Nemesis: "I think I'm better than Caps"

LEC Summer Finals bød på en af de mest intense BO5 serier vi nogensinde har set. Fnatic og G2 Esports trådte begge ind med deres egne grunde for at give alt hvad de havde.

Det faktum at begge hold allerede var sikret en plads ved dette års Worlds, skulle ikke forhindre dem i at levere League of Legends i verdensklasse. Som tidligere spiller på Fnatic, vil Caps nok altid have lidt ekstra at bevise når han står over for hans gamle holdkammerater. Ligeledes vil Nemesis altid kæmpe lidt hårdere, når han står over for den spiller som han erstattede. 

I et interview med Inven Global, diskuterede Nemesis LEC finalen, holdets forberedelse og hvordan han ville placere sig selv på de globale ranglister.

Interviewet er udført af Tom Matthiesen fra Inven Global.

After getting so close, what's going through your mind right now?

I'm just thinking about the mistakes that we made. Draft and gameplay mistakes that we need to fix.

Did you see anything go wrong in that final game?

Yes, 100%.

Could you elaborate?

No, I can't give away our team's strategy. I can't give away information that's valuable to my opponents.

In terms of gameplay mistakes then—those can be viewed by anyone and are visible to your opponents too.

They're not visible to everybody. But there were some micro mistakes, some macro mistakes, mistakes with communication.

What contributed to these mistakes? Were there any nerves, was it the tension of the match?

I don't know. We're all humans, we all made mistakes.

Nemesis har altid været en meget stille person i forhold til hans holdkammerater. Når han bliver stillet nogle spørgsmål har han korte og kontante svar klar. Hans ønske om at vinde skinner samtidig tydeligt igennem, da han på ingen måde vil risikere at videregive informationer som kunne bruges af Fnatics modstandere. 

You obviously studied G2 a lot before playing this match. What's something you personally picked up to beat them? A weakness you spotted, that could help you to shine?

Well then it has to be midlane. Going into the finals I thought I would have an advantage. I think I'm better than Caps.

The first games Caps didn't seem to show up indeed.

Well maybe he was playing well, but I think I was playing better.

And at the end of the series you still thought that?

Yes.

På trods af hans mere stille natur uden for spillet, har han udviklet sig til en meget selvsikker og stabil holdkammerat inde i spillet. Fra hans første uge på Fnatic til nu, er der sket en hel del. Dengang følte han ikke at han var et match for Caps, hvilket bestemt ikke er tilfældet længere. 

Do you think you're a contender for best midlaner in the world?

That's too early to say. I haven't played half of the midlaners at Worlds. More than that. But from seeing them, I think Faker is the best midlaner.

What makes him the best to you?

I think he's just one of the most well-rounded players in the world. He's been doing it for years, and he's still at the top.

Going into these finals you were already certain of a spot at Worlds. Was there still any pressure on this match though?

No. But not because we had made it to Worlds already, but because I thought we were better.

And you did start off much better than G2 indeed. Did you manage to keep calm, or was some excitement brewing?

No I was calm throughout the whole series.

Do you and your teammates tell each other to keep calm during such a series?

Not really, I think that's just who you are as a person. I don't think anyone can change that. That's just the way you're born.

How did the rest of your team manage?

Well they're less calm than I am, obviously. They're all different.

In those situations, do you try help them keep calm?

I don't know what to do to help them. It's just who they are.

Looking forward, is your mind all set on the Gauntlet, or at Worlds?

On the Gauntlet first.

What strength will you be banking on going into the Gauntlet?

Well, we've shown that we can be good at times. I think we have an advantage over every team in Gauntlet, just look at our history. We've been playing well lately. I don't think any team in Gauntlet is a threat to us, I think we'll go in there and win it.

Selvsikker eller ej, så får han lov til at putte nogle resultater bag sine ord når Worlds 2019 starter til oktober. Her får Nemesis muligheden for at konkurrere på internationalt plan, hvor han kan sammenligne sit niveau med andre end Caps. De er grundlæggende også to vidt forskellige spillere - hvor Caps svinger mellem middelmådighed og verdens bedste, er Nemesis en af de mest stabile spillere som EU længe har set.