Counter Logic Gaming came through with another big win to close the first week of the League of Legends World Championship. After defeating G2 in the opening match of the group stage, CLG lost to wild card team Albus NoX Luna. But CLG responded to that by defeating the ROX Tigers, the world’s No. 1 team entering the tournament and clear-cut favorite to win the group.

Slingshot’s Andrew Kim caught up with CLG’s Choi “Huhi” Jae-Hyun after defeating the Tigers to talk about the upset, what to think of Aurelion Sol and why CLG is his family:

Andrew Kim: Do you attribute the win more to the good play of CLG or the misplays of the ROX Tigers?

Choi “Huhi” Jae-Hyun: I think all the teams in the world championships are capable of getting a snowball off of an early game lead. The ROX Tigers were looking weaker in the early game, but they keep looking for counter plays, so we spent a lot of time looking at that and didn’t give them a chance to come back today.

AK: Aurelion Sol is finally un-disabled and you did incredibly well with him today. Why do you think A Sol is such a good fit for you?

CJH: My play style is pushing out the mid lane and then roaming to the side lanes. In A Sol’s case, he can do that at all levels, and when you’re ahead of the enemy jungler, you can also assist your own jungler, so I think he’s just a good fit.

AK: Now that you’ve been able to play A Sol again at the competitive level, how does it feel?

CJH: Honestly I thought he would be banned out, but ROX didn’t. I played a lot of him during scrims, so I think I would have played him well even with little practice.

AK: Are there any other picks you are preparing for the championships that you’re confident in?

CJH: The popular picks right now are all picks I used to play. I feel like I started the use of current top tier champions like Cassiopeia and Syndra. In Syndra’s case I started to play her in scrims, then C9 started to play her, and I think that just went everywhere else. I’m confident in picks like that, but I also my team also sets up things for me very well, which allows me to shine on those picks.

AK: Since you mentioned you started to play popular picks like Syndra, do you have a sense of pride that you were the first one to do so?

CJH: I think I just like unique picks. I usually pull out unexpected champions to counter the opponent’s pick, and when I get good at them, which then might lead to them banning that champion out, I get a sense of pride.

AK: Your earlier career as a pro gamer wasn’t as successful as it is today. Why do you think success came to you much later and in North America?

CJH: I think I lacked a lot of experience. I’ve never played on a stage, I didn’t want to become a pro either, it just kind of happened. Starting from Bigfile, I went through a lot with teammates, and I learned what I need to do as I matured as a person. I also started to understand my teammates more outside the context of games, which helped me succeed.

AK: What does CLG mean to Huhi?

CJH: Since I’m active in NA, I think I should call CLG my second home, because I don’t know anyone in NA; I only know my teammates and I can only stay at the gaming house. When American holidays roll around, the team would leave to see their families, and since I can’t go to Korea they often invite me to eat with their families. I consider CLG as my second family.

AK: What’s your goal for worlds this year?

CJH: We came here to win. Although we do set up a goal, we don’t over think about it. We have a lot of players who consider the process just as important. I just hope we play each game without regret and work hard.

Cover photo courtesy of Riot Games