North America has talent; you just have to know where to look. Frank Fang Gaming is one of the upcoming challenger teams in NA. It's owner/manager, Frank "Soloside" Fang, hopes to make a mark in the NA challenger scene with the ultimate goal of breaking into LCS. Luckily for him, he has a roster full of talented and ambitious players that have already demonstrated their dominance in the AlphaDraft Challenger League. In this interview, we will take a closer look at the recipe for success at FFG and get to know a bit more about their players.

Questions for Frank:

Frank Fang Gaming has become a recognizable name in the NA Challenger scene. Tell us a bit about yourself and your organization:

I played competitively during Season Two on a team with Lourlo Top, myself mid, Guitar (Manager of WFX) Jungle, treebeard ADC, and Anjo Support. I transitioned into a management role once university classes started picking up in pace.

I noticed that you were also the manager of several other amateur teams in the past. What prompted you to start your own brand/team?

I just got bored of lame names, haha. Frank Fang Gaming seemed easier to chant as well.

What are your daily tasks as a manager?



I am pretty much a mother figure within the team. I schedule scrims, do the house keeping stuff, and basically help players with whatever they need.

How is it like managing a group of young players and analysts? Are you more of a Reginald type of manager or a Hotshotgg type?

More like a Frank Fang type. I provide my team with the car, give them the keys, and fill it up with gas. But they are the ones that have to choose their destination and drive there.

The new lineup for your team consists of veteran players as well as new talent such as “14a”. Do you scout Solo Queue players from the ladder or do they approach you?



I was able to get in touch with "14a" via Babyzeus, who approached "14a" after being impressed by his fantastic solo queue performances

What is your opinion on the depth of talent level in the NA amateur scene?

The NA amateur scene has talent. Every talent is a blank canvas that can be painted to be the “Mona Lisa”. You just need to find the right artist.

One of the most talked about topic in the competitive scene is the importance of a well-established infrastructure within a team. How important do you think that is for your team?

Infrastructure is even more important in an amateur team's environment. Whenever I come into a rough patch with the team/staff, I network with others who are also involved with esports--like Parth, my high school friend, who’s currently a support staff with TSM.

With teams like Fusion that boasted a huge support staff but failed to qualify for the LCS, do you think it is worth the investment for an amateur team to build an infrastructure that rivals that of LCS teams?

Just because they’re being paid doesn’t mean they are doing quality work. Some of the best analysis can come from being passionate and knowledgeable about the game, and there is no price for that.

If the NA Challenger Series ever become as prominent as the amateur scene in other regions, such as China’s LSPL, would you commit 100% of your time and resources to Frank Fang Gaming, such as investing in a gaming house?

Yes. I am currently working a 9-to-5 job as a financial advisor just to pay the bills. I am not complaining about money, but I would like to dedicate a lot more time in the esports scene.

To wrap things up, what is your favourite Taylor Swift song? Any shout outs?

Enchanted.



Shoutouts to everyone that I’ve had the pleasure meeting via esports, my teammates, staff and most importantly, our fans!

Questions for 14a:

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you joined Frank Fang Gaming?

I started jungling around 6 months ago. I was able to reach Challenger in early Season 5. After performing well in Solo Queue, BabyZeus reached out to me and asked me to tryout for FFG. I found myself adapting quickly and performing well in scrims.

In the AlphaDraft Challenger League, you had outstanding performances on Rek’Sai and Nidalee. How do you rate yourself against other top junglers in the tournament like Hard and Crumbzz?

In a few months, I know I can be the best jungler in the Challenger scene. But for now, there’s still a lot I can learn from them.

Are you more of a solo-carry jungler or a supportive and farm-heavy jungler?

It depends on the game.

Questions for Goldenglue:

We have seen your names pop up in several teams such as CompLexity and Team Coast. What would you like to accomplish with Frank Fang Gaming?

I want to show everyone that I can be one of the best Mid-laners in NA. I want to prove myself through my performances on Frank Fang Gaming. But it’s easy to look good with such a good Jungler.

How is it like playing against one of the most famous players in the world, Alex Ich, and an up-and-coming mid laner like Yusui?

Playing vs Alex Ich and Yusui is definitely compelling because they have very opposite play styles. I think Alex Ich plays extremely consistent at a high level, but Yusui would either solo carry a game or has little impact.

There is a recent saying the mid lane talent level in NA is relatively shallow outside of a few players such as Bjergsen. On the other hand, the deepest talent pool in NA is actually the jungler position with the introduction of Santorin and Rush. How true do you think that is at least in the Challenger/Solo Queue scene?

There is without a doubt a lack of competitive talent in the North American Scene. However, I think there are a few upcoming talent like C9 Hard and 14a that have shown the ability to become top tier players. The common belief is that each region specializes in breeding a specific role. For example, NA is known for their Junglers and EU for their Mid Laners. As for the NA Challenger Scene, I rarely see players that are remotely close to the level of the LCS players. Therefore, I agree that the Challenger Scene in North America is very limited.

Questions for BrandonFtw:

For those that don’t know who you are, please introduce yourself:

I've never really committed to playing competitive until I started following the Challenger Scene, specifically watching Team 8. One of my closest friends, Slooshi8, was always asking me to come watch his games whenever I was free. I recall watching his games was like riding on a rollercoaster of emotions. It seemed fun to play in a competitive environment, and that is why I wanted to become a part of it.

Questions for Lattman:

You have been playing with several support players in the bot lane throughout your career. How would you rate the synergy level of your current duo with BabyZeus compared to your previous supports such as 10q (Adrian) and Lohpally?

If we are only talking about synergy, I’d say me and BabyZeus have a higher ceiling for synergy than me with Adrian or Lohpally. I think that is because we have been good friends in the scene for a long time, and we are able to communicate openly with each other in and outside of the game. We have good synergy at the moment, but there are still things to work on.

Questions for both BrandonFtw and Lattman:

Tell us about your experiences playing together in BrawL.NA and what caused the transition to Frank Fang Gaming.

Lattman: Playing with Brandon on BrawL.NA was a pleasure since he was good for a new player in the scene and he brought a refreshing personality to the team atmosphere. Unfortunately, playing with the rest of the team wasn't as enjoyable of an experience. We joined Frank Fang Gaming not because Brandon and I were trying to get on a better team, but because the team moral on BrawL and the organization’s interest collapsed when players underperformed and failed to maintain open communications with each other. For starters, the organization itself prepared poorly for its inception into the NA Challenger Scene. The roster was formed with minimal resources and less than a month before the play-ins, not to mention Alex Ich not being in the States until the second round of the play-ins. After the team failed to qualify for the NACS (and Alex Ich arriving in NA shortly after), players left one by one as frequent misplays led to an atmosphere where players would look down on each other whenever someone was underperforming. Eventually only me and Brandon remained, and after a short while, we left for Frank Fang Gaming.

Brandon: BrawL NA was the first team I’ve played on and I was pretty excited to play for them. Unfortunately, the team did not last very long. We had many problems such as poor communication and team synergy. Our analysts were also not doing their job very well. The Jungle synergy between all of our lanes were weak and it lead to our downfall in the qualifiers. After Alex, ShorterACE, and Lohpally left, Lattman and I took an offer from Frank to play on Frank Fang Gaming.

Questions for BabyZeus:

What caused you to make the transition from the mid lane to the support position? Do you enjoy playing support better?

I was playing Mid Lane for BrawL until Alex Ich arrived, which meant I had to search for a new team. When CLG Black was hosting Mid Lane tryouts, I asked their manager, Samy, for a tryout. When she responded asking if I was interested in trying out for the Support position instead, I agreed to play out of interest in that position and also CLG.B environment. I tired out alongside "Intense" for the Support role and I was made the official Support after a while. However, eventually CLG B picked up Stixxay as their ADC and went with "I Kenny U" as their new Support. Again, I found myself actively searching for a new team. I continued, however, to play in the Support role in Solo Queue until I was contacted by multiple teams for opportunities to tryout. Realizing that I was in demand as a Support player, I decided to become a Support main. I felt that I had more potential as a Support than a Mid Laner, since I acquired better game knowledge and shotcalling while playing as a Support.

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