Professional League of Legends player Yoonsup “Locodoco” Choi sheds some light on why he chose to bring his team to compete in North America.
Earlier today, GameSpot reported that Yoonsup “Locodoco” Choi had moved to Los Angeles with four other Korean players, including previous CJ Entus player Woong.
Sponsored by Quantic Gaming, Yoonsup’s team will be attempting to qualify for the North American League of Legends Championship Series later this year.
GameSpot spoke to Locodoco shortly after his arrival in California.
GameSpot: Why did you decide to form a completely new team of Korean players rather than join an existing Korean team? Was the team made entirely with the intent of moving to the US to compete in the North American LCS?
Locodoco: I wanted more control over the player roster and how we train. I didn’t want to play in NA with NA players, so this way I get the best of both worlds. It was 90 percent that we’d move the team to the US, and only a small chance we’d decide to stay in OGN.
GS: Did you work with Woong to decide on the other three players in the team? Why did you choose them over others?
L: Of course I worked with Woong on the players, and I picked them because they have potential, strong opinions, and they’re easy to work with.
GS: Why did you decide to move and enter the North American LCS rather than stay and compete in Korea?
L: Because I really wanted to live in California. Because I like the weather, and food such as Chipotle and In-N-Out. Hopefully they’ll sponsor us later on. And because I wanted to be interviewed by Travis.
GS: If you wanted to compete in the LCS, you could have also attempted to qualify into the European version, so why North America?
L: I felt like I had a better base out of North America and I had better contacts here.
GS: Moving to the US, did you speak to many organizations about sponsorship, and why did you choose Quantic?
L: We were going to move independently without a team, but our paths crossed, and we had the same goal, and it made things easier for both parties.
GS: How long ago did you start planning this move and the team? What was that process like?
L: Three months ago I spoke with Woong, and he was going to wrap up with MiG (Maximum Impact Gaming) anyway. So we took the best players out of MiG, we moved into the MiG gaming house, trained for two months, and now we’re here.
GS: When you previously competed in the United States under Counter Logic Gaming, critics felt that your play was lackluster and some argued that you didn’t put in the effort to grow your support abilities. How do you expect your performance to fare now that you’ve returned, and what measures will you be taking to strengthen your own skills, and the skills of your team?
L: We’re going to do well. I’m going to practice as hard as possible and be smart about how we train.
GS: At the moment, how certain are you that Quantic will be able to qualify into the North American League of Legends Championship Series later this year?
L: I don’t want to sound cocky. I’m very confident, but I don’t want to write off the other NA teams.
GS: If you fail to qualify into the NA LCS, will Quantic return to Korea, or will you continue to compete in the NA challenger scene?
L: Losing is not an option. But seriously, we’re not even thinking about what we’ll do if we don’t make it in right now. We’re just focused on trying to qualify into the LCS.
GS: Teams like Cloud9 have analysts such as Alex Penn living in their home. Others like CLG have managers that live with the team. Who will be the manager and analyst for your team, if you have one? Will they live in the house with you?
L: We’re going to get a manager eventually, but right now Fuji is managing for us and doing a very good job. Right now I’m doing most of the analyst work. If we find someone we like, we want to get a coach and an analyst later on.
GS: Do you have anything you would like to say to your fans in the West, specifically those that followed your run when you competed here a year ago?
L: Results first, trash talk after.
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