After a rough start, Cloud9 managed to end Week 1 with a sweeping victory over China’s I May. This puts C9 tied for first in the group with SK Telecom T 1 with a score of 2-1. The team finally caught up with the efforts of Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong, with most other members stepping up their performances for a clinical win. Colin “CD Mangaka” Nimer spoke with Andy “Smoothie” Ta about Week 1, C9’s jungle priority, and his first time on the world stage.

Colin Nimer: What was the team’s mindset coming into this game against I May? You had a crushing defeat against SKT on Day 2, and then you had that long game against Flash Wolves where Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi said “we didn’t really win that game.”

Andy Ta: Well, in this series we played a lot better individually, as well as had a really good comp for our style. I really like having engage as a tool, and Alistar brings all of that and makes it a lot easier. It feels a lot easier, because last comp against Flash Wolves, we had a lot of mobility but not a lot of lockdown. We had like… Lee Sin, which was the extent of it, and then Kennen which needs almost a perfect setup to land CC, but… this time we just played better individually, and it was a clean game.

CN: Speaking of Lee Sin, you guys picked that every game for Meteos so far in the tournament, even though other junglers are open. Why the high priority?

AT: So Lee Sin has a lot of kill pressure top side because when he gets level 6 he can go to top lane, and if the wave is stacked he can just kick, Q, Q, and the enemy top laner is almost dead. The biggest thing is just the fact that he’s an AD jungler and that enables us to play an AP top laner, which we like a lot, like Kennen and Rumble. That’s most of the reason, just enabling Impact play what he wants. He’s an OK champ, but he doesn’t bring a lot of hard CC, so that’s why I think we might see less of him, I think.

CN: We saw Aurelion Sol come up with two big victories today, one with CLG over ROX, the other with Flash Wolves over SKT. What do you think about that champion? I know that Jensen is a good Cassiopeia and some consider that as a counter to it. Are you worried about Aurelion Sol coming up in this group at all, or is it a pick you guys are going to practice?

AT: I’m not too sure what our direction is going to be on the Aurelion Sol pick. Jensen plays a good Aurelion Sol himself, so I don’t know if we’re going to practice that or not. I think Jensen has really good communication of where his enemy laner goes and where to be safe on the map, so I think as a team we can play around it, but we’ll definitely have to prep for it in the future and see what happens then.

CN: Speaking of Jensen, he didn’t have the greatest start to this tournament so far. Of course people dug back into his twitter and found his “I can’t wait to clap Faker” tweet and then, there was that first game against SKT. How does Jensen take those kind of losses? Does he get motivated, bounce back, and say “I’m ready to win this time,” or does it take a toll on him?”

AT: I think Jensen gets a buff from all this hate. I don’t think he really cares, honestly. Like he was laughing at all these hateful comments. When he posted that tweet he’s like “I know this is going to bite me in the back someday.” He doesn’t mind too much. I think Jensen just had a bad game that game. Giving Faker Syndra is just… it’s a really strong pick, it brings everything you want in a mid champion right now, and Elise and Syndra just has the most insane kill pressure in mid lane, so it’s hard to do anything in the first place. Faker knows how to bring that pressure and take it everywhere. It was just a hard game, it happens. I don’t think Jensen takes bad games badly, at all.

CN: I actually got to speak to SKT Duke and I asked him “who is the second team to get out of Group B,” and he said “Cloud9.” When I asked why, I didn’t even need a translator because he just said “Impact.” Impact is a very strong part of your team. What is it like to have that strong presence to rely on? What does that give you as far as drafting and strategy?

AT: I mean, as far as drafting goes… I think that building team comps around Impact is actually pretty easy. He likes playing hard carry champions and likes champs that can carry games solo, like Kennen and Rumble, but he can play tanks. He can play anything, and performs on almost everything. He’s really consistent in that aspect. Having a player like that who is really solid and consistent and being good makes everything so much easier. It feels like whenever (the enemy) tries and dives top, he either lives or gets a double kill while dying or not dying. It’s kind of insane. He’s super good, and I wouldn’t have anyone else as a top laner for me.

CN: This is your first appearance at the world championship, and it’s with Cloud9, a team that has always had a lot of expectations going into the world championship. What does it mean for you to be here with this team, and what do you want to take away from this experience?

AT: So for me personally, I haven’t played any games except for League. League is what I’m most passionate about. For my first experience at worlds, I’m just here to learn and get better. I think that playing against all these good players and these insane supports players that punish me for every mistake I make is like the most invaluable experience I can take from worlds. Bettering myself as a player is everything I want. That’s the main reason for me. Doing good is good for publicity, but I don’t care too much. I just want to like do good for my team and win.

(Image courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr)