Ask The Pros: Cloud9's Balls
Riot·1/16/2015, 7:23:56 PM·0 votes·51,710 views
Ask The Pro is an ongoing series on Lolesports.com, where we ask a pro player questions from the community. The player then picks the next pro the community will get to ask questions. Be sure to follow us on Twitter to submit your questions for the next Q&A!
In our last Ask The Pro interview, we talked with Counter Logic Gaming's Darshan "ZionSpartan" Upadhyaha about moving to CLG, the Season 5 meta, and hypothetically dating champions.
He also had a question for Cloud9's top laner, An "Balls" Lee:
ZionSpartan: What has been the most memorable event of your esports career so far?
Balls: The promotion event where I made it into the LCS with Cloud9.
Coockie: How did your career as a pro start? Did C9 recruit you randomly out of top players?
B: WildTurtle [who was playing for Cloud9 at the time, before he moved to TSM] asked me to join since I used to play top and I'd been around for a while.
William: What's the hardest part of being a pro gamer?
B: The hardest part of being pro gamer has been being away from my family a large amount of the year.
Andrew: How do you mentally prepare for games?
B: To mentally prepare for games, I usually drink Red Bull, listen to music, and then go on-stage and practice in custom games.
Ayoub: Why should I root for Cloud9?
B: Meteos' super saiyan hair, LemonNation's manly beard, Hai's loud shot-calling, my name, and Sneaky's [redacted].
Scott: What do you think of ranged champions in top lane this season? What about Viktor, in particular?
B: I think there's a wider range of top lane champions this season. Viktor is strong, but really vulnerable in the long lane.
Ray: In your opinion, what is the most dramatic change to top lane with the Season 5 changes?
B: I don't think anything major really changed with Season 5.
Cody: You seem do well in every meta. With the top lane meta changing so rapidly, how do you do this?
B: I play lots of solo queue and focus on improving. I also like playing bruisers or anything strong as long as I can farm.
Hakan: What is your first favorite champion and skin? Why?
B: Ezreal was my first favorite champion because he was really strong back when less champions had dashes and could go aggressive while being safe. Blood Lord Vladimir skin is my favorite.
Token: Any tips on improving my level on Rumble?
B: Controlling your heat is very important and knowing when to use the correct combos when you're trying to all-in on a champion. Knowing when to keep your spells in the danger zone so they do more damage and where to position your ults.
Alex: What is your diet when bulking? How many calories, and what are your macros?
B: I eat whatever and I don't count anything. I guess I'm still trying to bulk.
Joshua: Do you feel physical fitness and nutrition affects your gameplay in the competitive scene?
B: Yes. I feel alive and more awake after physical activity, which can sometimes help in-game.
Sneaky: Do you even lift?
B: All kinds of gains…
Garner: Why did you choose the name "Balls" for your professional name, and do you ever regret it?
B: I chose the name "Balls" trolling with my friend when I was creating the name. We wanted something similar, so we went with two variants of Balls because we could make it look similar using 'i's and 'l's. It looked like we had the same name. That way, when we go in-game people see two "Balls" and are confused why there are two Balls in the same game. What, you've never seen two Balls before?
Mackeith: Did you intentionally pick your name because of the hilarity of this hashtag? #AskBalls
B: No, I picked it because of all kinds of inappropriate things that could happen. [Smirks]
LoLesports: Pick the next pro player to answer questions, and ask them something.
B: Quas on Team Liquid: Why did you choose to play top lane?
Josh Augustine's favorite champion is Yasuo, he's never enjoyed a Darius, and he will always go for the kill, even when he knows he shouldn't. He currently works as a game designer on EverQuest Next at Sony Online Entertainment. He’d love to talk with you on Twitter.
Life in the Clouds
Coockie: How did your career as a pro start? Did C9 recruit you randomly out of top players?
B: WildTurtle [who was playing for Cloud9 at the time, before he moved to TSM] asked me to join since I used to play top and I'd been around for a while.
William: What's the hardest part of being a pro gamer?
B: The hardest part of being pro gamer has been being away from my family a large amount of the year.
Andrew: How do you mentally prepare for games?
B: To mentally prepare for games, I usually drink Red Bull, listen to music, and then go on-stage and practice in custom games.
Ayoub: Why should I root for Cloud9?
B: Meteos' super saiyan hair, LemonNation's manly beard, Hai's loud shot-calling, my name, and Sneaky's [redacted].
Busting Up Top Lane
Scott: What do you think of ranged champions in top lane this season? What about Viktor, in particular?
B: I think there's a wider range of top lane champions this season. Viktor is strong, but really vulnerable in the long lane.
Ray: In your opinion, what is the most dramatic change to top lane with the Season 5 changes?
B: I don't think anything major really changed with Season 5.
Cody: You seem do well in every meta. With the top lane meta changing so rapidly, how do you do this?
B: I play lots of solo queue and focus on improving. I also like playing bruisers or anything strong as long as I can farm.
Hakan: What is your first favorite champion and skin? Why?
B: Ezreal was my first favorite champion because he was really strong back when less champions had dashes and could go aggressive while being safe. Blood Lord Vladimir skin is my favorite.
Token: Any tips on improving my level on Rumble?
B: Controlling your heat is very important and knowing when to use the correct combos when you're trying to all-in on a champion. Knowing when to keep your spells in the danger zone so they do more damage and where to position your ults.
All Kinds of Anatomy
Alex: What is your diet when bulking? How many calories, and what are your macros?
B: I eat whatever and I don't count anything. I guess I'm still trying to bulk.
Joshua: Do you feel physical fitness and nutrition affects your gameplay in the competitive scene?
B: Yes. I feel alive and more awake after physical activity, which can sometimes help in-game.
Sneaky: Do you even lift?
B: All kinds of gains…
Garner: Why did you choose the name "Balls" for your professional name, and do you ever regret it?
B: I chose the name "Balls" trolling with my friend when I was creating the name. We wanted something similar, so we went with two variants of Balls because we could make it look similar using 'i's and 'l's. It looked like we had the same name. That way, when we go in-game people see two "Balls" and are confused why there are two Balls in the same game. What, you've never seen two Balls before?
Mackeith: Did you intentionally pick your name because of the hilarity of this hashtag? #AskBalls
B: No, I picked it because of all kinds of inappropriate things that could happen. [Smirks]
Hanging Out
Royson: What is your daily routine like? B: Wake up, gym or tennis, scrim, eat, scrim, eat, sleep. Markus: Did you ever have problems with bullying in school? B: No, I was the token Asian in school, so everyone thought that was cool. Fynatic: What's your biggest inspiration or what gives you the most motivation? B: Remembering all the F's I had in college.
LoLesports: Pick the next pro player to answer questions, and ask them something.
B: Quas on Team Liquid: Why did you choose to play top lane?
Josh Augustine's favorite champion is Yasuo, he's never enjoyed a Darius, and he will always go for the kill, even when he knows he shouldn't. He currently works as a game designer on EverQuest Next at Sony Online Entertainment. He’d love to talk with you on Twitter.
