Hai's journey from amateur to legend

Last week marked the end of an era when Cloud9 announced that mid laner Hai "Hai" Lam would be retiring from its active roster. This doesn't come as a surprise -- Hai's critics have called for him to retire for sometime now. But it is a dramatic change for the Cloud9 organization as Cloud9's League of Legends team enjoyed the largest professional roster stability in the history of the game, staying together for over two calendar years. However few people know that Cloud9 almost died before it even began, and Hai's prowess as a great decision maker and leader extends off the Rift as well. Perhaps even more impressive than his on the field abilities was his accomplishment of putting together the most consistent, and one of the most beloved, rosters in the history of League of Legends.

Great things have small beginnings

Before the LCS, many players struggled to stay relevant in the professional scene -- perhaps professional is a bit of a strong word. In 2012 Hai was on a team called Orbit Gaming, trying to make the best of the scene that was there. "Back when I was on Orbit, the LCS wasn't a thing," Hai told us. "So if you were a professional player, you weren't really professional. You could be on TSM and win tournaments and stream, but as far as a job and a salary, and having job security, that wasn't really a thing yet." What would eventually become one of the strongest North American dynasties did not resemble its current form. Sporting a roster of Nicholas "NubbyPoohBear" Harlan at mid, Gabriel "Yazuki" Ng at top, Zach "Nientonsoh" Malhas at ADC, Daerek "LemonNation" Hart at support, and Hai at jungle, the team struggled to stay afloat. "During the summer of 2012… I remember Riot releasing information about the LCS," Hai said. "I decided not to attend fall semester [of University] just because I wanted to put all my time and effort into trying to qualify, and create the organization I was trying to create." In addition to devoting all of his time to try to improve as a player, at just 19 years old, Hai found himself in a similar predicament as TSM's Andy "Reginald" Dinh -- trying to start a business. "Since I was the captain and technically the owner of the team, I was always the one handling [things] when switching sponsors and organizations," Hai said. "So I'd always have to look at contracts, talk to these people, make sure we're not getting screwed over and all of that." Admittedly, it started affecting his in-game performance. "[Being both a player and an owner] was an issue that I figured out [later], but at the time I didn't realize it. I put a lot of time into that, and I stopped playing Solo Queue as much, so I think that impacted my performance a bit… Looking back, I would change that." Still he pressed on with his mission of making it into the LCS.

The crash and the reconstruction

Hai and his team (now part of Quantic Gaming) spent the latter part of 2012 getting ready for the LCS qualifier. "I was pretty sure everyone on the team was confident we would qualify. We had all the community hype, we were playing well." The community hype behind the team was well founded; its roster of Yazuki, Hai, Nientonsoh, WildTurtle, and LemonNation featured several future LCS stars. But ultimately, Cloud9 fell short after losing to both Azure Gaming and Team MRN in the 2013 Spring Qualifiers. When the dust cleared, the team was left devastated. "Nien was really sad and straight up went home," Hai explained. Still, he decided to press on, entering into what was at the time a fool's task of keeping a team together after failing to qualify for the LCS. Unsurprisingly, internal conflicts proved to be the most difficult hurdle to overcome. "I don't think Yazuki wanted to play with me anymore, he wanted to play with Nien [who had already left the team.] They tried to get Lemon to go with them, but Lemon didn't want to go unless Turtle went." Hai managed to find a way out after spotting an up and coming top laner named An "Balls" Le, who had also just failed in an LCS bid. Recruiting Balls proved to be the crucial step towards keeping Cloud9 together. "I didn't really know Balls at the time, but I knew of him. Balls knew Turtle and thought Turtle was good, so he joined the team. I got Turtle to stay on the team because he thought Balls was good. Then Lemon stayed because Turtle was there." In a very short period of time, Hai had managed to salvage his dream. He decided to take another semester off of school, the last one before he would give up the dream. "I figured I have four months to fix whatever I did wrong now [before Summer Promotion], and do better next time." For the team, the task became finding a fifth member -- and for Hai, that meant deciding whether he wanted to stay in the jungle or head back to mid lane. "So at that point in time, I'm trying to figure out if I want to play mid or jungle," Hai explained. "I figured I wanted to play mid, because that's what I was doing before Orbit. So I went back to mid and we started to try out junglers." They went through a myriad junglers, each of which proved to have some fatal issue. Yellow-haired phenom Will "Meteos" Hartman entered stage left at MLG Dallas. "We needed a sub for [MLG Dallas] and I think Turtle contacted Meteos and asked if he could come in for the qualifier. He ended up stealing Baron and carrying us that game," Hai said. "We're like, 'Alright, you won this with us, you can play with us at Dallas.'" When the team managed to win MLG Dallas, it seemed as though the roster of Balls, Meteos, Hai, WildTurtle, and LemonNation was becoming something special.

Chaox in the Rift

Just when the team (now known as Cloud9 after leaving Quantic) thought they had assembled the dream team and were ready for the Summer Promotion Tournament, drama at the pro level threatened to destroy the dream. "Shortly after [MLG Dallas] the thing with TSM and Chaox started blowing up." North America's strongest team, Team SoloMid, was having a crisis of faith of their own. Starting AD carry Shan "Chaox" Huang was having personal and professional issues with the rest of the team, and the team made the decision to bench Chaox in favor of their lesser known sub -- WildTurtle. In WildTurtle's debut he managed to get a pentakill and carry TSM to the victory against compLexity. "When Turtle got the pentakill, we're like 'Alright! We lost Turtle, dudes!' We knew we needed a new person immediately, because you don't get a penta and not replace the person you were playing for," Hai explained. "So we told Turtle, 'Go play for TSM, you're gonna make a lot of money there, it's 100% better for you.'" From there, Hai knew he had to find a new ADC quickly to ensure success at the Summer Promotion Tournament. "The manager for Dignitas at the time, which was the team Sneaky was on, was like, 'Hey, I think you should try out Sneaky. Give him a chance, he's a really good player.' I had seen Sneaky around, he was a Graves main back then and was known for it, so we tried him out." In the end, the team settled on Zachary "Sneaky" Scuderi above other ADC choices based on his taking feedback and calls from both Hai and LemonNation, as well as initial success in duo queue and team practices. The team was finally assembled, from there it was only a matter of winning.

Wheeling and dealing

"Shortly after that, we moved into the Quantic house." Hai knew that in order to make the LCS, the team would have to be playing at their peak performance. After speaking with several organizations at MLG Dallas, before and after their win, Hai narrowed his organization choice down to two. A multi-gaming powerhouse, best known for their unconquerable Call of Duty squad, Optic Gaming -- or the financial and logistical nightmare known as Quantic Gaming. "It was good times on Quantic, as much as the organization sucked." Hai previously played with Quantic in a past incarnation of the team, but the organization crumbled under it's own weight of financial mismanagement. It popped up several months later, promising change and better management, but Hai remained unconvinced. "The second time around, I wanted to have security in the contract, or the ability to leave the contract." Hai was able to get a buyout clause added to the contract, something that would come in handy later. Given Hai's skepticism for Quantic, why would he ever want to rejoin this organization? "The team house was the main appeal for me. They told us they would move us there to get ready for the LCS." Knowing how important total devotion to the game was, all members of the team quickly flew out to the Quantic team house and prepared for the LCS. But almost immediately after arriving, Hai had his next move planned. To say that Quantic Gaming easily qualified for the LCS would be a massive understatement. The team went undefeated and unchallenged through the Promotion Tournament, without dropping a single game. The hype was real, the dream was alive, and Hai was one step closer to finally being able to make Cloud9 a reality yet again. "I started talking with Jack [Etienne] to make Cloud9 a thing again." At the time, Jack Etienne was the general manager for Team SoloMid, but Hai knew that Etienne was interested in owning a team. After heavy amounts of drama between Hai and Quantic, Etienne was able to buy Hai's League of Legends team from Quantic for $15,000, undoubtedly a fraction of what the empire is worth today.

