This week I got to sit down and talk to top-10 midlaner, Eugene "Pobelter" Park right before the most important weekend of the split. He talks playing against Cloud 9 and Phoenix 1, this upcoming weekend, and his teammate Dardoch. 

Hey Pobelter! How are you doing after taking down Cloud 9 this past weekend and coming so very close to securing playoffs?

We were all really happy to beat Cloud 9 since they had defeated us 2-0 last time, especially because we’ve had so many sets this season where we can’t close out in the 3rd game of the series. It’s also a vital win for us as we continue to try and clinch a playoff seed.

What do you think the recent slip in Cloud 9 performances can be attributed to after starting the split so strong?

Cloud 9 was the most dominant team in the beginning of the season, and it’s difficult to maintain that because while other teams can learn from the top team, the top team must continue to innovate and challenge themselves, which is much more difficult. I think that one reason for their strength early this season was that they kept an almost identical roster from last year, only changing their jungler, while many other teams like us had significant roster changes. This gave them the edge in teamwork, but now, other teams have had the time and experience to build good synergy as well.

The next set in this past weekend, you lost to Phoenix 1, a team rising in the NALCS that seems poised for a strong playoff run. What do you think led to this loss? What have you learned from that set in order to grow going into this weekend and playoffs?

I think that some of our team and I were in poor condition that day. Unfortunately, I played very poorly both games, and the game is very difficult to win if you don’t have control of mid usually. Also, I think our draft in game 2 had strong champions but lacked cohesiveness because of its lack of CC. Lastly, we weren’t experienced enough playing against picks like Zac and Kalista. I think Ryu is a really smart, consistent player, so I was able to learn a few things from him. He’s been a top performer in Korea, Europe, and now NA, so I really respect that. From a team perspective, I think we also learned some things about building strong team compositions and contesting vision control during the game.

Dardoch seems to be both the keystone and driving force for Immortals in the past few weeks. Along with yourself, the two of you seem to be what makes or breaks this Immortals squad on any given weekend. What is the relationship between the two of you like?

I think that Dardoch is the most mechanically skilled jungler in NA, and one of the most mechanically skilled teammates I’ve ever had alongside Doublelift and Huni. Honestly, we don’t spend that much time together outside the game besides team activities, but I think we have strong synergy and can always trust each other to follow one another and succeed during LCS matches.

What do you think about the rest of the players on IMT in recent weeks? Players like Cody Sun who received a lot of flak during the season seem to be stepping up. How has he adapted to playing with the team on stage?

Everybody on the team is skilled individually, we just need to continue working on our teamwork and communication. Cody’s been doing quite well recently, especially for a rookie, and I think that Olleh has really helped him improve since the beginning of the season. I think he will continue to improve and become a really fearsome player. I wish there were breakout rookies like Contractz, Akaadian, or Cody in the mid lane position from NA. Whether it’s because teams are not willing to take a chance with NA mid lane talent or if there really is just nobody out there I’m not sure, but I feel like Goldenglue and I have been the only native players in this position in LCS for years now, which is kind of sad.

Over your first two splits under Immortals, you seemed to be discontent with how the staff operated with your team, halting your improvement and leading to two disappointing playoff runs. Has that changed at all this split? Is there any aspect that you wish would be better?

I really regret that interview I gave last year where I spoke about our team problems, because it incited an “angry mob” mentality from the community towards our coaching staff. It was really unprofessional for me to do that and things like that should stay within the team; I just didn’t handle the situation properly. Honestly, both players and staff could have worked harder and helped prevent many of the problems we had last year. This year, I think we were able to learn from the mistakes of the previous year and avoid many of those problems we had.

This coming weekend is quintessential to the success of the Immortals Spring 2017 season. You play against both your old team in CLG and the rising powerhouse in team Dignitas, one of the teams that is still fighting to secure playoffs. Back in Week 5 you lost to CLG in a 1-2 with Huhi pulling out his signature Aurelion Sol to close out the series. How do you think you will do against CLG this time around? What do you think are the weak points are to CLG? How do you think you will do against Huhi in the lane phase?

I think that we’re both aggressive teams early game and have a tendency to be a bit inconsistent. So, we have similar strengths and weaknesses. Last time we were caught off-guard by a Soraka pick, which had high game impact in the 2 games we lost during the series, but we are more prepared this time. I think that Huhi isn’t a strong 1v1 laner, but is good at using his teammates to pressure mid, which is more important than individual skill. As long as I play well and communicate to my teammates what I need to succeed in my matchup, I think I can beat him.

Going into the other end of the weekend, you face Dignitas, a team that has had an insane winrate these past few weeks and seem to be on the rise. In specific, Keane seems to be dishing out tons of damage and winning games for his team. Do you think you can take him down in the head to head? Do you think Immortals has what it takes to 2-0 Dignitas again and end their win streak?

I’ve played against Keane for about 3 years now in LCS and I think I usually have good results against him. Both we and Dignitas have improved greatly since we last faced off and swept them, but I still think we are the stronger team. Beating Dignitas this weekend is key for securing a playoff seed, so we must win.

If you win both games this weekend, you will be secured for playoffs. Of the other top teams, who would you want to face off against in the first round and why?

We will likely qualify as 6th seed for playoffs which means we would play the 3rd place seed in the quarterfinals. I think the best outcome for us to advance from there would be to face Cloud 9 if they manage to fall from the 2nd place seed currently, as we’ve defeated them recently, yet lost to TSM and P1. However, we will need to be good enough to beat every team we encounter in playoffs, so it doesn’t matter too much in the end.

Recently we had patch 7.6 go live and are getting more substantial changes to non-meta junglers. If there was one champion for the mid lane that you wish got buffs, which would it be?

I really liked playing AP Kog’Maw back in the day, but recently it’s received nerf after nerf, so he isn’t really usable as a mid laner anymore. I wish they brought back his AP ratios so I could play AP Kog’Maw again.

If you could remove one champion from viability in competitive from the mid lane as well, which would it be?

Currently in the mid lane meta there aren’t any champions I would remove. In the past, Azir was an incredibly suffocating champion that warped the mid lane meta and was pick or ban for an incredibly long time, so I’m happy that he’s been nerfed accordingly.

Pobelter, you have a dedicated fanbase that has stuck with you since Winterfox and EG days, going through the highs of the CLG and IMT over the past year and a half and sticking with you throughout your big wins and heartbreaking losses. Do you have anything to say to your fans for the coming weeks?

Thanks everybody for your support, and I hope I can continue to improve and show strong performances in LCS. See you in playoffs!

Photos: Riot Esports Flickr

Albert "Ace" Pariente-Cohen is a freelance esports writer who primarily writes about League of Legends. You can follow him here!

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