The second series of the Winner’s Bracket of the
League of Legends Championship Series (
LCS) Lock-In tournament featured a rematch between
Cloud9 and
FlyQuest. In contrast to Week 3’s series, C9 delivered a
dominant 3-0 victory to their opponents.
Thanks to the quick series, C9’s victory marked the fifth-quickest Bo5 series in the history of the LCS. Following his Player of the Series-worthy performance, Robert “Blaber” Huang spoke with Sheep Esports about Christian “IWillDominate” Rivera’s jungle propaganda, similarities between Johnson “Gryffin” Le’s gameplay with his own, the matchup against Sentinels, and how his early-game prowess compares to the world.
The broadcast seemed all in on the jungle crab propaganda. Could you indoctrinate us?
Robert “Blaber” Huang: “If the crab spawns on the bot side, it will be on the same side as the dragon. After two full clears, if you kill the crab’s respawn, you get level six. It’s extremely challenging to fight for the dragon when one jungler has access to his ultimate and the other doesn’t. You end up losing two camps’ worth of experience, and you will probably be down one level for the rest of the game. The game is not lost, but it’s tough to come back when your jungler won’t have his items equally fast as the opposing jungler.
Your coach, IWillDominate, mentioned a strategy during a stream to upgrade Smite before the second crab respawn. Is this concept tied to how you see the game played?
Blaber: If you kill your Gromp or Krugs at 5:30, the last camp of your second full clear will give you an extra treat, which upgrades your Smite from 600 to 1000. This gives you a massive advantage in the second crab fight. Crab usually has between 2100 and 2200 health, and if your smite is 400 points greater, it’s almost a guarantee you get level 6 before the enemy jungler. This was a strategy my coaches told me to implement, and I think we started this, at least in North America.
This innovation was reflected in the series. There was a massive difference between the three games last week and the three games played this week. What would you attribute to the difference shown?
Blaber: I think both series were similar. In Game 2, we didn’t have a great draft, but we misplayed, which made the game closer. The games we won during both series looked alike. We played well and capitalized on the opponent’s mistakes.
There have been some similarities discussed between you and Gryffin. Have you noticed any resemblance between his gameplay and yours?
Blaber: I see many similarities, especially in the early stages of my career. He is a great jungler who knows how to push his lead. He is still a bit inexperienced in how to play the map. When facing C9, Vulcan (Philippe Laflamme) and I are a terrific jungle-support duo, but he and Cryogen (Michael Luu) need time to develop. They don’t understand how to play mid-game. If you have an experienced jungler, he will teach the support and vice versa. Because they’re both newer [players], he falters when facing C9.
Last week, you picked Zaahen jungle, and Gryffin responded with the same champion after C9 had locked Ambessa in Game 1. Was there any preparation against his champion pool?
Blaber: There was no special preparation, but we knew there was a possibility after looking at his Soloqueue. There was no specific draft strategy against him picking Zaahen.
Blaber: I wouldn’t credit my performance to playing the younger generation. I have something to prove this year, regardless of who I am facing. I haven’t had the best couple of years. I want to prove to the fans and to myself that I am still the best.
That sounds like a heavy burden. How have these expectations prepared you for the year?
Blaber: I wanted to develop my consistency in the mid-to-late game. I think my early game is the best in the league. To be honest, I have one of the best early games in the world, regarding pathing, but I would make many mistakes mid-to-late game. I would get caught for no reason or make a nonsensical engage. This was a big weakness I had last year. A big goal of mine is to stay more composed, process what I’m going to do, consider the response of my actions, and think about the bigger picture of the game instead of acting impulsively. This is something I’ve been working on going into 2026, and I’m hoping to keep consistent for the rest of the year, because it just started.
Your teammate, Eain “APA” Stearns, shared with Sheep Esports that he believed finishing first in the Swiss Stage means nothing, as the job isn’t done. You qualified for the America’s Cup after this win. Would you consider falling short of your expectations if you do not qualify for First Stand?
Blaber: I would feel the split was not a success if we did not attend First Stand. We are very capable of winning the split, and we should strive towards that goal.
Your next match is against the blossoming story of Sentinels, the team you originally wanted to choose. Do you think this series will be easier, or did they prove something after their victory against Disguised?
Blaber: I wouldn’t say this is an easier series. Sentinels are a standard team with standard gameplay. They will not beat us. We have the advantage against them, but I don’t think they are a weak team. They had a great series yesterday, and if we don’t perform, we will lose to them. We need to work hard and not underestimate them.
Next week, the crowd returns to the studio. Are you excited to play in front of fans again?
Blaber: I’m very excited to play with a live crowd, I’ve been missing it!”
