After defeating
Team Heretics in
VCT EMEA Stage 1 this Thursday,
Team Liquid have yet to concede a single map after two matches in the competition. Eliminated during the Swiss Stage of
Masters Santiago, the team has already shifted its focus toward its next objective: securing a strong result that would qualify them for the upcoming international event in London.
Having made his VCT debut during Kickoff, Team Liquid’s newest player, Wayne “wayne” Chang, is now establishing himself as a competitor capable of performing at this level. He spoke with Sheep Esports about his first experiences in the league and his team’s current level of performance.
What’s your first feeling after the game?
Wayne “wayne” Chang: “I'm very happy. I think my teammates did really well today and honestly I didn't really do much and we won quite easily. I definitely expected more from myself but I think if my team is playing that good I don't really have to do much I'm just doing my job and just filling out everything so I definitely could have done better but I'm still happy with the result.
You’re starting with 2 wins and no defeat so far with no map lost. Is everything going as you expected so far in the competition?
wayne: Yeah for sure I think everything is going as we expected and we're just doing really well right now, so hopefully we can keep this up. I think the wins should be pretty easy for us, with how we're playing right now. But there is still bit of shakiness from us. Against Team Heretics, we were struggling to close the game in the first map. So I think we just have to work on that and we'll be fine.
You joined Team Liquid at the beginning of the year and needed time to adapt. What was the biggest challenge personally when you started the competition this year?
wayne: The biggest challenge is how to deal with the pressure. Coming into VCT EMEA as a Pacific tier 2 player is pretty hard. There are a lot of different playstyles between the two regions and I just had to adapt to everything here. Everything was new to me. There was lot of pressure on me, from myself. And I think throughout kickoff it got way better and now I'm pretty comfortable.
As you say, it's your first year in VCT and in another continent. Did the level of the league overall meet your expectations or did you expect it to be easier or harder or just different?
wayne: Honestly, when I was still in tier 2 and I was watching EMEA, I thought that teams were way better. And after I came here, I was pretty surprised, I would say. I really thought that all the teams would be very good. But I think coming in here and just playing with Liquid, just shows how Liquid is really good right now. And hopefully we just continue our performance to Masters London.
Do you feel like you are at 100 % of your level right now and you fully adapted to the region?
wayne: I'm almost there. I feel like I can always be better. So I just want to keep improving game by game and hopefully reach 100% soon.
For your first split you even had the opportunity to play at an international tournament with the Masters Santiago. What did you learn from this first experience?
wayne: I learned a lot of things. Overall it was mainly how to play under pressure, especially being on an international tournament as my first tournament of the year. It's pretty nerve-racking. I was really nervous at the start. And honestly, I was just scared to play my normal game when I first started playing in Santiago. But I think throughout the tournament, I kinda got used to it pretty quickly so I definitely overcame that nervousness and all the stress so now I just play my own game.
What do you think your team was missing in Santiago to achieve better results?
wayne: In Santiago everyone was feeling really confident but a lot of mistakes were made and overall like the playstyle was just not right, so I think that's why we lost.
You’re playing with teammates with a lot of experience, especially Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin, coming out a brillant performance today as well. He’s often praised as a good leader but what makes it easy to play with him according to you?
wayne: Playing with nAts is really easy for me. He's very straightforward. He always knows what he wants to do in the game. And outside of the game, he's like an older brother to me. Every time I'm doing bad he always just try to make sure I'm okay and just put my head back into the game. He's really caring, I would say. And that makes it easy for me to play with him.
Did you expect him to be like this when you joined TL?
wayne: Not really, when I first joined Liquid I thought nAts would be pretty scary (laughs). But he's the opposite. He's really nice to me.
Do you see your team currently among the favorites to qualify to London?
wayne: I think from the outside, people might not expect us to qualify, but in my opinion, I feel like if we continue to play our game, we should be able to qualify easily.
Which teams are you considering as your toughest opponents right now?
wayne: FUT Esports is looking pretty good in our group. They'll probably be the hardest team that we're going to face. And in playoffs, I think Fnatic should be one of the toughest teams to beat.
You’ll also play against Gentle Mates in your group that beat you during Masters. Do you expect them to be still as good as in Kickoff or did they fall off according to you?
wayne: I wouldn't say they fell off but I think Gentle Mates were really strong in the meta with Yoru. Now with Yoru being nerfed, I think it will definitely affect them a lot. So I think they're still good fundamentally but let's see. I think FUT will still be an harder challenge.