Glory

Hai and Etienne's risks would be for nothing if the team didn't perform. "We were in the honeymoon phase. Team morale was at an all-time high. We were destroying scrims, we were destroying the LCS, and everyone was praising us." Cloud9's team-fighting and objective control was levels beyond anything the LCS had ever seen before. Kennen, Ashe, Zyra, Zac, and Rumble all helped turn Cloud9 into a cult of personality, with droves of fans worshipping them for showing the world what Western teams were capable of. At the end of the regular season, Cloud9 set the record for wins in the LCS at 25-3, a record that still stands. "There's not one singular thing that lead to our dominance. There's not some kind of cheat code where we plug in and win. It was just a combination of a few things. The teams we were playing against then were just not that good. Their picks and bans were atrocious, they didn't even bring notes," Hai reflected. "If it's like a race, we're five meters ahead, and they're five meters back. "In the game itself, back then we were very good, we're still good players now, probably top three in our roles, but back then we were definitely the best. So you have five people who are literally better than everyone they were playing against; it's hard to lose like that. So now we start 10 meters ahead, and know how to keep that lead. So what could they really do?" Nothing. Cloud9 won the regular season, and then decimated opponents in the playoffs without losing a single game. It's important to emphasize how dominant Cloud9 was in this season. The team was a God playing among insects. They were the first team in the West to look to Korea for team compositions and playstyle cues. They were the first team to utilize coaches and analysts to their full effect. They were the first to have detailed champion select strategies. They were the first to have great vision control and play for objectives instead of kills. After setting the record and ruling over North America, Cloud9 had to watch as spectators at Worlds before battling against Fnatic in the Quarterfinals. Some questionable decisions in champion select, and a bad early game in Game 3, had them exit as the last North American team. "I was sad we didn't get to play games in Groups," Hai said. "But at the same time, I wasn't sure if we'd be guaranteed to make it out of Groups. Even though I was confident we would, the money difference between Top Eight and Groups was huge [$75,000 vs. $45,000 for third in Groups*]. Financially, I was much happier to be in Quarters already, but as far as being a professional player, and enjoying competitive play, I much rather would have enjoyed playing more than three games." *Editors note: Hai guessed at what the difference was in the interview since it was in person. We've added the actual amounts here for clarity. Even after being disappointed at Worlds, Cloud9 continued to dominate North America. For their second split, they almost managed to equal their first, going 24-4 and sweeping through the Playoffs. After going a combined 54-7 in a calendar year in regional play, it seemed as though the era of Cloud9 was here to stay. And then it all came crashing down.

Gasping for air, dancing in shadows

While it seemed innocuous at the time, the beginning of the end for the Cloud9 dynasty was when they had their most international success. Hai suffered a collapsed lung at the conclusion of the 2014 Spring Split and was unable to travel with the team to All-Star Paris 2014. Instead, the team brought CLG Mid laner Austin "Link" Shin. When Cloud9 finished second in the Group Stage over OMG, Fnatic, and Taipei Assassins, it looked like Cloud9 would remain the great American hope. Editor's note: The article previously mentioned Cloud9 finished third in the Group Stage, but they finished second. This has been corrected. But after Hai's injury before All-Star, he just wasn't the same. "They went to All-Star without me, I came back for Summer Split, and I just wasn't playing as well as I was before," Hai admitted. "It took me time to get back to form. By the time I did, there was already a little doubt seeded into them." By the time that Hai had regained his footing, they already had the "worst" split of their careers, going 18-10 and tying LMQ for the best record in the NA LCS. However, it was the playoff battle with TSM that was more telling. For the first time ever, Cloud9 lost a Playoffs game -- not only that, but the whole series fell to TSM. Despite finishing second for the first time, Cloud9 still found themselves at the 2014 World Championship. "[In 2013] my team would trust me in literally everything I would tell them to do. I commanded my teammates with an iron fist -- they listened to me, didn't matter what it was. And we destroyed people because of that," Hai explained. "When we went to practice in Korea, we had a lot of arguments between a few members, including Charlie, and it made the team environment much worse there. It was just bad times." Cloud9's differences and internal problems reared their head throughout Worlds. In previous interviews I've had with Hai, I asked him specifically why he stuck with AD mid laners such as Talon and Zed. The team wanted to play AP champions at both AD and Top most often, champions like Corki and Rumble, and that required him to play AD mid laners. With Zed and Talon being the contested picks, and Hai not having Jayce in his arsenal, it came down to one of the two melee assassins. "My opinion's obviously biased, but at Worlds the few games we lost were due to loss of mid control. The issue of the Zed vs Talon matchup is very volatile. If Zed gets the lead, he'll carry the game -- if Talon gets the lead, he'll carry the game. So half the time [my opponent] would get a lead against me, due to external factors. One game Meteos gave up first blood, overextended in his jungle, then the guy shits on me for the rest of the game. Zed with first blood over a Talon is so brutal." It was clear that his control over the team was slipping, and it showed in both his and the team's play. Hai also lost control of his public image, thanks in great part to his rocky Talon play at Worlds, and it was during this period that the community's negativity towards him reached a climax. Hai was blamed for his team's failures, but lauded for its successes. His shot-calling became his silver lining, and his lackluster assassin play as the dark cloud. However, Hai took it in stride. "To be fair to the community… super negative comments that have no constructive parts always get downvoted or whatever. People have good intentions as far as bringing up criticism in my play. They might go about it badly, but they have good intentions, so it's not like anything I cared too much about… they were just a bit misguided." With the team losing confidence in Hai, and Hai's struggles dominating the conversation in the off-season, Cloud9 began 2015 in a precarious position. "We just had differences in how we should win the game, how we should play the game, and we couldn't resolve them. People were not trusting me and letting us win anymore."

