Phoenix1 is flying high after occupying the bottom of the LCS last split. At that time, the team struggled to get a win on the board for several weeks, but now it finds itself fighting for a playoff bye with Cloud9 and Team Solomid. P1 rose from the ashes to become a threat in the LCS and the same can be said for its North American top laner Derek "Zig" Shao. Zig worked in the Challenger scene for years to develop his skill and showed his talent briefly last split, but now he’s really turning it on as P1 contends.

Oftentimes success stories are highlighted, but the steps it took to get there are forgotten. The stress and tears of a losing eSports team are long forgotten in the past. Zig remarks that being on a successful P1 is like nothing he’s experienced before. “It’s definitely a completely different experience. Being a pro gamer on a winning team versus being a pro gamer on a losing team is miles different. There are similar stressors; we’re still preparing heavily for every match and scrimming every week, but I think the morale for our team is generally higher.”

Taking flight

P1 finally gets to taste sweet success, but the intense atmosphere remains the same as the job is nowhere near finished. Zig and company have developed confidence in their ability to win so that’s even more the reason to keep pushing themselves. “We have the confidence that we can win because we’ve shown that we can win. Everything is just sweeter being on a winning team, but I don’t want to dwell too hard or get used to it because LoL eSports is really fast and we can drop off at any moment. We always have to be prepared and keep working hard.”

Arrow has been a great AD carry and teammate © Riot Games

On their wings

P1’s strong standing is certainly the result of a lot of hard work, but the team got quite the facelift in the offseason. Zig believes that his Korean teammates have held the key to a great amount of P1’s success. "I think our strategy has been pretty good and our imports are really strong. Everyone is doing their job and we play the team game really well. [Ryu and Arrow] are really good. I feel like there are a lot of situations where if we had worse carries, we just wouldn’t win them, but we have really consistent carries so that lets us snowball games and close them out faster." Of course, Zig has to give kudos to the big man leading the draft phase and their practice. Coach Fly has the respect of numerous players and is known for bringing teams together, like last year’s Worlds Quarterfinalist team, Royal Never Give Up. “Coaching, strategy and preparation have all just been working well for us ... I also really, really respect Coach Fly. I think he’s helped us a ton."

Ryu and Arrow have not only had a great impact on P1, but are leaving a lasting impression on Zig. “They’re amazing. I’ve personally improved a lot as a player just by playing with them. Having their voice in game, being able to bounce questions and ideas off of them. Early on in the split, I felt like I was a pretty weak player, and as time progressed, I got more confident.” Ryu and Arrow are more than great players to Zig; they’re great people that are always willing to help an inexperienced player like himself. “I get the voices from our coach, Ryu, and Arrow and they’re always helping to build me up and improve. It’s just great. They’re both really great people and good players so it’s been really easygoing, and aside from the stress around competing, there aren’t personality clashes or anything like that.”

Most team environments are hostile to less experienced players, making it all the more refreshing to see Zig garner so much support from a veteran-laden squad. More than that, P1 seems to be realistic about respect being necessary to get to the top in a stressful competitive environment.

Zig made his way up to the LCS from Challenger and his current environment has contributed to his steady development as a North American talent. “[My growth] has been a steady upward trend. I think you can get away with a lot more random stuff in challenger; people aren’t even playing the exact same game and macro play is a lot worse. Now I feel like I have a clear idea of what my job is every game and if I do that, we can win because our picks and players are really good. It feels really easy to win as long as I’m doing me.”

Zig is looking toward Vancouver © Riot games

Ready to soar

Zig sees Phoenix1 as his support net and the home that has really allowed him to grow. Now, he has a unit that can back him up when he fails to meet his own expectations and allows him to reflect. “I feel like it was only this year where … I think playing with really good players unlocked me as well. Having really great support staff and really great players that I can trust, that will literally carry me. I’ll just completely drop the ball, and in spite of me hard feeding, we’ll just win anyway. It’s a really good feeling to have those type of players behind me, always willing to pick me up if I fall down.”

Even as Zig and P1 are on the doorstep of the playoffs as one of the top teams, he’s surprised that P1 has kept itself up. “I’m still amazed that the past few weeks have been going so well because we had a lot of roster swaps. There were a lot of problems, we were having meetings all the time, and people were stressing. And then we just came to LCS on the weekend and showed up.”

Save the ashes for later

Looking forward to the final week of LCS, Zig sees it as the ultimate test before playoffs as P1 squares off against the best North America has to offer. “Next week, we play TSM and C9. I think it’s going to be a pretty challenging week and it will show just how much progress we’ve made as a team over the split. It’s like an “ultimate exam” kind of thing, but maybe more like a midterm because then we have playoffs anyway.”

Zig, being the hungry player he is, has his mind set for the playoffs regardless of the results. “I really want to make Vancouver; that’s goal number one.” It doesn’t end there for him. “If we can win it all, we get to go to MSI, too. That’s a secondary goal if we can make it to finals.” Zig has climbed from Challenger and the depths of LCS to make it this far with P1. Now, he just wants to win it all.