The San Francisco Shock is one win away from meeting fate and the Vancouver Titans in the grand finals. Their only obstacle is the New York Excelsior, who took the Titans all the way. After a convincing sweep against the Hangzhou Spark, Myeong-hwan "smurf" Yoo spoke with Inven Global about the match against the Spark, a match preview against NYXL, and what it means to him to get to grand finals.



▲ Photo by Robert Paul

Congrats on the win against Spark. As of now, you need one more win against NYXL to get to grand finals. How do you feel?



Personally, after an unfortunate loss against Atlanta, my team and I worked really hard. All of our hard work is starting to pay off and I'm really happy about it.



In matches against the Spark, your team played so dominantly including this match. Why do you think these matches always swing in your team's favor?



So I didn't play in Stages 1 to 3 but I believe whether it is GOATS or 2-2-2, Shock is the better team in the meta against Spark.



In this match, in particular, what can you take away heading into the match against NYXL?



Even though it was a 4-0, there were small mistakes from us. But, the playstyles between Hangzhou and NYXL are different. I believe if we make these same mistakes against NYXL, they will punish us very fast. We need to be able to focus on fixing those mistakes before tomorrow's match.



For yourself, what did you do to prepare for playoffs and this meta?



I looked at the individual playstyles of specific players in the league. By running scrims, I was able to receive a lot of feedback on my own performance and work on it heading into playoffs.



▲ Photo by Robert Paul

What do you continue to improve as the playoffs move on?



My primary focus is synergy with my teammates. My priority is making sure my abilities and combos are working well with my teammates.



In your opinion, where do you think you fit in with this current Shock lineup?



When it was the Reinhardt meta, I wouldn't be playing as much so I was practicing other heroes, especially with the Stage 4 meta with role lock. I can't remember the exact reasons, but I've been working on other things for this meta in particular.



What are things you need to work on before your match against NYXL?



We actually scrimmed against NYXL a lot before. I believe if our team plays our style, we should have no trouble winning tomorrow.



How do you beat NYXL? Who do you think you need to stop?



Libero is the player to watch out for because he's very good at landing Doomfist punches. If the tanks and I are able to dodge those punches and have sinatraa counter those punches as well, we should win this match.



▲ Photo by Robert Paul

What do you think the score is going to be?



We've had 4-0s heading our way back to this match against NYXL so I think our goal is another 4-0.



Before we end the interview, I was wondering if you watch any anime?



Back when I had more free time, I watched a lot. Now, I've been too busy.



My follow up question is if you face the Titans in the grand finals, it is a culmination of the season-long storyline between you two. If you had to compare this storyline to an anime, what would that be?



Attack on Titan.



To end things, do you have any final words you want to say to NYXL?



We played NYXL earlier this year in Stage 1 and lost. I want to say like everyone else in my team has been saying is that we're a lot stronger after losses. It feels like revenge. We're going to beat NYXL and we'll see you Titans in the grand finals.