On August 26^th, the Summer Split finals match that everyone thought was going to be the final showdown between the two titans turned out to be a major disappointment—RNG was shutout by the equally matched EDG, forced to participate in Season 6 Worlds as the second seed. After two days, the journalists of??????magazine interviewed Mata about the latest situation within the team.

"We lost the finals because our fundamentals weren’t strong enough"

EDG 3:0 RNG. It was an outcome that neither us nor RNG themselves expected. The depressed look on the players' faces after the finals was heartbreaking. Mata expressed that it has not affected their team atmosphere too significantly at the moment, and they have started to thoroughly reflect upon the reasons behind their loss.

Q: The fans were eagerly looking forward to your match against EDG, but the match was completely one-sided. What do you think were the issues?

Mata: We had issues in our fundamentals. We also did not handle teamfights properly.

Q: There was one game where your team stole Baron and had a chance of making a comeback, but in the end you guys couldn’t do it.

Mata: That was because we did not teamfight well.

Q: The 0:3 score is very embarrassing. What do you think about this result?

Mata: I never thought it was going to be a 0:3. But after finishing the first two games, I felt that losing the series would be normal.

Q: Have you guys moved on from the finals yet?

Mata: It wasn’t that serious. So far, we have maintained our mentality, and the team’s atmosphere is not bad. Even though we regret losing the match, we can learn from the lesson this finals has taught us. We can adjust our conditions and make changes to work harder and play better for future matches.

Q: In the post-match interview, Xiaohu seems rather depressed. He said that he wouldn’t be able to beat anyone on the Worlds stage. How is he doing now?

Mata: Xiaohu’s mentality is pretty good right now. He has already recognized his mistakes and shortcomings. If we all work hard together, we can definitely play better.

“Uzi has been playing very well, but he can play even better”

From the Spring Split to the Summer Split, RNG has faced many problems during the process of integrating the powerhouse Ad Carry, Uzi. Mata believes that the team’s results weren’t consistent, reason being the weakness in their fundamentals. Even though Mata believes that Uzi had an outstanding performance in the Summer Split, he knows that Uzi can play even better.

Q: The current patch made relatively large changes to the game. What do you think is the impact of this patch on the competitive metagame?

Mata: The patch didn’t introduce that big of a change, but due to the restriction on lane-swaps placed by the current patch, we need to pay attention to the rise of new meta picks and shifts in existing picks. I also believe that the patch wasn’t the reason why we lost the finals. We lost because of our own mistakes and poor performance.

Q: In the Spring Split, you guys were a really tough team that could weather unfavourable conditions until the favourable moment comes. But in the Summer Split, your team’s ability to deal with unfavourable conditions weren’t as good as the Spring Split. What do you think were the problems?

Mata: Again, our fundamentals weren’t strong enough. Even though we had been in disadvantageous situations in the Spring Split, we could hold our own until the time to make a comeback. Currently, if we do not play well in the early game, we would have a huge disadvantage that is very difficult to come back from.

Q: You have said before that Uzi is the player you want to Support the most. After a split of playing with him, how do you rate his performance over the entire split?

Mata: I think Uzi has played very well so far, but he can play even better.

Q: Many people said Uzi had champion pool issues this split. What do you think about this?

Mata: From the outsider’s perspective, the only thing they can criticize Uzi on is his champion pool. But I feel that people who have this belief definitely do not understand League of Legends very well. People think that Uzi can only play one champion after watching only a few of his games. Uzi has played many champions and he played them very well. Furthermore, just because a player has played many champions, it doesn’t mean that his champion pool is very deep.

Q: Currently, your team has the top players in every position. Where do you think your team is lacking the most?

Mata: Our team is at the front of the pack in LPL, but the issues in our fundamentals are inexcusable. I feel that we already know where our mistakes are. If we can fix our mistakes, we can play better than the other teams.

“Use the 30 days before Season 6 Worlds as if it were 30 years”

Summer Split finals is already in the past. RNG needs to prepare for the upcoming Season 6 World Championship. They will use the next 30 days to prepare as if it were 30 years. We hope they can practice hard and show up as a better RNG on the Worlds stage.

Q: Now that the Summer Split is over, how will you guys adjust yourselves to prepare for the upcoming Season 6 Worlds?

Mata: If it’s possible, the five of us needs to become closer and do more post-game analysis. There is about 30 days left until Season 6 World Championship. We will use the 30 days before Season 6 Worlds as if it were 30 years. I hope we can put in more effort and work harder.

Q: How will you plan your practice?

Mata: We will increase our practice volume. We will maintain our hardworking spirit and practice harder.

Q: Will you guys schedule scrims with LCK teams?

Mata: LCK is an extremely strong region. Their teams become even stronger as they clash amongst each other. We won’t only schedule Korean teams, we will also scrim with LPL teams. Basically, the more practice the better.

Q: Xiaohu and MLXG will be going to Worlds for the first time. As their senpai, what do you think they should pay attention to on the Worlds stage?

Mata: They should use our 0:3 defeat in the finals against EDG as an experience. This time we have the opportunity to go to Season 6 World Championship, I hope they aren’t too pressured to achieve results—just treat it as an experience.

Q: What do you expect for Season 6 Worlds?

Mata: Given our current strength, I can’t really say if there is much to expect. But we will work hard to achieve the best result.

Q: Lastly, anything you want to say to the fans?

Mata: I am really sorry that we didn’t give everyone a spectacular finals, but you guys don’t have to worry about us too much. We will perform well on the Season 6 Worlds stage and showcase a better side of us.

This is a translation of an interview with Mata for Chinese League of Legends esports magazine ?????? that was written by ??? and translated by Steven Yu. The original interview can be found at ?????? .