100 Thieves FakeGod talks turning the LoL team’s fortunes around

100 Thieves was feeling quite relieved after defeating TeamSoloMid this weekend. Thanks to the victory, 100 Thieves is still in the running to make playoffs, even after a loss to Golden Guardians the day before. 

The win was due in part to the addition of top laner Aaron “FakeGod” Lee and mid laner Yoo “Ryu” Sang-wook. The two were promoted from the 100 Thieves Academy team in June, and have been responsible for the team’s turnaround in the LCS when they were put on the starting roster three weeks ago. 

Despite his excellent skills on the LCS Arena stage, FakeGod has remained humble. WIN.gg sat down with the talented player about moving up from the Academy, and how it feels to be in front of an audience while competing. 

You needed this win to stay in the running for playoffs. How did it feel to win against TSM? 

FakeGod: I think, before the match, we only talked about it a little, that we have to win three in a row for playoffs. I tried not to let it get to my head. I don’t believe that thinking about that is really helpful. I just wanted to play like normal. Well, maybe a little better than normal. 

Did it feel good to get the win?

It felt really good, obviously. But at the end I was thinking about what I was going to tweet, honestly. 

Did you think of anything yet? 

Yes, it’s already up. It’s simple. Just, “Win lane, win game” with an “xD after it. I was copying Broken Blade’s tweet from last time we played.

The last time we played, I tweeted, “Win lane, lose game.” I wasn’t blaming my team or anything. But when I first started in the LCS, it was “lose lane, win game.” So it was just the opposite. This is just a funny meme to me. 

The game wasn’t even close. What do you think helped you guys pull so far ahead?

They didn’t expect us to play around top lane. That never happens. For this patch, I played a lot of champions that focus top-side. I think that took them by surprise. Their bans were rather safe. They didn’t consider Renekton at all. They didn’t think I would play it. 

Your jungler Amazing said if you guys could control the early game, you’d win. How were you guys able to maintain control in the early game? 

Our bot lane was pretty safe, I think. Before, we were planning on playing bot-centric. But then the draft changed. It was focusing top side a lot and getting advantages from there, and it went really well. We could control the game from there, winning three lanes. 

Some people were shocked about your loss to Golden Guardians yesterday. What do you think led to that loss? 

Our players weren’t playing as the normally do. Our coach just wanted us to think about it. Maybe it was the idea of playoffs, or because Huhi was on the other team.

Our coach just didn’t want it to continue today. He wanted us to play normally and not do any weird stuff or think weirdly because of the pressure. 

Were you playing differently?

I feel I played really normally, but he said I shouldn’t be the one calling stuff. It’s not how we usually play, especially in that composition. 

Why did Huhi throw the team off? 

That was something the coach was wondering, too. We aren’t even sure if that was it. Maybe it’s something else. Maybe personal issues. But it’s okay. We did play normally [versus TSM], and that’s what really counts. 

You turned your season around. What do you think helped your team improve?

Having more synergy and communication. In the beginning of the split, Bang and Aphromoo didn’t play too well together. But now they know how to play together. That’s when we started to win. There are two shot callers now with Ryu. He’s a little bit of a shot caller so that helps Amazing play a bit more early to mid. 

Three weeks ago you and Ryu were put onto the starting roster. Did you feel any pressure to help your team improve at the time? 

I just saw it as having nothing to lose. I was still nervous, of course. I didn’t think I’d be the solution. I just thought it’d be something to try. But it did work!

I just didn’t expect to be able to stay on the LCS stage for so long. But if this is the roster that works, I’m okay with it. 

How did it feel to be on that stage at first?  

I was super nervous. I have been on the stage before, for scouting grounds, then the last days of LCS last split. But those games didn’t really matter. Then for Academy playoffs. There was pressure there. It was best-of-five and pretty long. And now LCS in the middle of the season. I did have experience on the stage, but the stakes were lesser.

At first, I wasn’t nervous about my opponents or anything. But I was kind of distracted a lot, mostly because of the crowd. It was a different environment for me. I could just see them out of the corner of my eye. It was distracting. But I got the hang of it now by focusing completely on the computer screen. I moved the monitor a little to block the crowd from my view. 

How did it feel coming from the Academy team? 

My coaches had a lot of expecations for me. I wasn’t 100 percent sure of myself. I had a bad game in Acadmey so my self confidence was a little low. The first perfomrances were okay, nothing spectacular. It wasn’t top-tier top laning. 

Did you feel good about the promotion? 

Not really. It wasn’t like I got so good that they moved me to the LCS. It was just the current roster not working, and they wanted to try something else to see what works. It wasn’t something to feel good about unless you’re just happy to get an opportunity. 

Were you happy about the opportunity? 

I think I wanted to stay in Academy a little longer. Obviously, it’s LCS, so I’m happy to take that chance. It just took me out of my confort zone a little.

But now I’m glad this chance happened for me.

What do you like about being with the current 100 Thieves starting roster? 

They’re all really experienced and funny. Like Aphromoo and Bang and Amazing. Ryu is funny in a different way. I just like the team environment .

How are you feeling going into next week’s games? 

I’m not feeling too pressured right now. I think I’ll just try to play normally like before. And try to keep winning. I don’t want to have my performance affected by anything. 

Which match are you looking forward to? 

Clutch Gaming is most important because we’re closest in the standings.

I just look forward to winning.