SR Contractz: "I told myself I would never go back to this level, but here I am"

The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) Lock-In Swiss Stage has finished, and Shopify Rebellion was the first team eliminated. Though expectations were high after importing Korean midlaner Yoo “Zinie” Baek-jin, the Rebels were unable to win a single game in the three series they played. After Sunday’s defeat to Dignitas, Shopify will be on break for at least one-and-a-half months.

Sheep Esports chatted with Juan “Contractz” García after the series defeat to Dignitas. Shopify’s jungler shared his disappointment with the split, playing against long-time teammate Christian “Palafox” Palafox, a comment amidst the renaissance of the North American jungle, and a promise to the Rebel fanbase.

Juan “Contractz” García: “It’s pretty disappointing. None of us coming into this split expected us to finish in last place. It’s embarrassing. Overall, this split, the urgency to fix our problems dawned on us too late. Last week was the turning point for us, when we were urged to turn it around quickly. We were hesitant, scared, and indecisive about what to work on. This week, we had good results in scrims, but we couldn’t show them on stage.

Contractz: We worked to get on the same page and get with him to communicate. As time goes on, Zinie gets more reps, learns more English, and we play more games together, we’ll be more on the same page. We will flow better, but right now, we will need some more time. It’s something we made some good progress on and are proud of, even though we couldn’t show it. It will only get better throughout the year. I’m excited to keep working with Zinie. It will take some time, but we can be a powerful mid jungle duo in the LCS.

Contractz: For the team side, I don’t have the logistics yet. Personally, I’m going to keep putting in the effort to better my real-life habits and translate them into the game. My habits include going to the gym, getting adequate sleep, eating well, maintaining peak form to play a lot of Solo queue, and studying VODs. Keep communicating with Zinie, try to be there for him, and, when we go back to scrims, practice with a great sense of urgency.

Contractz: Sleep has been a big one. For the past couple of years, I slept five to six hours during the season. When the season finished, I would refresh and sleep a lot. It was not good in the long term, and I felt like I was burning out at the end of the split. A big goal this year is to get between 7.5 and 8.5 hours of sleep, and it’s been going really well. I don’t think there’s been a practice day where I haven’t gotten less than seven and a half [hours of sleep]. That has been a big improvement in my daily life, being able to put in 100% each day.

Contractz: That’s crazy, yeah!

Contractz: It was weird, even scrimming against him a lot this split, I’ve been paying attention to his tendencies and the feel of playing against him. It was quite odd and something I was not used to. Christian [Palafox] is a great player, and he felt scapegoated last year. They played a lot better than us today. They completely… handed us the belt. I am happy for him, I think he will probably lose in a second. We had a lot of great times together, we accomplished a championship and a Worlds appearance. We’ve been in each other’s lives for many years. He got the win today, but I’ll have to get him next time. I can’t lose more than one series to him.

Contractz: Something I have taken from a lot of my old teams is the veteran presence. Back in C9, I was a rookie, and everyone around me was teaching me or giving me some tips. They were guiding me, and that’s something I want to do with Zinie. It’s something I have done in my tenures in NACL. It’s a big part of my game, and something I have improved throughout my 10-year career now that I’m an old man. Try to mold into the best person and the best leader, both on and off the field. I consider myself an environment changer, especially when I am 100% in.

Contractz: It’s good for the scene. If I didn’t get a chance in 2017, who knows what my career would have looked like? North American players need a chance and patience to be guided towards the right path. Many players have good potential, and their mechanics aren’t far off, but they need to be taught decision-making and macro. Teaching these concepts is possible, especially with the right combination of teachers and coaches. All the new rookies have shown there’s good talent in NACL, but they haven’t gotten a chance. If there’s ever a good player in whichever role, all they need is a chance to show what they’re made of. The development of North American rookies was stagnant, but we’re having new competition come in. It makes the league better, and I’m happy the region is developing [players].

Contractz: Shopify will do better next split. Everyone here is embarrassed and disappointed. We want to fight and compete for the playoffs and championships. Last year, we had a slight run of victories but also defeats. We’re hungry for more and going 0-6 lights a bigger fire under us. Trust me, we are as embarrassed and disappointed as you guys. It’s a big disgrace to finish this season 0-6 and in 8th place in the LCS. It’s something I haven’t done in years. I told myself I would never go back to this level, but here I am. I will climb my way outside of this pit, as I have always done.”