo queue games, something about the ult. It was about ult stacks, I think. Yes, it was a conversation about ult stacks.
Was it meaningful?
Zeus: Well, it was a constructive conversation. Yes.
Your champion pool is really wide. Which champion fits your hands best at the moment?
Zeus: Actually, until about one or two years ago, I liked squishy champions, the high-damage styles. These days, tankier champions feel better and seem to suit me more. So picks like Dr. Mundo, Swain, and Cho'Gath are really fun to play, and I feel confident on them too.
You recently visited the ballpark and threw the ceremonial first pitch. If you go again, what position would you like to try?
Zeus: If I ever go back to a ballpark, I'd like to go as a spectator. I just want to enjoy watching a game.
You did a lot out there, even spraying water around. What was the most fun moment?
Zeus: Definitely when I walked out onto the field. The view, and the kind of pressure the players must feel out there, I got to experience all of that secondhand, so that was fun.
Zeus: The bat felt more solid than I expected, heavier than I thought. And since it's an actual pro's bat, it had this premium feel to it.
How are you using that bat now?
Zeus: The bat is standing behind my desk like a totem right now. I'm using it as a good luck charm, and I'll probably take it home eventually.
If someone could watch just one match from your entire career, which one would you recommend?
Zeus: Would one series be okay instead of one game? Recently, as a hobby, I've been rewatching full matches from my old Worlds runs whenever I'm bored. Watching them back, I felt I played really well at Worlds 2023, in the series against JDG. Watching it, I remember thinking, yeah, that was something.
Was there a personal highlight from that series?
Zeus: There's a moment in the midlane where I flanked around on Aatrox, killed the Varus, and it snowballed into Baron. That was a pretty sexy play, I think.
You had a run of disappointing series just before this. Did the team atmosphere sink during that stretch, or did you hold on to the belief that you could beat anyone?
Zeus: The problems our team was having, the things that weren't working, were in a way similar to the issues we had back when we played poorly at the LCK Cup.
On top of that, every player was fully aware of their own weak points and of what they needed to do to play better, so I felt our form coming back was only a matter of time. And now that we won today, I believe we can keep improving from here.
Your next opponent happens to be Gen.G, can we look forward to a revenge match?
Zeus: Gen.G's form seems to have come up a lot as well, so I think it will be another good match.
To close the interview, could you say a word to the fans supporting you?
Zeus: Since Round 3 started, we kept losing and couldn't hold a single fan meeting, and that always weighed on me. So it feels great that we won on a fan meeting day, and that we finally took at least one win in Round 3. And to our fans, after losing Game 1 today, it was honestly tough, but everyone cheered so hard that I was able to lock back into the games. Thank you so much."
