UoL Nomanz: “I think we are really strong, even against TOP Esports.”

Unicorns of Love surprised the world with its strong run through the 2020 League of Legends World Championship play-ins. 

Mid laner Yev “Nomanz” Yakshin’s made sure to put in a lot of preparation to help his team achieve this. Now, Nomanz and his squad are contemplating their Group Stage competition. They will be in Group D, facing DRX, TOP Esports, and FlyQuest. WIN.gg spoke with Nomanz about UoL’s Play-In journey and their goals for the Worlds 2020 main event. 

UoL Nomanz reflects on UoL’s Worlds 2020 Play-In performance

Were you worried about SuperMassive after their performance against MAD Lions?

Nomanz: Actually yes, MAD is a really strong team. We scrimmed them pretty often. They are really good at scrims but not as good on stage, although I’m not sure why. When I saw SuperMassive beat them, I was like, “Hmm. They must have really improved on the Worlds stage.” 

Do you think it was an advantage that you guys didn’t play yesterday? Did you analyze the matches?

It was for sure an advantage, but not because of the analysis. We could just relax a bit. We thought about the game, but I didn’t watch the games. I just chilled. I mostly thought about the game against SuperMassive and what I’m going to play. 

You have been crushing it on Kassadin. Do you expect that pick to be taken away from you going forward?

I think they won’t ban it but they will draft around it. They won’t pick as many AP champions in the future. You should have good balance of damage against Kassadin. They will just draft well. 

Were there any performances from other teams that surprised you? 

I expected a high level from LGD Gaming and a lower level from PSG Talon. I didn’t expect them to play too well with three substitutes. 

Has the level of play from the other teams been higher or lower than you expected?

I think we just played well. They didn’t play better or worse. They played as I expected. But we played well which is why we won most of the games. 

Who has been the toughest opponent throughout the tournament?

Probably PSG, because we lost to them. We have 1-1 against them. We didn’t play many teams yet though. 

Who has been your biggest mid-lane rival? 

LGD’s midlaner, Xiye, for sure. I had a really bad game against him. My brain turned off. I couldn’t test my skill against his. I just played very poorly. I didn’t think about the game enough. It was a hard game against him because of that. 

Why do you think a lot of viewers underestimated you guys at first?

Because we are from CIS and the region has never played that well internationally. That’s the main reason I think. 

How do you feel about your own performance in this tournament thus far?

I think it’s just fine. I don’t think I played very well, especially in clutch situations. Some games I played well, and some really bad from my perspective. It could be better. I could play much better. 

UoL prepares for Group Stage at Worlds 2020

How are you planning to improve for group stage?

I don’t know! I don’t think I can prepare except getting more comfortable on the stage. I think we are a really strong team, even against TOP Esports. 

What are the goals for the group stage?

Winning against FQ. We need to prepare really well for TOP Esports. If we manage to get a good draft against them, maybe we can win a good game or two. It would be nice to go to playoffs. That’s our main goal for sure.