When even your hands betray you…

Before the 2015 season could begin, Cloud9 moved back to the Bay Area. It wasn't until a few weeks later that Hai realized how seriously his career could be in jeopardy. "I don't know exactly how I injured my hands. I'm confident that I did something while working out… there were some exercises that I didn't want to do because they hurt my wrist, but I didn't feel it playing at all in SoCal (Southern California). "When I moved up to NorCal (Northern California)... something about my ergonomics changed, I don't know what. It started to hurt my wrist more and then obviously since I play literally every day, I had no time to rest my wrist, and it just got worse and worse and worse." Hai sought medical attention and treatment, but the answer to his problem was simple and yet complicated -- he'd have to stop playing. With his team losing confidence in him and his injury nagging at him, Hai's play suffered. Despite managing to climb into second place by the end of the split, it was inevitable that Cloud9 would suffer their second straight Finals loss to TSM. "I don't think it's necessarily unfair for my team to lose confidence in me. They went to All-Star without me… I wasn't playing well," Hai said. "[Every pro player] reads Twitter, Facebook, Reddit… when the entire community is saying something you've been thinking, it reinforces the belief [my teammates] had. Over time it becomes strong and stronger… it's hard to fix something they knew inside them the whole time." Hai only had one option left. It was time to move on.

Life after League

In the official Cloud9 post that announced Hai's retirement from League, the organization announced Hai would be Chief Gaming Officer. "From the beginning, I knew I wanted to work with Cloud9 after retiring," Hai says. "I wanted to oversee a lot of the organization's activities, and oversee the team as a brand, and Jack knew that. He told me I would always have a job here when I'm ready." What exactly will Hai's duties be for Cloud9? "Ideally speaking, I want to take a lot off of Jack's workload, so that he can raise his kids, step back and relax a little," Hai says, but acknowledges it's not an easy road. "Obviously I'll have to take time to work up to that." Hai has tried to improve the scene before, and given his notoriety as a player, his business savvy, and his experience in the scene, Hai is in a unique position to influence the League of Legends space. He understands this, and doesn't take the responsibility for positive change lightly. "No matter what you do or say in the community, people will always be assholes. But all I was hoping for with my blog post was reach maybe one or two people that read that and say, 'I should probably stop saying the N-word, I should probably stop telling this person to kill themselves.' I want to talk more about those issues." But instead of lecturing to the community, Hai actually looks to current pro players to set things straight. "I want to talk to pro players about setting a better example for the community," Hai explains. "Like, players says 'retarded' and 'faggot' like all the time… Come on! It's an important thing!"

Leaving a legacy

More than anything, though, Hai wants to leave a positive impression on the people he interacts with and leave a lasting legacy. "I don't know how long esports is going to be around, but eventually I want to be a CEO, maybe 10 years down the line. I don't have the management experience yet, but in 5-10 years from now, that'd be ideal." Given that Hai is still going to be listed as a sub for Cloud9, I asked him if we would see him play after his wrists heal, but Hai insists he's done as a player for Cloud9 -- forever. Even if Hai never did anything remarkable for the rest of his esports career, he would've had an incredibly impressive run. But Hai isn't going anywhere. "I wanted Cloud9 to be a thing for the longest time now, and now I have the opportunity to do it." "It's not like I'm dead!" Hai exclaims as we wind down the interview. It's true. Hai's greatness can't be contained in his play on the rift, his personality, his smile… it's everything he was, everything he is, and all the things he has the potential to be. Frank Fields is a Senior Editor for Riot Games' Esports Web Content team. You'll find him joining Viktor in the Glorious Evolution in Diamond... or on Twitter where he'd love to talk to you about esports.

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