SKT Faker Interview: Worlds 2017 Day 2

Hey there everyone, welcome to our Worlds 2017 Interview Series. As you may know, we have partnered with Travis Gafford and supported his trip to China to cover the games and get insights from the players. We will be sharing the interviews here along with their transcriptions. Enjoy!

Travis: Hello everyone. It is the second date of Group Stage and my coverage, of course, is presented by Mobalytics. I’m joined right now by Faker himself, as well as David who’s gonna help translate. Faker, I have interviewed you so many times, every year you have to do these interviews with me. Have you ever thought about just not succeeding just so you can avoid my interviews?

Faker: Well, I would like to avoid it if possible but it is our job as a pro team to be interviewed, and because I love to succeed, and I love to do well, and in the game so I believe that the interview is unavoidable I guess.

Travis: That is true. Much like so many things at Worlds the interview is unavoidable, much like SKT’s success at Worlds. Talk to me about that game. Obviously, I’m sure you’ve answered a lot of questions about it already, but how is it that you guys were able to come back in? And, did you always feel like you could come back in? Are you still confident that you can win even when you are that far behind?

Faker: Well, I believe that we have a strong, strengthened team fight, and [know] how to use the map. So I believe even though we are falling behind a bit, or even a lot, I believe that we can always still make a comeback.

Travis: Now, every year I kind of ask SKT this question, but I will ask again – is this again just gonna be an easy year for SKT? Or do you think that you might not win? Or do you think that it will be harder than last year?What are your thoughts?

Faker: I believe every year, the performance required for us to actually win the World Championship is about similar, but I think for now our performance is a bit lower than the standard that I believe is required for winning the World Championship. I believe that I need to work harder and I to play better in order to win the championship.

Travis: This year it feels like the meta is very bot lane-centric, especially with Ardent Censer and that it allows bot lanes to really shine. Is that frustrating to you? Do you wish that mid lane was more impactful in the game?

Faker: Well, I think the meta doesn’t really impact my performance. Even though it is a bot-centric meta at the moment, it is true that during mid and late game the extent to which bot can impact the game has increased of course, but I still think that mid actually has more importance in the early and early-mid lane phase so I believe that I don’t think it is too bot-centric [of a] meta at the moment.

Travis: Final question, I have realized I’ve interviewed you so many times, but I’ve never asked you…do you have just one piece of advice that you would give to any fan out there who wants to get better at League of Legends?

Faker: The most important thing is thinking about the game as League is a very complex game, there are a lot of thinking processes required and fast decision-making required in order to lead the game to win, so I believe that fast thinking and fast decision-making is what is required – and that is my tip for all these League players.

Travis: Anything to say to the fans?

Faker: Thank you.

Thanks for reading/watching! For more Worlds coverage, you can see more interviews here, or at Travis’s Youtube channel.