(in photo (left-right): me, Mski Noelly, Mski Snoy, Mski Tgee, Mski Sepi, Mski Yume, Mski Exo, Mski Ced)
Last week I was able to sit down with Team Mineski-LoL and their manager, Mr. Arjay “Jay3” Orcasitas, at the Mineski office/game house to talk about the team, their experience at Worlds, and their plans for Season 4. Currently, Team Mineski has a new jungler named Noelly due to Kaigu deciding to leave the team earlier in the month.
(For the purposes of this article, I’ve translated and paraphrased the interview into English.)
How was Los Angeles? Did you have time to go around and see the sites or were you practicing/scrimming most of the time?
Exo & Tgee: (simultaneously) Los Angeles was OK.
Tgee: We didn’t have time to go around L.A. during Worlds because we had practice schedules.
Exo: But we were able to go to an outlet during one of the breaks.
How did your friends and families react to you not only winning the SEA regional finals but also going to LA to compete at Worlds?
Exo: Mostly surprised because they didn’t expect us to go to Worlds.
Jay3: Most of their parents were previously impartial to their gaming but became more supportive after we won the South East Asian Regionals. Yume’s parents actually initially didn’t want him to go to the SEA regionals so we were worried that we would only be able to send 4 members but I sat down with them and explained the situation and they allowed him to go. After winning at regionals, they became fully supportive.
What did you take away from your experience at Worlds both as a player and as a team? Are there any specific lessons you learned as a player/role?
Exo: To be more aggressive in lane.
Snoy: Map rotation & lane pressure.
Jay3: We were really surprised at the level of play of the other regions but I think we now have an advantage over the other local teams because of our experience at Worlds.
You became one of the fan favorites during Worlds especially after that last match against Fnatic. How do you feel about the reaction from the fans in the US and around the world?
Jay3: We were surprised by how supportive the foreign fans and players were, even when we went 0-8. In the Philippines, when we lose, people aren’t as supportive and tend to trash talk so we weren’t used to the positive reactions.
Among the players you faced at Worlds, who was your favorite to play/lane against?
Exo & Tgee: Imp & Mata from Samsung Ozone.
Snoy: Darien from Gambit.
Yume: xPeke.
How about your favorite team that you played against?
Yume: Samsung Ozone
Snoy: and Fnatic because of that last game.
What do you think the differences are between the Philippine professional League of Legends scene and the rest of the world? What do you think our local scene needs to have more of an impact in the international scene?
Jay3: The other regions have larger scenes compared to ours so I think we need to have more opportunities to play against other countries in the region to gain more experience but, currently, there isn’t really anything other than the GPL (Garena Premier League) which has a difficult process to get into. But next season, the rules for entry into the GPL will change which will give other local teams like ours a chance to participate.
Noelly, what do you think you’ll be bringing into the team as the new jungler?
Noelly: A different champion pool.
What would you say is your playstyle as a jungler? What types of champs do you like using?
Noelly: I like running into lane to create pressure and playing tanky/support junglers like Jarvan.
What are your plans for Season 4? How are you preparing?
Jay3: We’re setting up a boot camp/gaming house for the team so they have a place they can train, practice, and stream.
Where will you be streaming through?
Jay3: Twitch.
Should we expect a second appearance at the Season 4 Worlds?
Jay3: We hope so.
Lastly, who are your favorite champions and do you have any shout-outs?
Tgee: Annie.
Exo: Ezrael.
Yume: TF.
Snoy: Zed.
Noelly: Hecarim.
Exo: Thank you to our sponsors, Razer and Monster.
You can follow Team Mineski-LoL on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mineskilol.