After their well-deserved win over Damwon KIA, Royal Never Give Up sat down with the press for an interview.
The LPL representatives triumphed over the 2020 Worlds champions to reclaim the MSI trophy. They now join T1 as the only organization to hold 2 MSI trophies. How did the team claim another MSI title?
Written below is the transcript of the interview with the team. In bold font are the questions from the media, while in the standard font are the team’s answers.
Directed to the coach, “First of all congratulations on winning a [MSI] championship. I feel like it might be implied to ask this question, but it’s needed to be asked. For RNG, do you think it’s unfair that they got the advantage of the schedule in the format? Because you are heading back to China, and the influence of the format and the schedule. Do you think that there would be different effects if the format was like previous formats?
It really has pros and cons. During the break, we don’t have any scrims, and we didn’t play games against other teams. If we win, we would say we’re in good form. If we lose, it’s because we’re having a back-to-back and it’s too tiring. So it really depends on how you look at the victory.
Directed to GALA, “You had a very stand-out performance in today’s Best of 5, and you were especially focused. Since this is your first international tournament, did you feel nervous at all? And could you comment on Kai’Sa as a champion?
Well for the nervous, yes. I definitely felt nervous. As for Kai’Sa, this is the champion I had the most confidence in.
Directed to Xiaohu, “A few years ago you were in the same situation when you were MSI champion, but in Worlds, you were eliminated in quarterfinals. So how do you see RNG’s chances now in Worlds 2021?
So first of all, I think it’s really hard to answer this question. If I could expect we were eliminated by G2 2018, then we wouldn’t have gotten eliminated in that year. So I’ll just say we’ll do what we need to do, and believe in fate.
Directed to GALA, “You were coming in to fill the shoes of Uzi. What do you want to say to Uzi as your mentor?”
He is a stand-out, and spectacular latter. When he was streaming, I watch him a lot and learn a lot from him. I think his mechanics are pretty great.
Directed to Xiaohu, “Obviously China was won past Worlds, and now MSI. And it feels like there is perhaps a small gap widening between China and the rest of the world. But I’d like to know in your words, how close is the rest of the world to China right now?”
As for this MSI, in the semi-finals, all four teams were pretty close. Especially in the knock-out stage, the games were pretty intense and close. If I were to say the advantage of the LPL teams, there are a lot of teams that are as strong as RNG.
Directed to Crying, “The first game in this Best of 5, you picked Lucian which was the first time you locked in this champion in MSI. Did you feel pressure in picking this champion, and what was the communication like at the time?”
Before the games started, we expected we would get Mid Lucian. To b honest, it pressured me a lot because the enemy mid laner is a pretty stand-out player too. But after playing for a while, after laning for a while in the other games, I felt normal.
Directed to GALA, “How do you feel laning against Ghost, the Damwon KIA bot laner in this best of 5. And how would you comment on your performance in this series, and if you have any message for the fans that support you?”
Ghost played really well in this series, whether it’s in the laning phase, or in team fights. I performed really well. The message for our fans, thank you for the support, and good night.
Directed to Xiaohu, “It might be a question that’s been asked too many times, but as a player that has been to the international stage twice in different roles, what’s the biggest takeaway for you this MSI?”
“In 2018 MSI, it felt like the other teammates will lead me to victories. But this year, it was me and Ming who were the veterans in the team, so we are the more proactive people in playing our games.
Directed to Wei, “What do you want to do the most after winning the MSI champion? And are there any special celebrations after getting back to China?”
We’ll probably celebrate in quarantine. And we’ll still be practicing really hard after this championship.
Directed to Xiaohu, “What’s the biggest difficulty for you from being a midlaner to a top laner?”
The biggest obstacle for me was to play the whole LPL spring split because there are so many strong top laners in the LPL.
Directed to Ming, “First of all congratulations on winning this championship. This was a pretty intense Best of 5. When the score hit 2-2, what kind of adjustments did you have, or what kind of feedback did you have during the break? And could I have a short conclusion from your MSI?”
When it was 2-2 in this series, we didn’t have too many adjustments about the game, but we had advantages on blue side. As for conclusion in MSI, we all got experiences, and we all got rewarded for our diligence.
Directed to GALA, “In game 3, in the last moment, you used your ult to kill Ghost in a second. It was a highlight of the game. What was the communication at the time?”
It was because Ryze was about to use his ult too, and I successfully auto-attacked the AD Carry. And I had Guardian Angel on me, so it would be a big deal if I used my ult to kill him.
