Just when group D couldn’t get even more crazy, Samsung came out with an impressive win over Royal Never Give Up after its crushing loss to Team SoloMid. Samsung played more to the strategy it employed in the gauntlet against KT Rolster, emphasizing engage and picks instead of farming to scale in order to secure its second win in the group stage. Colin “CD Mangaka” Nimer spoke with Lee “Crown” Min-ho, Samsung’s mid laner, to talk about the differences between Samsung’s two support players, and Brazil’s success at worlds.

Colin Nimer: I’m here with Lee “Crown” Min-ho from Samsung after an exciting victory against Royal Never Give Up. Your Viktor was banned against you today, which is one of your best picks, and you went with Ryze today for the first time since his rework. What made you guys pivot to Ryze? A lot of people think that Cassiopeia does well into Ryze, yet you still picked it.

Lee Min-Ho: I personally believe that Ryze is a pretty good pick against Cassiopeia. You can argue the other way around that Cassiopeia is a pretty good champion against Ryze, but I personally believe that Ryze is actually pretty good, and I have a number of picks that are prepared and Ryze is one of them.

CN: When we look at this matchup, you guys decided to use CoreJJ instead of Wraith, and it seemed like you guys were more proactive. You had more engage built into your composition and you guys were looking for fights and Ambition had a very good game on Skarner. Why is that? Is there just something about CoreJJ that helps you look for plays over Wraith? At the world championship, there’s a difference with how you have played with the two supports.

LM: So first of all, CoreJJ played today not because Wraith was bad last game. Wraith was good, but we wanted to sort of refresh our atmosphere by substituting a player. I want to talk about their different styles: Wraith is a very calm player. He’s always safe, he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and he’s composed all the time. Whereas, CoreJJ is really aggressive, and he likes to make really diverse, unexpected plays, and he’s really proactive in shotcalling. They each have strengths.

CN: A lot of us western fans of the LCK think that Wraith is one of the most underrated supports in Korea. It’s always GorillA or Hachani that gets the limelight, but we think that Wraith is a player among that caliber. Do you think that?

LM: So I don’t… Wraith is good, but I don’t think he’s at the same level as GorillA or Hachani, so I do agree with that sentiment. The reason I think that is because I want him to be more proactive with his shotcalling and making plays, so he has some room for improvement there. Even though I’m not perfect, you know, he’s not perfect, and we’re just trying to go up the ladder together and be stronger, so I don’t think we’re up there yet.

CN: You started out your professional career in Brazil, and I’d love to talk to you more about that, but seeing INTZ come to the international stage and do as well as they have so far, how does that make you feel? Do you know any of the players? Are you happy for them, or are you indifferent now that you’ve returned to Korea?

LM: So I’m personally really proud because the Brazilian team, INTZ, is doing well, and honestly I didn’t expect them to do so well. Seeing them do so well, you know, makes me feel proud. I’m really good friends with micaO, and even today, I was walking with him to the venue and we made good conversation and we joke all the time. So it’s fun, and I feel good.

(Image courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr)