GGS Hauntzer on GGS being “Froggen’s team”: “I guess Froggen has a lot of fans and they’re going to think like that[…]I would agree that if neither of us are in the play then it’s probably not going to be that proactive” Izento Follow Jun 6, 2019 · 6 min read

Courtesy of Riot Games

Golden Guardians have shot ahead of the pack during Week 1 of the 2019 LCS Summer Split, as they have achieved a 2–0 record, beating both Echo Fox and FlyQuest in convincing fashion. The bright spots of the team continues to be Froggen and Hauntzer, both solo laners of the team and enabled by a re-surging jungler in Contractz. Their game against FOX was really surprising considering GGS showed the capability to run flex picks on their team, something they weren’t known for in the Spring Split.

I spoke with GGS top laner Hauntzer about his Sylas pick, flex pick practice, comparing his form on 2017 Spring Split and now with the current meta, GGS being thought of as the “Froggen team” and peaking in performance during crucial times.

We saw you play Sylas today. Tell us a little bit about that because it felt very unexpected.

Sylas is a pretty contested pick nowadays. After nerfs to various champions and buffs to Aatrox and Irelia, Sylas is still one of the OPs. It seems like since his release, he’s been a really strong champion and they gave him some buffs and nerfs, but his presence is still there. That was my first time playing Sylas on stage and I’ve practiced him a lot of solo queue, but I haven’t practiced him recently because we’ve been playing other stuff. We thought the scenario was good on stage so we picked it.

Over the break then, what champions were you trying to focus on? I mean, because you had a lot of time to practice (laughs). So, going into the Korean bootcamp, was there an entirely different meta that was going on over there?

No. In the Korean bootcamp there was a lot of Sylas. I was playing Irelia, Sylas, Jax, trying to keep up with the Korean solo queue trends. I wanted to climb, so I didn’t want to practice weird stuff and unfortunately I didn’t get to play more fun champions like Pyke top, as that’s a recent trend because of G2 at MSI. I just practiced what was good.

Let’s talk about the GGS draft against Echo Fox because you picked Sylas and Irelia. This is something that GGS were criticized for because it seemed like you guys didn’t focus on flex picks during the Spring Split. Is this something your team has noticed and has practiced for Summer Split?

Actually, when we first started practicing we were very flexible. Froggen and I would swap champions all the time and we would be able to play anything. We even swapped roles and we would be able to play the game that way, but over the course of Spring Split, we had to play a certain style to win because we had too many issues to fix, and so we just went with what was most consistent on stage. Coming into Summer Split I feel like practice has been going really well and all the practice we got during the Spring Split we’re still applying now and our fundamentals are pretty strong, so now we’re able to do more flex picks. The meta right now is that, for the solo laners, all the flex picks are really OP and having that in your arsenal is really useful.

How do you feel about the current meta? We’ve seen MSI and how the games are so fast-paced and how much influence and agency solo laners have. So, how do you percieve the current meta, as this might harken back to your days on TSM in 2017 Spring Split, as that is heralded as one of your best performances ever, as you pretty much carried TSM. Alluding to that, what comparisons can you see from that time to how much agency you have in GGS and within the meta?

I really love the meta right now. I feel it’s really fun to play and it rewards teams who are good at skirmishing. In terms of solo lane impact, I feel like they have the most effect on the game right now. Bot lane still has a lot of power if they get really far ahead, but for that to happen there would have to be a massive skill difference and I feel like most bot lanes are pretty even in the lane matchups nowadays…except if it’s like Yuumi or something which is really OP, or Sona and Taric. I think the way our team plays right now is that we play solo lane focused. Contractz tries to get me or Froggen ahead and we try to snowball off of that and create picks off of side lane pressure. In terms of how much influence I have, I feel similar to back in that Spring Split where I can just take over a game really easily.

I want to touch on a narrative about GGS that comes from both a fan and analyst perspective in that people view your team as “the Froggen team”. Things don’t happen unless Froggen is in a good position to make things happen. What is your opinion on this narrative that Froggen is this catalyst for you to win, and the only way for you to win is through him?

I’m not really sure what it’s based off of (laughs). I guess Froggen has a lot of fans and they’re going to think like that. I mean, me and him are probably the most vocal members on the team so, I would agree that if neither of us are in the play then it’s probably not going to be that proactive. We’re usually the ones setting the pace, lane setups, what we want to do as a team and calling for objectives. I think he’s a good player though and it’s good to play around him.

One subject I think you can offer a lot of insight on is that there’s this theory of peaking in terms of performance and not having burnout as a veteran player. This has been popularized in Counter-Strike and Quake in that people will practice really hard before a tournament and then afterwards they’ll chill out. So, how do you view peaking, doing hard work before matches, tournaments or before playoffs?

I think that just because how the LCS is designed, you can’t peak early; if you peak early, the rest of the split will be very difficult for you. Right now, since the split just started, if you’re practicing 15 hours a day, not sleeping, just always playing the game, you’re gonna have a bad time once the rest of the split comes. Personally, I try to take things slowly; I do my practice, do my share, and I try not to take things too harsh. I’m not super hard on myself and I know what I can improve on. I try to find fun things to do outside of the game, like, I went to do some archery last week. It was my first time doing it and I found it really fun. Learning new things helps me get a new perspective on how to play the game. I just know when to relax. Several younger players just don’t know when to relax and when to go hard, and I think that’s probably the biggest difference. I know I’m not going to give it 120% for the first week of LCS. I want to save that shit for playoffs, I don’t want to burnout here. Take my time, relax, hang out with friends, hang out with teammates and don’t take things too seriously.