Yu "XiaoWeiXiao" Xian was part of a Chinese team named LMQ that came to North America in 2013 to compete in the NA LCS. When most of his teammates returned to China at the end of that year, XiaoWeiXiao chose to continue competing in the NA LCS as a member of Team Impulse. The veteran mid laner was temporarily banned for elo-boosting during the Summer 2015 season and returned to China.

Following the end of his ban, XiaoWeiXiao joined Oh My God's LSPL sister team, Oh My Dream, which currently sits in fourteenth place. When theScore Esports met XiaoWeiXiao's manager, she told us that she believes "XiaoWeiXiao is a good leader and a very skilled player who can carry the team to the LPL for next year."

XiaoWeiXiao himself took a moment to talk to theScore esports about his time competing in North America, his own play, and his decision to join OMD.

You had a lot of success in the NA LCS with LMQ, but before that, you played in the LPL and only placed sixth. Why do you think your results in the LPL didn’t match your NA LCS results?

When we first came to NA, we didn’t have many friends or resources outside our club so we just played ranked all the time. In the LPL, we had eight members as well, and training with eight members at that time didn’t provide a lot of stability, so we just placed sixth.

Now, on Oh My Dream, there are 10 players. Do you think something has changed between now and then that makes playing with many members more stable, or is it still a possible problem?

There are two sides of this. The positive one is that every player has a backup. If someone doesn’t play well, the sub will take his place. This creates pressure to improve. The other side is that, just as in LMQ, there could be problems with stability.

During your time in the NA LCS, you became well-regarded for your individual performances. Were you surprised that you received a lot of positive attention in the LCS?

It all depends on your match score, but I was very surprised by the attention I got in North America.

You’re probably best known for your farming. Why or how do you think you developed this skill?

I’m not planning to do anything special. I just play the way that feel is normal.

Oh My Dream's training room

In your own words, could you describe your playstyle?

Before, I just farmed every game. Then, you could carry on a farmed champion like Orianna or Karthus. This season, you can’t just farm. You have to play roaming champions like Leblanc or Lulu. You have to roam in the early game with your jungle. I play the meta, and the meta is different now.

When you went to the 2014 World Championship, you had the opportunity to play some Chinese teams again. How did you feel about your skill level and theirs at that time?

I thought our new head coach was doing very well in the pick and ban phase, so I think that was a reason we were able to beat OMG. I was very surprised, but I think our new coach at that time was very strong.

In 2015, you became a part of Team Impulse, how was your role on the team different from your role on Oh My Dream now?

Now I am the leader of the team because I am experienced, and the other players are very young, so we need a leader and I seem to be the one to do this.

Last year, our team discussed things together a lot. Rush is very good at English, and he always translated for Impact. The most important thing was to discuss everything as a team. We just played a lot together, and there wasn’t really a single leader.

Last year, how did you feel about the experience of playing with Gate compared to Adrian?

Last season, we scrimmed CLG and TSM, our bottom lane was always like “boom” at three or four minutes. The other team could get a double kill at like three or four minutes. So we started looking for an AD carry and a support. Gate and an AD carry we tried played some scrims with us. Apollo was better than the AD carry we tried. Gate played pretty well in the scrim, and Adrian said that he wanted to relax and go home for a short period of time so Gate became our support.

Did you think that, when you had to leave the team, Gate made sense as a replacement for you?

Gate always played mid lane in ranked. He played not too bad, and we had no other options. Adrian had to come back. Gate had never played mid lane in pro games before. But mid lane was very important in that season to team synergy, so we lost in the playoffs.

A view of the OMD house from the back courtyard

Since there has been some time now since your elo-boosting ban, do you have any additional thoughts on what transpired?

When I was elo-boosting, I didn’t realize it was very serious in North America. In China, elo-boosting is very normal, so I didn’t realize it was very serious.

Do you think that if you had continued playing for TiP last summer that you would have made top three and gone to Worlds?

We went 2-3 against C9 in the Gauntlet. I think if we had won, we would have gone on to play the Season 5 World Championship. So, I’m pretty sure.

What made you decide to come to Oh My Dream after your ban ended?

During my ban, I got a contract with Longzhu, you know, like Twitch or Azubu, so I streamed every day. It was my work. I felt so bored, you know? Pro players need to play a match on a stage. Every time I played solo queue, I didn’t care, win or lose.

When I was pro, I got 700 points in Challenger in China. When I was a streamer, I don’t care. I just wanted a funny game, win or lose. I felt so weird. You can’t imagine that.

So you felt you had to compete?

Yes.

Why did you choose Oh My Dream in particular?

My friend NoName told me, “This team is not that bad.” I scrimmed with this team two or three games. I can feel my teammates are good, but they needed more experience.

I spoke with your manager. She said she thinks you can help them qualify for the LPL next season. Do you agree?

Yes.

Is there anything you would like to say to your fans in North America before we conclude the interview?

I wanted to come back to NA, but Team Impulse, all my teammates like Impact and Adrian, they now have contracts with other teams. The old Team Impulse is gone. I don’t want to go to the new team. I don’t know the new players. I don’t have friends in Team Impulse, they even have a new manager. I’m sorry for that, but you can still watch my Chinese stream, and you can still watch my games in the LSPL.

Do you still talk to your teammates from Team Impulse?

Sometimes. Adrian and I are still friends. We talk to each other on Wechat.

Adrian is doing very well in the LCS right now.

Yes, I know, they are number one!

Then, do you still cheer for Adrian?

Yes, I do. He’s very good.

Kelsey Moser is a staff writer for theScore Esports. You can follow her on Twitter.