IG GALA: "People come to watch the game because the outcome isn’t certain"

"The rankings don’t really determine the outcome of a match"

On Tuesday, Invictus Gaming will face reigning champions T1 in a do-or-die Play-Ins match at the 2025 League of Legends World Championship. AD carry Chen “GALA” Wei aims to repeat his decisive victory over T1 from MSI 2022 and lead his team to an upset. He told Sheep Esports how IG is preparing for the matchup, adapting to the new Fearless Draft format, and ready to challenge the world’s best.

According to Sheep Esports, you're ranked 15 in the top 20 players in the whole tournament. How do you feel about that?

GALA: "I don’t really have any particular thoughts about it. The rankings don’t really determine the outcome of a match, it still comes down to how we perform on the day.

You already defeated T1 at MSI 2022 Finals. What does it take to prepare against T1 in a high stakes match like this one?

GALA: T1 has a lot of champions they’re really good at, and some pretty unique play styles. We want to focus on early-game team fights around resources and try to play those out well.

A lot of fans are going into play-ins favoring T1. What would you say to every fan in the world that doesn't believe in you, right?

GALA: T1 has always performed really well at Worlds. But what I want to say is — people come to watch the game because the outcome isn’t certain.

Also Read: LoL - Worlds: Invictus Gaming, A scent of champion (13/17)

A new feature for this World Championship is Fearless Draft. How do you feel it influences your team's approach to this event?

GALA: It’s the first time we’ve had a format like this in recent years, so it’s pretty fun. You get to play different champions every game, and there’s a lot more strategy and mind games with the other team's coach now.

Who do you think are the teams that benefit from Fearless Draft?

GALA: I haven’t really thought about that. We’ve been playing Fearless Draft for a year now, so everyone’s pretty well-adjusted at this point.

Patch 25.20 many ADCs have shifted in strength and priority. How do you see Kai’Sa state in this meta?

GALA: I think Kai’Sa can definitely still show up in games. She clears resources really fast. The only downside is that her early wave control can be a bit weak, but if the top-tier picks are off the table, she’s still a really solid option."

Header Photo Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games