NeoIllusions Profile Joined December 2002 United States 15625 Posts Last Edited: 2013-07-08 05:52:10 July 07 2013 22:30 GMT #1

I am proud to publish the first TeamLiquid exclusive interview with a Korean LoL team. I want to thank Coach Im for taking the time to interview with us. When I approached him, he was more than eager to sit down with me and answer my questions. I wanted to focus on what living in a team house was like and the daily life of Korean LoL pros. In addition I wanted to gain a little insight in how Korean teams practice. I hope I am able to convey what I've learned about the Korean LoL pro lifestyle to the western LoL community and I hope you enjoy this interview.



Signing off,

Chexx

TL-Chexx: Thank you for the interview. Since Team Liquid originated with StarCraft, so I’m sure a few of our readers would be interested to know how the MVP League of Legends players get along with the StarCraft players. How close are the two?

Coach Im: The StarCraft players live in a different house to the League of Legends players, so for the most part they aren’t very close. However, a few players are close with each other.



TL-Chexx: Who’s in the League of Legends coaching team and what are their roles?

Coach Im: There’s Yunsang Choi, who is the head coach for MVP, so he overlooks both StarCraft and League of Legends. Myungwon Choi and I coach the League of Legends teams, Ozone and Blue. Myungwon was GSG’s coach before he moved to MVP.



TL-Chexx: What do you and Myungwon do in your coaching roles?

Coach Im: We watch the teams when they scrim each other and point out mistakes, both in gameplay and communication. We also try to foster good mental health and help the players out when mental problems arise. We research and recommend certain strategies for the teams to try out, and a lot of their practice time is spent trying out new strategies. Overall, we coach them towards a more disciplined playstyle.



TL-Chexx: Do you and coach Myungwon live with the players or do you visit for work?

Coach Im: Myungwon and I live at the gaming house with the League of Legends teams. Because of this, we can spend a lot of time talking about the game. Myungwon and I discuss picks and bans often, which has paid off quite a bit. The teams were not very good at picking and banning to begin with, but they have improved significantly.



TL-Chexx: Do the players argue with coaching decisions often?

Coach Im: The players do not really argue, but they do criticise and discuss coaching decisions. Sometimes they will disagree with some decisions made during games, but discussion often solves many of the problems the players have with each other or with the coaches. We all watch replays together and discuss the positives and negatives of each game. Myungwon and I make sure that every player’s opinion is heard.



TL-Chexx: Do the coaches have the final decision in what happens?

Coach Im: We cannot make final, conclusive decisions, as we are not the ones playing. However, we typically expect the players to follow our plans after discussion.



TL-Chexx: What happens when the players argue with each other?

Coach Im: The players never really fight, but they do argue. A more extreme example would be when one player went AFK during a scrim because another player didn’t listen to a call. After scrims, we try to talk about what happened and see where improvements can be made, but there is still some work to be done in improving teamwork and preventing non-constructive arguments.





TL-Chexx: What does a normal day in the MVP League of Legends house look like?

Coach Im: The players usually wake up at noon, and eat a combined breakfast and lunch. Practice starts at 2pm, with a dinner break at 6pm. They finish around 10pm and have free time, but since the players like League of Legends, they usually play solo queue or participate in other hobbies. Solo queue is why they wake up so late. Food is usually cooked by an ajumma (old lady) unless it’s late, in which case I’ll cook.



TL-Chexx: Whose food do the players like more? Yours or the ajumma’s?

Coach Im: They like both equally. *laughs*



TL-Chexx: So if practice is 2pm till 10pm, is that time spent scrimming? Do they play solo queue in that time?

Coach Im: Our priority during practice time is scrimmage. We scrim in best of 3s or best of 5s twice after lunch and dinner. The rest of the time is spent playing solo queue. We actually have four MVP players in Challenger league.



TL-Chexx: How important is solo queue in training, then?

Coach Im: Solo queue is highly important in training. Scrims are not completely efficient for training, because they are very taxing on the players. The players need to focus hard during scrims and communicate a lot, as if they were playing an important game. Solo queue is more relaxing so it gives them some time to cool off. Also, since solo queue includes recent trends in gameplay, it can be educational. The players also get to experiment with new champions, strategies, or builds. Rest is incredibly important, since if the players scrim too much they will be stressed. A key point in our coaching is to ensure that the players are kept happy and enthusiastic.



TL-Chexx: Are scrims only between MVP Ozone and MVP Blue, or do they scrim other teams too?

Coach Im: Most scrims are between Ozone and Blue, but sometimes they do scrim other teams. We scrim other teams because scrimming the other MVP team every day creates problems. Not only is it taxing mentally, but the two teams know almost everything about each other, so it’s hard to learn new strategies. If new strategies are tried out in MVP scrims, one team will lose, so it’s hard to get a good grasp on the viability of the strategies.



MVP Coach doing his victory dance



TL-Chexx: MVP recently acquired three new League of Legends players. Who are these players and what do they do?

Coach Im: Spirit is a high school student who visits the house on the weekend, but during the week he goes to school. Suno and loopers are our two new top laners who both live in the house with Ozone and Blue. For the moment, loopers is playing with Ozone, and Suno and Spirit are playing with Blue. This is only temporary since we have not had enough time to make a final decision. We actually have a fourth new player named Dosoo, but he is only a trainee and is not a formal member of MVP.



TL-Chexx: MVP is always busy. Ozone and Blue participate in many tournaments, both local and foreign. Is there any particular reason for this?

Coach Im: There are no special reasons for this. If they want to participate in foreign tournaments, I’ll support them in that.



TL-Chexx: Do you watch the LCS in North America and Europe? What do you think about the level of play internationally compared to Korea?

Coach Im: I occasionally watch the LCS, both in North America and Europe, and I personally believe the skills of Korean players as well as their strategies to be superior.



TL-Chexx: Then which region do you think is the biggest competitor to Korea, and what are the main differences between the two?

Coach Im: Definitely China. Chinese players have good mechanics and are great at managing risks that appear during games, whereas Korean players tend to prepare strategies before games and execute them as accurately as possible.



TL-Chexx: MVP has been doing well recently, how do you feel about that?

Coach Im: Honestly, I was surprised at how well we were doing. We aimed for one team to make the round of 4 in Champions Spring, but Ozone ended up winning. That was a pleasant surprise.



TL-Chexx: Ozone faced Blaze in the final. Blaze were on a thirteen-game winning streak and looked incredibly strong, but ended up losing 3:0 against Ozone. How did you prepare for that match?

Coach Im: We started off by analysing the games that Blaze lost at the beginning of the tournament. Four days before the final, we started to prepare strategies which Homme had a large role in. We found that Blaze prefers champions with good wave clear, so we decided to ban Helios’ Nasus every game so they could not push as easily. We also focused on strong early-game junglers for DanDy to dominate on.



Coaching Team



TL-Chexx: What do you think about having foreign players on Korean teams?

Coach Im: I think it would be very hard for a foreign player to play on a Korean team, mainly because of the language barrier. Also, I have not seen a foreign player with the same level of dedication and drive as Korean players.



TL-Chexx: MVP Ozone is in a good position to qualify for the Season 3 World Championship. If Ozone ended up going, are there any teams that you would like them to go up against?

Coach Im: Team WE, because we are good friends with them.



TL-Chexx: Do you have something to say to your foreign fans?

Coach Im: Thank you very much for your support. We will do our best to provide you with high quality games, and we hope that you will continue to cheer for us in the future.



Follow Team MVP on:

http://mvpteam.kr/

Facebook

Twitter



I am proud to publish the first TeamLiquid exclusive interview with a Korean LoL team. I want to thank Coach Im for taking the time to interview with us. When I approached him, he was more than eager to sit down with me and answer my questions. I wanted to focus on what living in a team house was like and the daily life of Korean LoL pros. In addition I wanted to gain a little insight in how Korean teams practice. I hope I am able to convey what I've learned about the Korean LoL pro lifestyle to the western LoL community and I hope you enjoy this interview.Thank you for the interview. Since Team Liquid originated with StarCraft, so I’m sure a few of our readers would be interested to know how the MVP League of Legends players get along with the StarCraft players. How close are the two?The StarCraft players live in a different house to the League of Legends players, so for the most part they aren’t very close. However, a few players are close with each other.Who’s in the League of Legends coaching team and what are their roles?There’s Yunsang Choi, who is the head coach for MVP, so he overlooks both StarCraft and League of Legends. Myungwon Choi and I coach the League of Legends teams, Ozone and Blue. Myungwon was GSG’s coach before he moved to MVP.What do you and Myungwon do in your coaching roles?We watch the teams when they scrim each other and point out mistakes, both in gameplay and communication. We also try to foster good mental health and help the players out when mental problems arise. We research and recommend certain strategies for the teams to try out, and a lot of their practice time is spent trying out new strategies. Overall, we coach them towards a more disciplined playstyle.Do you and coach Myungwon live with the players or do you visit for work?Myungwon and I live at the gaming house with the League of Legends teams. Because of this, we can spend a lot of time talking about the game. Myungwon and I discuss picks and bans often, which has paid off quite a bit. The teams were not very good at picking and banning to begin with, but they have improved significantly.Do the players argue with coaching decisions often?The players do not really argue, but they do criticise and discuss coaching decisions. Sometimes they will disagree with some decisions made during games, but discussion often solves many of the problems the players have with each other or with the coaches. We all watch replays together and discuss the positives and negatives of each game. Myungwon and I make sure that every player’s opinion is heard.Do the coaches have the final decision in what happens?We cannot make final, conclusive decisions, as we are not the ones playing. However, we typically expect the players to follow our plans after discussion.What happens when the players argue with each other?The players never really fight, but they do argue. A more extreme example would be when one player went AFK during a scrim because another player didn’t listen to a call. After scrims, we try to talk about what happened and see where improvements can be made, but there is still some work to be done in improving teamwork and preventing non-constructive arguments.What does a normal day in the MVP League of Legends house look like?The players usually wake up at noon, and eat a combined breakfast and lunch. Practice starts at 2pm, with a dinner break at 6pm. They finish around 10pm and have free time, but since the players like League of Legends, they usually play solo queue or participate in other hobbies. Solo queue is why they wake up so late. Food is usually cooked by an ajumma (old lady) unless it’s late, in which case I’ll cook.Whose food do the players like more? Yours or the ajumma’s?They like both equally. *laughs*So if practice is 2pm till 10pm, is that time spent scrimming? Do they play solo queue in that time?Our priority during practice time is scrimmage. We scrim in best of 3s or best of 5s twice after lunch and dinner. The rest of the time is spent playing solo queue. We actually have four MVP players in Challenger league.How important is solo queue in training, then?Solo queue is highly important in training. Scrims are not completely efficient for training, because they are very taxing on the players. The players need to focus hard during scrims and communicate a lot, as if they were playing an important game. Solo queue is more relaxing so it gives them some time to cool off. Also, since solo queue includes recent trends in gameplay, it can be educational. The players also get to experiment with new champions, strategies, or builds. Rest is incredibly important, since if the players scrim too much they will be stressed. A key point in our coaching is to ensure that the players are kept happy and enthusiastic.Are scrims only between MVP Ozone and MVP Blue, or do they scrim other teams too?Most scrims are between Ozone and Blue, but sometimes they do scrim other teams. We scrim other teams because scrimming the other MVP team every day creates problems. Not only is it taxing mentally, but the two teams know almost everything about each other, so it’s hard to learn new strategies. If new strategies are tried out in MVP scrims, one team will lose, so it’s hard to get a good grasp on the viability of the strategies.MVP recently acquired three new League of Legends players. Who are these players and what do they do?Spirit is a high school student who visits the house on the weekend, but during the week he goes to school. Suno and loopers are our two new top laners who both live in the house with Ozone and Blue. For the moment, loopers is playing with Ozone, and Suno and Spirit are playing with Blue. This is only temporary since we have not had enough time to make a final decision. We actually have a fourth new player named Dosoo, but he is only a trainee and is not a formal member of MVP.MVP is always busy. Ozone and Blue participate in many tournaments, both local and foreign. Is there any particular reason for this?There are no special reasons for this. If they want to participate in foreign tournaments, I’ll support them in that.Do you watch the LCS in North America and Europe? What do you think about the level of play internationally compared to Korea?I occasionally watch the LCS, both in North America and Europe, and I personally believe the skills of Korean players as well as their strategies to be superior.Then which region do you think is the biggest competitor to Korea, and what are the main differences between the two?Definitely China. Chinese players have good mechanics and are great at managing risks that appear during games, whereas Korean players tend to prepare strategies before games and execute them as accurately as possible.MVP has been doing well recently, how do you feel about that?Honestly, I was surprised at how well we were doing. We aimed for one team to make the round of 4 in Champions Spring, but Ozone ended up winning. That was a pleasant surprise.Ozone faced Blaze in the final. Blaze were on a thirteen-game winning streak and looked incredibly strong, but ended up losing 3:0 against Ozone. How did you prepare for that match?We started off by analysing the games that Blaze lost at the beginning of the tournament. Four days before the final, we started to prepare strategies which Homme had a large role in. We found that Blaze prefers champions with good wave clear, so we decided to ban Helios’ Nasus every game so they could not push as easily. We also focused on strong early-game junglers for DanDy to dominate on.What do you think about having foreign players on Korean teams?I think it would be very hard for a foreign player to play on a Korean team, mainly because of the language barrier. Also, I have not seen a foreign player with the same level of dedication and drive as Korean players.MVP Ozone is in a good position to qualify for the Season 3 World Championship. If Ozone ended up going, are there any teams that you would like them to go up against?Team WE, because we are good friends with them.Do you have something to say to your foreign fans?Thank you very much for your support. We will do our best to provide you with high quality games, and we hope that you will continue to cheer for us in the future.Follow Team MVP on: Administrator For the Glory that is TeamLiquid (-9 | 155) | Discord: NeoIllusions#1984