C9 Licorice shares his feelings about making Semis as a NA team, the first time in 7 years as well as taking down LCK's last hope





Q: Why does C9 seem so different from Play-ins and Knockouts?

Over the course of the tournament we just gained a lot of confidence as a team where during the Play-ins we were individually good players and it was hard to pressure them as a team. We figured it out and now I think we’re really strong.

Q: Seeing as G2 also upset RNG yesterday, did you expect the rise of Western teams?

Honestly it was something we didn’t expect at all. I don’t think G2 expected it themselves either. RNG looked pretty strong and G2 just played really well and end up winning the game.

Q: You had some blunders in game 2 and 3, how do you think you did during the series?

I don’t think I played very well this series (laughs). It definitely wasn’t a good series for me.

Q: How were you able to prevent tilting in game 2 against Kiin’s Viktor?

I just did whatever I could in the game. My team was pressuring botside with our jungler getting an advantage. I was just trying to survive and doing whatever we could.

Q: You’ve faced against numerous top 20 toplaners now, did anyone stand out for you?

I have to say Kiin, he played really well but my team played better.

Q: As a rookie, what are your observations playing against these world class toplaners?

As long as I have matchups I’m comfortable in, I don’t have much to worry about. I just wasn’t able to find those matchups today and Kiin got the better of me in today’s games.

Q: What is your mentality going into these games?

I try not to worry as much as possible, winning or losing or the pressure. I just go out there and play.

Q: You have been one of the most versatile top laners in this tournament, playing so many different champs and style. How are you able to be able to do this?

I’m not too sure, it helps when teams haven’t had practice against the champions so I have more leeway in the matchups where they don’t know how to play against it. I guess I experiment more than other toplaners.

Q: As NA’s last hope, how far do you think C9 will go?

After today’s game I would say if I can step up for the next game against FNC or against EDG, then I think we can go all the way to finals.

Q: Who do you think you’ll face in the finals?

I think it’s gonna be IG but G2 already beat RNG so you never know.

Q: What advice does Repeared typically give you before a game starts?

Before the series he just tells us to not play scared, play confident and play aggressive. As the series went on he just told me not to tilt (laughs).

Q: I think you are one of the more consistent players, why did he tell you not to tilt.

From the top lane perspective the games were pretty rough since we were completely playing away from toplane and I was really uncertain about the matchup and ended up giving away a lot of advantages I shouldn’t have.

Q: Even though it’s not your position, what are you thoughts on Lucian even though Uzi lost on it yesterday.

I think Lucian is just a strong early game champion, so as long as your team is confident that you can make a lead in the early game and snowball from there then I think it’s a really strong pick.

Q: So why did RNG lose with it?

Honestly I’m not too sure about the RNG games, they were pretty weird to me. As a spectator I think they were getting huge leads bottom but they weren’t able to snowball.

Q: People praised on how G2 and C9 have a good grasp on the meta, based on your intuition how is the current meta?

I think that I have a pretty good grasp on the meta. The Viktor was kind of a question mark for us, I knew about it and played it a little bit but it wasn’t something I put a lot of time into it. Outside of Viktor I think I have a good grasp on the meta.

Q: Before Worlds, LCK and LPL were the huge favorites, why do you think they underperformed?

For Korea I think a lot of it has to do with the meta. It’s just a faster game right now, and there’s huge potential for outplay. In general LCK teams only go for 100% certain plays and winning the game very slowly. For the LPL teams, I’m not too sure to be honest. The aggressive Chinese style is what everyone has been talking about for LPL teams and that’s the meta right now but I think it’s just if you are good on the strong champions, you can just outplay people right now. It’s all about individual outplays

Q: It has been 7 years since NA has been in a Semifinal, do you have anything to say to your fans?

I’m really glad we are able to make Semis, I will make sure I’ll do better in Semis than I did today.





Interviewer: Yunming Chen @Gypsophila1123

Transcribed by: Benson Cheng @1337s1nper



