Apollo learns teamwork on Team Impulse

“I think I just didn’t know now how to play as a team.” When Team Impulse's Apollo "Apollo" Price left the NA LCS and Team Coast, it was a different era. Teams hadn’t quite fully embraced coaches and analysts, and were largely relying on individual play alone. “It used to be mid lane vs. mid lane, top lane vs. top lane,” he says. Now, it’s different. “Then, lane swaps started happening, and that sort of thing. People started realizing you can’t really be arrogant about your position. A lot of times, the 2 vs. 2 lanes feel really strong. But they didn’t think about the team. Even if they won their lane, what would that transition into? So, now, you see teams lane swapping even if they think they’re a better lane, just because it will benefit their team more. It’s not really about the lane vs. lane matchup, you just play as a team now.” For Apollo, that realization came largely as a result of his new squad and their support staff. “The most valuable part about our team is our Korean coach and Impact. They brought a lot of experience to us. I never really had that experience where someone was coaching me or telling me what to pick or telling me what to do. I usually had to do it myself. Having Impact and the coach guiding me through that process is really nice.” Now, as Impulse looks to continue to improve, teamwork is their main focus. Whereas previously Apollo would often play much in the same way as he would in solo queue, he’s looking to meld with his teammates. “Playing as a team requires five people. You can’t have four people playing as a team. It doesn’t really work, because the fifth member is doing whatever he wants.” Once Team Impulse finds their cohesion, he says, they'll be a team to contend with. “You can kind of tell, compared to the teams we’re playing against, we’re doing okay. We’re still losing to the top-tier teams. We’re holding our own against the middle-tier teams, though. It’s a growing process. We’re getting there, but there’s still communication issues. Once Week 5 or Week 6 rolls around, we’re going to start improving a lot more.” Make sure to keep your eyes on Lolesports to see if Impulse can come together and climb to the top of the rankings. Of course, you can always check out our spoiler-free VODs page if you missed any of the LCS action.