Afreeca Freecs are set for the World Championship quarterfinals after bouncing back from an 0-2 record to take first seed, 4-2. Afreeca beat out G2 Esports, Flash Wolves, and Phong Vu Buffalo to top the group. Afreeca’s turbulent group stage performance makes the team more of an underdog, but the unit is now set to face North American hopefuls, Cloud9.

We had a chance to chat with Afreeca’s Support, Park “TusiN” Jong-ik, following their final group match day.

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You guys struggled and really had your backs up against the wall… What was the mindset coming into today’s games?

I think, today we came in with the mindset that this is going to be it. And I think that our will, mindset, and practice are what allowed us to win today.

What do you think was the most different about your team?

The most important thing we needed was being more decisive and more bold. With the mindset that today was the last day, we were able to focus more and show bold and decisive play.

With such a rough start, what was the atmosphere in your team like? It must have been difficult to start so slowly.

After we lost the first few games, our team atmosphere and environment was actually the lowest possible. It felt like that we couldn’t do anything no matter what we did. We almost gave up, but then that situation made us enjoy our practice and lit up the overall atmosphere. That was what gave us better energy.

Is there a player that brings life to the team in times like that?

I have to say Kramer because he’s a really nice guy, but he can also be foolish at times. He’s the one who lights up our environment.

What did you think of your group stage adversaries?

If I may describe them, I think G2 had a really strong top portion of the team, as opposed to Flash Wolves whose whole team is strong… especially bottom as well.

What is Afreeca going to do to continue to succeed at Worlds?

We won three games in a row today so I think it’s important that we don’t lose that momentum. We have a couple days left to practice, we are going to continue to that momentum and that will be key.

Photo: Riot Games