"It's not just a game" - CLG and TSM's newest players prepare for the rivalry
Riot·3/22/2015, 6:33:31 PM·0 votes·16,102 views
It's that time again. North America's biggest rivalry is more intense than it's ever been and you can bet both Team SoloMid and Counter Logic Gaming are feeling the pressure of their Week 8 matchup.
This time around, it will be for the 1st place spot in the NA LCS.
The veterans have been here before. Marcus "Dyrus" Hill, Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng, Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg, and Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black are more than familiar with the pressure that comes from these two squads facing off on the Rift. But for Darshan "ZionSpartan" Upadhyaya and Lucas "Santorin" Larsen, this is the first split that they've been under the weight of the history between these two teams.
Don't expect them to take CLG so lightly, though. Says Santorin, "We definitely want to win the game tomorrow. We beat them last time, but it wasn't convincing at all. They were ahead, and we only came back because they made a few mistakes. On the same note, they're definitely one of the best teams in NA right now, so we have to take the game seriously. We mainly prepared for CLG this week, so we have to win tomorrow because we want to be #1."
Meanwhile, CLG is also stepping up their game in order to take revenge for their Week 4 loss to the reigning North American champions.
"We definitely don't sleep on TSM," says Zion. "That match is extra important. We'll spend even more time preparing than we would for other teams. We make sure that everybody's on the same page, saying, 'We're going to win this one.' Last time, we obviously had some mistakes. Not only in game, either. The draft could have been a lot better. This time we want to make sure we're 110% prepared for the match. All we have to worry about now is executing in game."
On the other side of the Rift, ZionSpartan knows exactly what his team requires of him in order to bring CLG to the top. "As I moved into a gaming house and slowly got more serious, I learned how to be a better League player. How to use my time more efficiently, use my practice more efficiently, and become a much better player. I feel like, finally, CLG as a team has a roster good enough to eventually become the best team in the world."
They may not have been veterans of this rivalry coming into the 2015 Season, but both Santorin and ZionSpartan now know its importance. Now, there's only one thing left to find out: who will rise to the occasion and take the #1 spot in North America?
Don't miss the match (or any of the other NA LCS action) by heading over to Lolesports. Don't worry if you do, though, there's always the spoiler-free VODs page for anything you may have missed out on.
No more funny business
Santorin had never been on the LCS stage before joining TSM. He'd spent time floating around the Challenger scene, but before joining North America's most famous squad, he hadn't faced any challenge like playing with Bjergsen and company. "It was a really huge step going from a team like Team Coast, where we lost relegations, to go to the top team in the LCS," says TSM's jungler. "The transition was really hard for me, because there was definitely more pressure on me. The team required more of me. I had to practice more, I had to be more serious." Zion echoes the sentiment that things got more serious as soon as he became embroiled in the rivalry between TSM and CLG. "As I've gotten older and the people I've played with have gotten older, I've realized it's not just a game," he says. "There's been the added pressure of performing." Now, it's up to him to take all that practice and mental energy to the Rift.Preparation
Both teams have been working hard to be ready for the matchup -- even at the expense of other games, as we saw on Day 1 of Week 8 when TSM dropped an unexpected game to Gravity.
Don't expect them to take CLG so lightly, though. Says Santorin, "We definitely want to win the game tomorrow. We beat them last time, but it wasn't convincing at all. They were ahead, and we only came back because they made a few mistakes. On the same note, they're definitely one of the best teams in NA right now, so we have to take the game seriously. We mainly prepared for CLG this week, so we have to win tomorrow because we want to be #1."
Meanwhile, CLG is also stepping up their game in order to take revenge for their Week 4 loss to the reigning North American champions.
"We definitely don't sleep on TSM," says Zion. "That match is extra important. We'll spend even more time preparing than we would for other teams. We make sure that everybody's on the same page, saying, 'We're going to win this one.' Last time, we obviously had some mistakes. Not only in game, either. The draft could have been a lot better. This time we want to make sure we're 110% prepared for the match. All we have to worry about now is executing in game."
In it for the long haul
As the two newest members of their respective teams, both Santorin and ZionSpartan feel like they've found homes on TSM and CLG. "I'm just trying to change my mentality to be like, 'Okay, I'll play on this team for ages,'" says Santorin. "I know how to play with them, so I don't have to think that I have to be the guy who has to step up all the time. I don't have to show them how to play. If you do that, there's way too much pressure on you. It's easier for me to just say that I've been on the team, and they know how I play." With that level of comfort, he believes that he and TSM will be a force to be reckoned with not only in North America, but on the international stage.
On the other side of the Rift, ZionSpartan knows exactly what his team requires of him in order to bring CLG to the top. "As I moved into a gaming house and slowly got more serious, I learned how to be a better League player. How to use my time more efficiently, use my practice more efficiently, and become a much better player. I feel like, finally, CLG as a team has a roster good enough to eventually become the best team in the world."
They may not have been veterans of this rivalry coming into the 2015 Season, but both Santorin and ZionSpartan now know its importance. Now, there's only one thing left to find out: who will rise to the occasion and take the #1 spot in North America?
Don't miss the match (or any of the other NA LCS action) by heading over to Lolesports. Don't worry if you do, though, there's always the spoiler-free VODs page for anything you may have missed out on.
