Team Liquid’s Broxah on C9: “A team can only be dominant for so long”

Team Liquid has finally taken down Cloud9. 

After winning a match against Cloud9, the once-struggling team has taken the top spot in the 2020 LCS Summer Split. Win.gg spoke with Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen after the victory to find out how it feels to go from underdogs to top contenders in just a few weeks. 

WIN.gg: How does it feel to finally beat C9?

Broxah: It feels pretty good to be able to beat C9. C9 has looked pretty dominant this year. Us being able to continue challenging them for first place, proving ourselves, is really, really important for us going forward.

With the win today, we have managed to show we are improving and it’s a step in the right direction. 

How were you feeling coming into this match today?

Honestly, I felt the same as with any other game. I have played so many matches now throughout my career. I’ve learned that before a game, and inside the game, I have to go into my own little bubble. I don’t think too much about the surroundings or importance of the match.

Of course, the importance of the match was in the back of my mind, but I just focus on the game, on the team, and do everything I can before the game to get into the zone and then perform to the best of my abilities while being in the middle of it. 

What did you think about the Sona and Lux bot lane from C9? Have you prepared for that combo?

I thought the bot lane was really interesting. It’s something that we have been starting to see a lot in solo queue recently. I wouldn’t say that we were necessarily prepared to see them pull it off on stage but we felt comfortable with our game plan against it.

While the early game didn’t go our way, we kept playing for our win condition and playing accordingly. It worked out pretty well. 

Team Liquid looks to the 2020 LCS Summer Split playoffs

Do you think teams are starting to figure out C9? Or are they playing worse? 

C9 is obviously a really good team and they have looked really dominant in NA this year. At the same time, a team can only be dominant for so long. I’m not saying that C9’s dominance is over, but at the same time everybody around them, the skill level of the region, was really poor in the spring. It’s not the highest right now, but they’re all starting to improve and challenge them.

It seems that C9 is in a position where it’s not just winning with ease anymore. Now they have to put in a lot of effort and work to make it happen a second time and we’re definitely not going to make it easy for them. 

What have you guys improved since since the start of the Summer Split?

The main thing we’ve got better at…It’s gonna sound really simple, but playing as a team, as a unit. Getting on the same page. In a lot of ways the TL we’ve been seeing hasn’t been that different from the previous one, when it comes to style or champions., but we play really well as a team and we’ve found a style that works for us and brings us a lot of victories.

The main thing we need to do is keep improving that style along the way and potentially have some other styles prepared and be ready to show some other styles coming into playoffs. 

What will you be working on to keep the first place spot all the way to playoffs? 

The main thing for us right now is to keep improving and keep working on our mistakes. Some of the victories have been extremely close and might as well gone the other way. We need more consistency and need to minimize a lot of those mistakes. Possibly just become a little bit more confident, rather than playing as slow as we’ve been doing. 

Broxah reflects on his time in North America, the LCS

Are you starting to feel comfortable in NA at this point?

Honestly, my time in NA has been really wild. I don’t feel like I’ve actually gotten to experience what it’s like living in NA for real. Everything has been closed.

But one thing is for sure, TL and my team has taken good care of me. That makes me very comfortable. I spend most of of my time with the team and I cherish that time. I am happy being here but it’s bittersweet moving across the globe and not being able to experience what LA is like. 

Are you expecting anyone on your team to get the MVP Award? 

Honestly, I don’t know if anyone on the team will get an MVP Award. For me, I care moreso about the team more than what other people consider us as individuals. The main thing is to trust each other and play well as a team. If we keep playing as a team, and if someone at the end of the day gets MVP award, I’ll be really proud and happy for them, but at the same time I just try to focus on the team as a whole. That’s more important than awards and other things out of our control.