FlyQuest head coach on missing playoffs, preparing for gauntlet

FlyQuest may not be living up to fan expectations with their current 5-11 record. Their ninth place position seems like a step down from their fourth-place finish in the LCS Spring Split. This time, they won’t even make it to the LCS Summer Split playoffs.

But head coach Gabriel “Invert” Zedoltan-Johan isn’t too worried about that. Right now, FlyQuest has their eyes on the gauntlet. WIN.gg sat down with Invert after their loss to Clutch Gaming to find out the team’s plans moving forward. 

How are you feeling after this weekend? 

This weekend saw some pretty positive developments. We expanded our pools a bit and played more aggressively. We started listening to each other and understanding the map more. I felt pretty good about this weekend overall, because we’re advancing in the right direction for The Gauntlet. 

You guys finished in the top four in the last split. What do you think has held the team back this time? 

I think we got a little ahead of ourselves, in terms of how well we thought we knew the game. We were unable to really start the learning process towards getting better in this split. We had to start at square one. That made things difficult, becasue we wanted to improve upon the previous split, but we didn’t know what was going wrong.

So we didn’t have goals as a team, or personal goals, to learn from. That whole learning process in the first half of the split made things very difficult, becuase we were all kind of lost. With Keane stepping in, switching supports, there were some administrative things, and splitting scrims. So the team had to get used to playing with both players, and they both have different strengths and weaknesses to get adjusted to. 

What did you realize the team needed to improve upon? 

We had a distinct identity at the beginning of the Spring Split as a team who could take very explosive fights. We were able to undersand when to take those fights. But we weren’t a team that undestood the map too well.

This time around, we tried to zoom out a bit and focus on the map. But with meta changes, personnel changes, and with the break in general, we started to fall back on old habits and develop new bad habits. They started to become second nature, which isn’t the process you want to be going towards. We had to unlearn those things. That made the beginning very difficult, but for the last half of the split we’ve shown our potential a lot more clearly. 

So what are the team’s strengths now?

We have retained that explosiveness. I think my players are great laners. I think my jungler is one of the smartest people in the LCS right now. He’s very good at what he does. Not only efficient, but he understands the early game really well. So our early game can be very solid.

I think we understand wave management and baron management. We’re one of the better teams at playing with and against baron buff in the LCS. 

You’re unfortunately out of the playoffs. What will you be focusing on during the rest of the split? 

Because we got points in the semifinals during the Spring Split, we actually have the points to allow us to qualify for The Gauntlet. So the next five to six weeks we want to be in form and ready for The Gauntlet, to get that third spot at Worlds. 

What is your team’s plan to improve?

Getting as many scrims as possible. Making sure we have that consistent level of practice against other LCS teams participating in playoffs. At the same time, doing introspection, both as a team and as indiviudal players, and as the staff, about where to take our identity and the direction we want to go towards.

We want to all be syncronized on how we want to play in The Gauntlet. Part of that is understanding our identity as a team and players’ individual identities. Then we can isolate those strengths and utilize them for The Gauntlet. 

Why do you think the team has looked particularly strong with V1per playing Riven? 

Part of being comfortable and understanding your limits is mastery of the champion. Having players who understand a champion as deeply as V1per is really nice. We are able to use Riven effectively.

She’s not good in every situation, as much as my top laner would like me to believe. But those opportunities to bust out a champion that not a lot of people are used to playing against are really exciting, and a really good strength of ours as well. 

What do you like about being a coach? 

I think what I like the most about being a coach at FlyQuest is the creativity of the players and my fellow staff. The way that everyone is very open-minded about exploring solutions inside and outside of the game. How engaging it is to be with these top-tier players, these professional players, and work through these issues with them. It’s very fulfilling. 

Is there anything you wanted to say to the fans?

Thanks for supporting us. Our journey’s not over yet. We will have the best possible showing in this last week so you guys can be excited in The Gauntlet when we take everybody’s heads.