Aphromoo around the world
We are now living in a world where professional gamers are accustomed to long flights, hotels, and competing on an international stage for the glory of not only their team, but also their region.
Very few people could have predicted the evolution of what five years ago was little more than a tiny venue, a jumble of cables, monitors, and teenage kids competing for a total prize pool of $99,500 to say they were the best in the world at something. Now, we’re looking down the barrel of sold out shows in iconic venues like Madison Square Garden, Wembley Arena, and Sangam Olympic Stadium, and the incorporation of national and regional flags into team logos and jerseys.
For Counter Logic Gaming’s support Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black, it’s now par for the course. Speaking with him, he doesn’t look jetlagged in the slightest -- even though he stepped off the plane from America to China less than 24 hours prior to this interview. He shrugs it off with a casual smile.
“I’m used to it.”
Meanwhile, the rest of us are struggling to find coffee and a delivery system to tap it straight into our veins. His ability to take it all in stride says a lot about the growth of the sport and the growth of Aphromoo in his journey competing in professional League of Legends. It’s a journey that's seen him play in Korea, Europe, China, and all across North America.
At the start of his career, it was back and forth across North America, competing in a swath of local tournaments. These were back in the days of MLG, IPL, and various other tournaments that populated pro gaming calendars. Though America is only so big. As the sport grew along with Aphromoo’s star, distant shores would beckon.
“Ever since I’ve become more and more involved in League of Legends and wanted to win more intensely, I’ve traveled a lot more. You travel a lot more when you start wanting to win -- and actually do win.”
“It’s something you don’t really get to have when you’re losing -- I figured that out at the beginning of my career," explains Aphromoo. "It’s pretty cool. You get to see diverse cultures of other countries and all that.”
Performing internationally hasn’t traditionally been a strong suit for Aphromoo and the rest of CLG. Their last international tournament was IEM Katowice, which they stepped into coming off the back of their two biggest wins in the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split against Immortals and Cloud9. Things didn’t turn out as planned -- but according to Aphromoo, it was a great learning experience.
“What we learned from IEM Katowice was that we respected other teams a little bit too much and were afraid to do certain things in the game. Whatever it was, outside pressure or just nerves in the game caused us to not play the way that we do.”
As to how they were adapting to MSI, that came down to a new team motto that they took from a dance group called “Kinjaz” of all places. Even if the source of the motto might be a little obtuse, it doesn’t change the sentiment or the wisdom behind it.
“Respect all, fear none.”
It’s a fitting ideology for the team representing North America. It seems to perfectly tie up where they’ve come from, where they are now, and their hopes for NA at MSI 2016. After all, that’s what MSI is about. You are not your team. You are your region and you’re fighting for a coveted top four seed at Worlds.
“Representing North America is pretty cool. A lot of people from back home are going to pay pretty close attention to how well you do representing North America. If you play bad, it will be the same old NA can’t do anything at international tournaments.”
With a confident grin, he adds “but MSI is going to be pretty fruitful for NA as a whole.”
To catch up with Aphromoo and see more about his journey through MSI 2016 and beyond, follow him on Twitter.