Ask the Pros: Origen's Zven

Ask The Pros is an ongoing series on Lolesports 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 Pros interview, we talked with Team Vitality's Raymond "KaSing" Tsang about playing with friends, his time on H2K, and how he became a pro.

He also had a question for Origen's AD carry, Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen (formerly Niels).

Team Vitality's KaSing: What is your favorite animal and why is it a pig?

Zven: Haha, I love all the oinkers!

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PRO LIFE

Mika: How much time and effort did it take to become a pro and get real contracts?

Z: I started playing ranked in Season 2, and ended up at 2500 ELO. I think somewhere in Season 4, I started having "valuable" contacts and friends. I had two accounts in the top 10 of Challenger ladder and, in the offseason, I had many team offers. One was from Origen, mainly because I knew Alfonso "Mithy" Aguirre Rodriguez.

Dani: Would you ever consider going to NA, or will you always stay in EU?

Z: It's nothing new that NA has more money than EU. However, for now, I would only go to NA over EU if the team was actually better or had a better chance of achieving more. I'd always consider good teams and organizations.

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David: You had tremendous success in your rookie year. What helped you most?

Z: I had a really good team. What helped me most was my own determination, I think. I refuse to be bad and, if I make mistakes, I get angry and want that mistake to never happen again. Also playing a lot. However, having veterans on my team helped as well, since they could tell me about what it was going to be like and give me advice.

Audrey: What do you like most about being a pro? What's been the biggest life change?

Z: The thing I like the most about being a pro is just "being a pro." The entire life change. I experienced so much this year, especially since we did well. The entire Challenger life of living on Tenerife, going to LAN events in France and Barcelona, going to the EU LCS Finals in Stockholm, going to Worlds in Paris, London, and Brussels. And then to wrap up the year, IEM San Jose (where we were victorious as well) and the 2015 All-Star Event as a sub/coach.

I think all of this, on top of doing something you really like for a living, is what I like the most about being a pro.

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LCS

Mike: You came to a team with stars in every position. How did you not freak out playing next to them?

Z: I don't want to sound cocky, but it feels natural for me to be next to great players. Also, they're all really down to earth and we have the same humor, even though there is an age difference. So we have a lot of fun together

Salla: How does it feel to play with Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage?

Z: I think playing with PoE, instead of Enrique "xPeke" Cedeño Martínez, is quite a difference. PoE has a very different champion pool with some niche picks (like Cassiopeia and Syndra) and he is a more demanding player. He prefers when he gets more resources and jungle attention, whereas xPeke is more of a wave-clear player -- unless he played something special like Twisted Fate or Viktor, where he could take over the game.

I think both are really good players, but they are different. I like both.

Wai: How do you feel about playing without Xpeke next year?

Z: xPeke isn't retired yet, but yeah, I think next split we will play mainly with PoE. I think it's good for PoE to have a veteran mid player as sub/coach/manager to help him improve. And it'll help Origen as an organization to have xPeke focus more on Origen next split. For our teamplay, we just have to play a bit together and we are gonna be fine with a different playstyle than we had at Worlds.

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Justin: What do you think made Origen so successful last Split?

Z: In the LCS, I think that talent and good shotcalling carried most games and the rest is because EU was pretty weak, aside from the top 3 teams, until late in the season. We got gifted a lot of wins simply because our opponents weren't good enough to finish the game or snowball an early advantage.

Vytrix: How did you get invited to Origen, and how did you feel when asked?

Z: I had known Mithy for some time and spent time in a TeamSpeak server with him and other pros/amateurs. One day, Mithy asked if I wanted to play with Origen. I had mixed feelings because I had another really good offer, so I had the hardest decision of my life, I think. But in the end, I am super happy I got to play with Origen since things turned out as they did.

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Eusuf: How has your bond with Mithy grown since your first day on the team to now?

Z: At first, Mithy was mainly in control of how we played. I guess you can call him the mentor. He was dictating how the lane should be played at first, but over time, as I started to become good, we became a duo lane. Now we do things together and if we disagree about something in lane, we try it and if it doesn't work, we just flame the guy that was wrong and learn for next time.

San: Your first Worlds and no jitters! How did you do it?

Z: I had an entire Challenger Split and 9 months of LCS to be bad, haha! I think personally that I didn't play so well in LCS until the final against Fnatic and then the gauntlet. From there on, I think I played really good in almost every match at Worlds and IEM.

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ROLE

Dylan: What do you think of the marksman changes in the pre-season?

Z: After Riot nerfed every Mastery in Ferocity and stopped Statikk Shiv and Rapid Fire Cannon from stacking, I don't know what's best anymore. The only viable Mastery is Thunderlord... I wish they would revert at least the Fervor nerf.

Aaron: Which marksman champs do you think benefited the most from the pre-season changes?

Z: At first, Infinity Edge champions benefitted the most. After the item stacking got removed, I don't know what's best anymore. I think Lucian and Miss Fortune are strong. Kalista got super screwed by the pre-season.

On top of recent nerfs, every item in her build got changed/nerfed so they are worse on her than before. Blade of the Ruined King costs more and gives less, Runaan's Hurricane gives movement speed, crit, and less attack speed. It feels like the Hurricane change was only to nerf Kalista, since Shiv/Rapid Fire Cannon are way better "zeal" items, so no champions build Hurricane except Kalista.

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Phreat: What do you build on Kalista in the new patch?

Z: Even though the items are worse, I think the best build path is still Blade of the Ruined King into Hurricane and then the rest can be anything of Scimitar, Bloodthirster, and Last Whisper. I don't really know what's best. I think it's situational.

Tom: What Masteries do you prefer for Ezreal?

Z: Probably 12/18 where you take Fury, Feast, Natural Talent and Bounty Hunter. In Cunning I would take Savagery, Assassin, Merciless, Dangerous Game, Precision, and Thunderlord's Decree.

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FUN

Denise: Why are you so adorable?

Z: Good genes, I guess!

Twin: Who is your favorite LCS caster?

Z: I prefer colorcasters over play-by-play. My favorites are Martin "Deficio" Lynge and Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles. But colorcast needs a play-by-play to work, so Monte, Deficio, and Erik "DoA" Lonnquist would be my favorite combo, I think.

Sophia: What's the best way to ask a girl on a date?

Z: "Duo Queue to homecoming..?"

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Mithy: Don't you think it's sad that you only look good because of me?

Z: Haha, just shut up and buy your Sightstone, you shit player!

Tim: Who is your favorite YouTuber?

Z: Justin Bieber! But if we're talking anything other than music, then I don't know. I don't really follow a single YouTuber. I just watch random videos on the front page of Reddit or random music.

Alice: Do you ever want to have a tattoo?

Z: I think if maybe one day I get ripped, I would get a tattoo on my arm or something. But tattoos in general are not really my thing.

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Lolesports: Which pro player do you want to answer questions next?

Z: TSM's AD carry Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng: How is TSM going to do this year now that they have a revamped roster with imports? Is this going to be the year you go as far as EU at Worlds?

Josh Augustine's favorite champion is Miss Fortune, 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 at Daybreak Games. He’d love to talk with you on Twitter.