Piglet's journey from Solo Queue star to veteran carry

Team Liquid have been through a period of turbulence. After losing two treasured veterans in Quas and IWDominate, the team was forced to bring in new talent.

After a rough start to the Spring Split, losing their first three games, they’re starting to turn things around. As the new roster begins to rev up, all eyes are on the former World Champion who’s carrying his team through the rocky times ahead: Piglet.

As a young solo queue star in Korea, Gwang-jin “Piglet” Chae avoided arguments with his parents by sneaking out of his house to practice League at local PC Bangs. Despite never playing a game of competitive League of Legends, he still impressed the right people, and Piglet was signed to SKTelecom #2 (which eventually became SKT K).

Piglet had been forced to practice in secret; his solo queue career was marred by arguments with his parents. They didn’t support his dreams of playing on the world stage and making League history -- after all, such a dream seemed wildly unrealistic. When he was signed by SKT, all of that changed. He had the weight, infrastructure, and support of SKT behind him. With some of the best coaching in the world, Piglet would flourish.

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Piglet was joined by household names Faker, Impact, and Bengi. Piglet was supported by ManDu in the bot lane, an older, wiser veteran who clicked so well with the young, brash ADC that he changed his name to PoohManDu. Even though fans would tease that the support sounded like Piglet’s mother, no one could deny their results; the "Hundred Acre Lane" terrorized their opponents.

After SKTelecom #1 dissolved, #2 were bumped up to the top spot. The pressure intensified. Piglet, nicknamed ‘Practice Worm’, was infamous for sleeping just a few hours a night, then powering through a fifteen or sixteen hour practice session every day.

These sacrifices paid off. SKTelecom T1 qualified as the third seed for the Season 3 World Championship. They dropped only a single game in Groups to Chinese team OMG, survived a hair raising 3-2 set against NaJin Black Sword, and then met Royal Club in the Finals. Their final bout was a decisive 3-0 victory, and the team walked away with their first World Championship.

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Piglet and SKTelecom T1 weren’t content to stop there. Fresh off their win at Worlds, they swept the entirety of Champions Winter with a 15-0 record, including taking Samsung Galaxy Ozone to the mat in a 3-0 victory in one of the most dominant displays of professional League in the history of the sport.

Despite the guidance of his support and this string of incredible victories, Piglet still struggled occasionally; the young player nearly quit after experiencing the harsh coaching style of Jung-gyun “kkOma” Kim. He wasn’t afraid to trash talk other carries, and found himself embroiled in rivalries with other ADCs. He’d occasionally lash out in Solo Queue. He would sometimes speak of feeling depressed, wanting to contribute more to the team’s victory.

If the story had ended here, if the screen faded to black and credits rolled, it’s possible that Piglet would have gone down in League history as one of the best ADCs of all time -- a true legend (if an occasionally volatile one). But time marched on, and SKTelecom stumbled, experiencing a few key losses and a down season. It wasn’t a surprise when Piglet was released from SKTelecom, and all eyes were on the World Champion ADC, wondering where he would go next.

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After a period of uncertainty, the headline came out that would shock the League watching world: Piglet was coming to North America, signing up with perennial 4th place fan favourites Team Curse, which would soon transition into Team Liquid. There were few celebrations; instead, fans were mostly voicing doubts. Had Piglet traded a World Championship team for a 4th place finish in North America?

At first it seemed like these doubts might come true. Piglet experienced visa issues, and substitute Keith took his place for the first week. Visa issues and substitutions are common in the LCS, but Liquid’s 2-0 record in the first week was a surprise. Even more surprising was Piglet’s record upon taking his rightful place on the roster. Liquid went 2-4 in Weeks 2 through 4, and in a move that shocked and enraged fans, Piglet was temporarily benched. Fans speculated on what had happened, whether Piglet would return, and what was next for the World Champion.

Those fans breathed a sigh of relief when Piglet returned to Team Liquid’s roster, playing out the rest of the season. The team built momentum, finally breaking the 4th place curse and finishing 3rd that spring. The next season they eclipsed that goal, finishing 1st in the Summer Regular Season.

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The victory of breaking the curse wasn’t enough for Piglet; he began to build confidence in his new team, stating that his goal was to go to Worlds. Liquid almost made it, making it through the gauntlet to face off against Cloud9. It ended with a heartbreaking 3-1 defeat, and while Cloud9’s success was hailed as a Cinderella story, Piglet found himself sobbing into his keyboard.

Rumours flew, and people wondered if Piglet would try to find a fresh start. Instead, he’s buckling down and staying with Team Liquid and their new roster. The ADC and World Champion may have finally found the stability that has eluded him since his days on the Hundred Acre Lane came to an end. Team Liquid’s new roster includes a new support, jungler, and top lane. Piglet is maintaining his fast friendship with mid laner Fenix, but more importantly, he’s backed up by a coaching team that he can trust: specifically, TSM’s former coach Locodoco.

“Some people think that Loco and I aren’t very close or we don’t like each other,” Piglet admits. “That’s not true. We do behave that way sometimes but we’re always friendly.” The coach and the ADC have more than just a cordial relationship; Locodoco understands how the World Champion plays best on the Rift, and enables him.

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“Last Season I had a hard time trusting in my coach,” Piglet admits. But with a new coach, and a new support, things are starting to turn around. “Compared to the other supports [I’ve played with], I think [Matt] is a bit smarter, he’s a lot more vocal, and he accepts when he makes mistakes and his flaws. That’s why I think he is able to grow and develop to be a better player in the future.”

With a young support full of potential at his side, and a coach he can trust at his back, Piglet is turning in killer performances on the Rift. When playing against Echo Fox, Team Liquid was down 11 kills, having yet to score a single kill that game. Every eye was on Piglet, farming the bottom lane, refusing to give up a death to his opponents. Late game, he tore through Echo Fox and turned what seemed to be a lost game around. “I just kept hope. I hoped that with this one game, if we win this game, we’ll win the next one.”

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And so they did. Team Liquid took both of their games the next week on the Rift, including a dominant performance against NRG’s impressive roster. Piglet remains humble, thanking his coach for their successes: “I think I lost my style before, when I first joined Liquid, because I didn't trust in my coach or say what I was thinking because I didn't speak English very well. But now, with Loco as my coach, and now that I've transitioned to America better, I've really regained my identity and style. I'm happy now.”

Piglet is now keeping his eyes on the future, secure and confident in his team and his position in the LCS. “I really have faith in our entire ten man roster -- especially the five that are starting. We really listen to what Loco has to say, and we have three members on our starting roster that are rookies. If we all listen to Loco, work hard, listen hard, I think we can take Spring and Summer too. With this roster, we can take the LCS.”