DCG Flauren on his first international: "Our playstyle is full of possibilities"

Deep Cross Gaming weren't even in the LCP a year ago — now they're at MSI. The Taiwan-based side climbed out of tier two on the back of relentless, fight-for-everything League, led by 19-year-old top laner Lo "Flauren" Chak Kin. Right before their Play-In opener against Karmine Corp, RFT.GG sat down with him in Daejeon to talk about the climb, their fearless identity, and their international debut.

We're right before MSI, so first things first — how are you feeling?

Definitely very hyped. Shout out to my teammates and to the whole team. Teamwork is what brought us here — now we'll prepare and hopefully get good results.

DCG's journey is unique — you went from tier two straight into the LCP, and now your first international. How do you look back on it, and did you expect to be at MSI already this year?

Honestly, it surprised all of us. Back in the regular season we weren't playing well, so we just focused on giving everything in the playoffs and made the right adjustments heading into MSI. None of us expected it to come this fast.

You had a rough Split 2 regular season, but you'd already been the second seed and a finalist in Split 1. How do you explain the slow start, and how did you bounce back to the final?

In Split 1 we were the region's second seed too, and people started seeing us as a new power in the LCP. After that, the other teams did their research on us — they got familiar with our style and figured out how to play against us. So we had to keep adjusting and find our own answers to surprise them again. And we made it back as the second seed.

You're known for playing very aggressively — always fighting for everything. Will you keep that at MSI, or play more controlled against stronger teams?

I'll probably play the same way, because this is who we are.

Our playstyle is full of possibilities.

Speaking of possibilities — in last year's PCS Split 2 final, you infamously stole YSKM's weird signature picks away from him in Fearless and still won. Do you think you can pull that off again at MSI?

At MSI every team has a really deep champion pool, so it's hard to target them like that. But by game four or five, there could be a chance.

LCP fans call you the "Hong Kong Zeus," but the player you look up to most is TheShy. Would you rather be compared to Zeus or TheShy?

Right now I'd say Zeus — I want to face both of them, and Zeus made it to MSI, so for now it's Zeus.

You're young, but everyone's already calling you the next best top laner in the LCP. Did you always know you had that potential?

I never paid too much attention to whether I'm the best new top laner or not. But my team, my coaches and the fans give me a lot of confidence — they keep telling me I have the potential. I just want to prove them right.

You can play everything in top lane — tanks, ranged picks, bruisers — which is rare for a young player. How did you develop across every style so fast, and which one do you actually prefer?

When it comes to champion pool, I look up to Kiin from the LCK a lot — he has a really deep pool, and I think that's a big part of the game. If I had to pick one style, I'd go with bruisers — that's what most top laners love playing, and it makes you one of the biggest threats on the map.

You face KC and Canna first. What do you know about Canna, and what do you expect from that matchup for your international debut?

I know Canna — he was on T1 before, and he's a very typical Korean-style top laner.

I'll try my best to go even with him in lane. I'll give it all.

Last one. HongSuo cut his long hair after Split 1 and fans loved it. What will it take to get yours?

Maybe if we qualify for the main event, I'll try a new hairstyle. [laughs] — but I'm not talking about cutting it just yet.