As part of the interview series with Invictus Gaming for ELLE MEN, the team’s star mid laner Song “Rookie” Eui-jin talks about how winning Worlds changed his life and why Korean players stick to such conservative playstyle, even if they are so different in scrims.

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Has anything changed for iG after winning the Worlds?

Before Worlds, my goal was to earn our spot there, because to me, playing on such a big stage is a good learning opportunity. Then, we advanced to the playoffs, which was already a very satisfying result for me.

Winning Worlds was a surprise to us. Nothing really changed after that, but it did give us more confidence and made us more relaxed in other series. Before winning Worlds, we would get really anxious and disorganized when behind. But now, we’d stay calm and wait for the right opening to come back.

Compared to other teams, iG seem to be stronger at teamfighting and more willing to take fights even when outnumbered, why is that?

If we start the fight when outnumbered, then it has to be a mistake. Maybe there was miscommunication, maybe we misjudged the situation, which forced us to take the fight. The root cause for all these is that we are not stable enough, we are not a team that pursue a perfect macro game. However, each one of us is very confident; even when we are outnumbered, we will try to win the team fight as long as we see the room o make plays. I don’t know if that’s right or wrong. If we lose, then it must be wrong. But we win, that makes it the most special and interesting character of iG.

Korean teams put more emphasis on the macro game. They will plan and calculate over and over again before every team fight and only take fights when they are certain they can win. They feel that’s just how pros should play. Since you are getting paid to do it, it’d be a shame if you can’t get the job done well. As a result, Korean players would have more pressure on their shoulders. We can see a Korean player playing very well and aggressively in scrims, but when it comes to tournaments, he would play it safe which is not his playstyle at all. By contrast, LPL players have more freedom. That’s iG’s playstyle and LPL teams’ playstyle in general.

You have been playing in the competitive scene for four years. Throughout all these years , what was the most difficult moment for you?

Looking back now, I don’t think there has been any difficult moment. I’m confident about my skills. Even when I didn’t have good results, I would only think, “It’s just not my time yet. As long as I try my best, my moment will eventually come.” Maybe it was also because I lost too much and too often, so losing didn’t really feel that bad. But winning Worlds made me realize how much difference there is between winning and losing and how emotional I can get when I win. So if I lose now, it might be the most difficult moment for me.

Worlds 2018 was held in South Korea. When the Korean host interviewed you after the grand finals, why did you answer him again in Chinese despite your native tongue being Korean?

There were many Chinese fans at the venue. I was very touched by their cheering. I really appreciated it. I don’t know why I answered in Chinese, I just felt that’s something I was supposed to do. Winning Worlds has been my greatest achievement since I came to China. I wanted to share that moment with all the fans present. I think the players should thank the fans in their region’s language. But to be honest I don’t know what exactly made me answer the interview in Chinese.

If one day you decide to retire, when would it be?

Personally, I hope I can play as long as I can. But for now we can’t predict at what point I would not be able to do that anymore. In the past, I wanted to play till the contract is finished, no matter how bad my performance got — that way I could make more money. But at some point, I started feeling that once I can’t keep up with the team and become a burden, I would retire.

Professional players get older and go downhill but it’d be very improper for someone to drag the team down just for money. So I will do my best to keep my form, but if one day I realize that I can’t keep up with my teammates despite having tried my best, I will retire.