Ask The Pros: Alliance's Wickd

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 to. 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 Team SoloMid's Dyrus about learning League, winning, and dealing with stalkers. He also had a question for Alliance's top laner, Mike "Wickd" Petersen. TSM's Dyrus: What team comp do we need to pick to win team fights? Wickd: Whatever you used at Worlds seemed to work better than what we used, so keep playing the way you do.

Inevitable Irelia

We all knew there were going to be a ton of questions about Irelia asked to the world's leading expert on the Will of the Blades. So let's just go ahead and get those out of the way first. Daniel: How soon after starting playing LoL did you pick up Irelia? What about her initially appealed to you? W: I picked up Irelia one year after I started playing, or maybe even later. She wasn't released when I started playing League of Legends. Ronoh: When are Irelia's key power spikes in lane and how do you judge when to go aggressive on the enemy top laner? W: Irelia's key power spikes are when you get Sheen and Trinity Force completed. And then also at levels 7, 9, and 10. Halo: What advice would you give to new Irelia players? W: The main advice I'd give to new Irelia players is to test her limits. Irelia is a champion that can often go further than you might think. Ziyeh: Have you ever played against a better Irelia than yours? Be realistic, please. W: No, I haven't played against someone that I believed to be better on Irelia than I am during my peak on her. However, I have met very good Irelia players and there's always small things you can learn from each other.

Everyone Else in Top Lane

Thankfully, not all of the questions were about the Captain of the Ionian Guard. Many people wanted to Wickd to share his top secret strats for other champs and the top lane in general. Matt: Why don't you play your famous Zac anymore? W: I don't play Zac anymore simply because I don't think he's good right now. I will only play champions that I think have potential. Yewi: What's the most important thing for improving top lane play? W: The most important thing for improving top lane play is to never die in lane. You need to figure out how to play the lane without dying. Obviously sometimes you will die, but every single time it's because you made a mistake. Kane: I play Malphite top lane in solo queue. After getting my Trinity Force, I need some CC. Should I get Iceborn Gauntlets too? W: Malphite is meant for initiating and his team needs to be able to clean up afterwards if you initiate well. The only CC you need from items is Randuin's Omen and I would only recommend Iceborn Gauntlet if you're extremely fed. Robby: Why isn't Vlad played anymore? He's super strong against most of the meta champs right now. W: Vlad isn't played much right now due to him having no crowd control, and his playstyle. Vladimir is an extremely good split pusher, but that doesn't work very well in the current meta. You need a champion that can catch people and kill them. Zatch: Being such a seasoned player going through countless metas, how do you adapt to each change and what makes you so good at it? W: I haven't always been that good at adapting to different metas, but now that I've played for a long time and grinded through countless metas, it's getting easier. I have a good basic understanding of how everything works and just try to execute it. Halo: Why are pure tanks so strong in the recent meta, like Mundo, Maokai or Alistar, without damage? W: Alistar was strong due to him being completely broken at Worlds patch, but he isn't as good anymore and only really works as a support. Mundo isn't that great and he only really works in a few specific situations. Last, but not least, Maokai. He is extremely strong and does well in almost all lanes. He is always able to farm due to his saplings and his ultimate makes him a brilliant team fighter. He's strong now because he can lane well which he hasn't always been able to. Yuan: Who is your favorite ADC? W: My favorite AD carry is Lucian. If you practice him a lot, you can easily carry games alone.

Livin' the Pro Life

Wickd is one of the most veteran players in the LCS, and everyone wanted to know his perspective on the pro scene and players he's interacted with. Saul: What inspired you to go pro? Did you expect it to go as well as it has? W: That feeling you get after winning a game inspired me. The better opponents that you manage to beat, the better of a feeling you get afterwards. Dread: What makes Alliance a better team than your previous roster (CLG.EU)? W: The individual skill level in Alliance is a lot higher than it was in CLG.EU. Jo: Do you miss your old team? W: My old teammates were a fantastic bunch and I miss them a lot. We had been together for two years and it was probably the two best years of my life. Jerry: How hard is it to be a pro League gamer? W: Being a pro gamer is extremely difficult. You need to be one of the best individual players in the game, while also being good at working together to reach a common goal. Sanka: How many hours do you spend per week training as a team? W: As a team, we spend roughly 50 hours practicing a week, but there's also solo queue and individual training afterwards. Mogget: Which three top laners do you respect the most? W: Acorn, Looper, and Zionspartan. I think those are the best in their regions. LoLesports: Which pro player would you want to answer questions next? Would you like to ask him anything? W: I would like to ask Zionspartan, my favorite NA top laner, how it feels to be one of the few carry tops left? Josh Augustine's favorite champion is Malzahar, 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.

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