The Calculated Aggression of SK Gaming
Riot·2/13/2015, 8:40:25 PM·0 votes·12,513 views
When Lolesports last spoke with SK Gaming in November, the team wasn't exactly confident. They had just picked up two new members, were moving to a new city, and after a daunting Worlds appearance, putting a new squad together in only a few months was a lot to deal with. Now, that same team stands tall atop the EU LCS standings with an undefeated 8-0 record. To discover how SK Gaming became the best team in the LCS we caught up with dominating team captain and top laner Simon "fredy122" Payne and managing coach Joe "InnerFlame" Elouassi.
And how about their other decision, to pick up the fearless and outspoken FORG1VENGRE? "Well, he's doing quite good I guess," jokes Fredy. "He's got the praise he deserved finally." Currently rocking a 35/3/51 record and 28.67 KDA after four straight weeks of solid performances, FORG1VENGRE has blossomed into one of the best AD carries in the west, and he seems to know it. Acknowledging in a recent interview that he and Christoph "nRated" Seitz had the most skill "by far" than every other bottom lane pair in Europe, InnerFlame explains that the comment wasn't arrogance, but rather it's been backed up by results.
"That's just what he believed at the time. And it's not like they haven't shown it with the results. He didn't mean it in any arrogant way. I don't think it's wrong to give yourself a pat on the back when you have been performing [like FORG1VENGRE has]," he said. "I also think that other AD carries or bot lanes will look at that and it will be in their minds when they go into the game. They'll think about playing against the best bot lane by far, which may change the way they play. It might have an effect. I don't think it was an inappropriate statement to make. I just think it was relatively accurate and we've had results to show it. We definitely have faith in our bot lane and definitely have faith in each other as a team."
As for the other members of SK Gaming, things seem to be going well. Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen is "aggressive as ever" according to Fredy, and the captain himself is enjoying playing in what he describes as an open meta. "You have to roam a lot which is a contrast to last season," he says. "It's more interesting. It's different." He goes on to mention how he likes seeing top laners picking more random champions lately, as he doesn't think there's a dominant champion who can play a lot better against the others at the moment.
While everyone seems to be doing well individually, InnerFlame says that the team has worked hard to become a force of calculated aggression. "We're the best at punishing people for making mistakes or forcing people into a position to get punished by us," he says of SK Gaming's current playstyle. "Generally, we've had good composure. Like if we've had a bad start or thrown a bit, everyone's worked to come back to keep a good mindset throughout the game."
He also explains how SK doesn't implement a strict in-game leader. Instead, everyone contributes where needed. "The responsibility of calling in general goes to who has the most influence, and that's usually the most fed person." This is similar to how Marcus "Dyrus" Hill explains Team SoloMid's shotcalling, and it seems that strong communication is working well for both teams. "Another thing we address to people coming into the team is you can't not say anything. Everyone has stepped up a bit in that regard. It's important that everyone talks," says InnerFlame.
The team hasn't simply stepped up their communication, though. Every aspect of the squad is looking better than ever, and it shows through their undefeated record. "Being the only undefeated team is a really nice feeling," admits Fredy. But he has an interesting way of looking at the achievement. Rather than being content, he finds the record drives him even further. "I feel more motivated, to protect that record since we're the only team that has it. It adds another dynamic."
With four weeks of LCS competition under their belts, SK Gaming is focused on maintaining their top form in order to put themselves in a great position for playoffs. "It's not over for us yet. We're not like, 'We're in a really good position to guarantee ourselves playoffs already.' It's more like, what can we do to keep on going and secure first place seed going into playoffs? It's just taking it one game at a time," says Innerflame.
"Another thing is all five players and me, we would much rather not lose. Some people say it's good to lose so that you learn, but we really, really, really, really, really, really, want to win and I think we want to win more than other teams. Everyone wants to win, right? But we want to win more."
Find out if SK Gaming can keep their streak going every Thursday and Friday in the EU LCS, right here on Lolesports.com. If you've missed any of the EU LCS so far, you can watch every match on our spoiler-free VODs page.
A Fresh Start
While strong results in the EU LCS are certainly important, to achieve those results SK Gaming first needed to make a few positive changes off the Rift. This season, they set their players up in a compound in Berlin, complete with a training facility and several apartments. With the constant stress of competition always present on their minds, the relaxed setup allows players both the privacy they require and the best training environment possible. "You need your [private] time sometimes, and that's the main benefit of this," says InnerFlame. Fredy seems to agree, chiming in about how the compound is much preferable to the cluttered gaming houses he's occupied in the past. Aside from adapting to a new type of home life this offseason, SK also had to overcome the formidable challenge of integrating not just one, but two new players into its starting roster with Hampus "Fox" Myhre and Konstantinos "FORG1VENGRE" Tzortziou. Both InnerFlame and Fredy lit up when talking about their rookie mid laner Fox, who according to the team captain is, "doing better than expected." But the best thing about Fox so far, at least as InnerFlame explains it, is that he's a great team player. "He has listened to what the team wanted and done what was asked of him." Not to mention he's played, and won, against nearly every good mid laner in the EU LCS. Seemingly pleased with the pickup, InnerFlame admits that, "So far yeah, it was the right decision."
And how about their other decision, to pick up the fearless and outspoken FORG1VENGRE? "Well, he's doing quite good I guess," jokes Fredy. "He's got the praise he deserved finally." Currently rocking a 35/3/51 record and 28.67 KDA after four straight weeks of solid performances, FORG1VENGRE has blossomed into one of the best AD carries in the west, and he seems to know it. Acknowledging in a recent interview that he and Christoph "nRated" Seitz had the most skill "by far" than every other bottom lane pair in Europe, InnerFlame explains that the comment wasn't arrogance, but rather it's been backed up by results.
"That's just what he believed at the time. And it's not like they haven't shown it with the results. He didn't mean it in any arrogant way. I don't think it's wrong to give yourself a pat on the back when you have been performing [like FORG1VENGRE has]," he said. "I also think that other AD carries or bot lanes will look at that and it will be in their minds when they go into the game. They'll think about playing against the best bot lane by far, which may change the way they play. It might have an effect. I don't think it was an inappropriate statement to make. I just think it was relatively accurate and we've had results to show it. We definitely have faith in our bot lane and definitely have faith in each other as a team."
As for the other members of SK Gaming, things seem to be going well. Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen is "aggressive as ever" according to Fredy, and the captain himself is enjoying playing in what he describes as an open meta. "You have to roam a lot which is a contrast to last season," he says. "It's more interesting. It's different." He goes on to mention how he likes seeing top laners picking more random champions lately, as he doesn't think there's a dominant champion who can play a lot better against the others at the moment.
Competitive Edge
While everyone seems to be doing well individually, InnerFlame says that the team has worked hard to become a force of calculated aggression. "We're the best at punishing people for making mistakes or forcing people into a position to get punished by us," he says of SK Gaming's current playstyle. "Generally, we've had good composure. Like if we've had a bad start or thrown a bit, everyone's worked to come back to keep a good mindset throughout the game."
He also explains how SK doesn't implement a strict in-game leader. Instead, everyone contributes where needed. "The responsibility of calling in general goes to who has the most influence, and that's usually the most fed person." This is similar to how Marcus "Dyrus" Hill explains Team SoloMid's shotcalling, and it seems that strong communication is working well for both teams. "Another thing we address to people coming into the team is you can't not say anything. Everyone has stepped up a bit in that regard. It's important that everyone talks," says InnerFlame.
The team hasn't simply stepped up their communication, though. Every aspect of the squad is looking better than ever, and it shows through their undefeated record. "Being the only undefeated team is a really nice feeling," admits Fredy. But he has an interesting way of looking at the achievement. Rather than being content, he finds the record drives him even further. "I feel more motivated, to protect that record since we're the only team that has it. It adds another dynamic."
The Right Mindset
With four weeks of LCS competition under their belts, SK Gaming is focused on maintaining their top form in order to put themselves in a great position for playoffs. "It's not over for us yet. We're not like, 'We're in a really good position to guarantee ourselves playoffs already.' It's more like, what can we do to keep on going and secure first place seed going into playoffs? It's just taking it one game at a time," says Innerflame.
"Another thing is all five players and me, we would much rather not lose. Some people say it's good to lose so that you learn, but we really, really, really, really, really, really, want to win and I think we want to win more than other teams. Everyone wants to win, right? But we want to win more."
Find out if SK Gaming can keep their streak going every Thursday and Friday in the EU LCS, right here on Lolesports.com. If you've missed any of the EU LCS so far, you can watch every match on our spoiler-free VODs page.
