Team SoloMid may have just lost to Team Liquid’s troll comp in their latest match of the LCS Summer Split regular season, but they’re still confident about their playoff matches going forward.
WIN.gg spoke with top laner Sergen “Broken Blade” Çelik
How are you feeling after your match today?
I’m feeling pretty normal. No emotions really. It was a troll game. It had no impact on the standings. It still sucks to lose, but I’m not feeling bad about it.
What was going through your mind when you saw Team Liquid’s picks?
Actually, when I saw C9 getting the win and we locked fourth, I wanted to play something troll too. But we decided not to.
What made you go with a regular comp?
Our last two picks were kind of troll, but I don’t know why. It just happened. We were just not sure, 100 percent, if they were going to troll or not.
It was close at the beginning. Why do you think they were able to pull ahead in the end and take the game?
They just picked different champs. It’s not like they were not trying to win. They weren’t trolling in that way. I got solo killed by Volibear.
Do you think them picking a lesser-used comp was a factor in your team’s loss?
I’m sure I wouldn’t have died, I just didn’t know how much damage Volibear was dealing. It was kind of a surprise factor. But all the other champs are played from time to time. So it wasn’t something unfamiliar, other than the Volibear.
You beat FlyQuest yesterday. How were you feeling after that game?
I was feeling pretty good. We did a lot of things that we didn’t do the last weeks in the LCS. I think we have improved quite a lot. We made a few mistakes, but it was still an improvement, for sure.
What do you feel you’ve improved on?
Individually, I’m better at communicating with my team, and being decisive. In the last couple of weeks, thanks to our new coaches, I learned a lot. I got a new perspective on how the game is played.
As a team, we got better at pulling the trigger when we have to. We’re trying to set conditions and pull the trigger when the condition is met. It feels a lot better to play.
Your team brought up the academy coach to help with the LCS team. How has that been going?
Peter is a coach that is very focused on jungling. Our early game is getting better and better with each scrim. When he has something to say, he says it, which is really nice. It’s a different perspective that’s nice to have.
Why has your team been using multiple junglers this season?
I cannot answer this question. It’s just how it is.
I think people feel your team had a better showing in the Spring Split. What do you think changed between the two splits?
I don’t think a lot has changed. Other teams have just gotten better than us. We just improved slower. We had to go back to basics, and learn everything from scratch. We were slow in the beginning, but now we’re finally catching up. I think we’ll have a good showing at playoffs.
What are your team’s strengths right now?
We’re really flexible in terms of champions, playing around top, mid, bot, whatever. We have some mistakes still, but it’s getting better. And I think it shows. Hopefully we’ll be able to solve those little issues before next week.
How do you feel about making it to the playoffs?
It feels good. I think TSM is the kind of team that shouldn’t miss playoffs. I feel this is something we have to do as an organization. The goal is to win everything.
Who are you looking forward to playing against?
I think it really doesn’t matter. If you want to win it all, it doesn’t matter who our opponent is.
Who do you think will be in the finals?
CLG is looking better than last split for sure, but I don’t know if they have what it takes to get to the finals. If it’s TSM against CLG in the semis, there’s a high chance we can win. TL is the strongest team I believe. It’ll be them, and one of the other top four teams in finals.
At Rift Rivals TSM struggled against the LEC teams. What have you learned from that event?
We have learned to be more open-minded about everything. To not stick to one thing, and try to learn new strategies. Now, we’ll risk something in scrim practice games to see if it’s actually good or not. Flex some champions that are usually not flexed in other roles. It helped our learning process.
Do you think NA will be able to take on other regions in Worlds?
If this playoffs goes well for each team, it might be one step closer to EU teams. We just need to pull the trigger. EU teams are more aggressive.
