Jackylove on his comeback and chasing a second Worlds title

Jackylove, how are you feeling? 369 had a very strong showing today despite arriving very late to this tournament. How do you explain that he already looks back in form?

I’m very happy about this win, also because it was our first match of the day in the Swiss stage, so now we have enough time to rest and do more feedback. As for 369, he returned to the team around half a month ago. I think he has already adapted very well and is able to keep up with the pace of stage games, so I’m not worried about him. I’d like to give big credit to 369, he did a great job in today’s game.

What do you think happened yesterday for the LPL to go 0-4? It was quite unexpected. Was it mostly a bad read of the meta, or is the region not in its best form recently?

All the LPL teams lost yesterday, that’s a fact and we need to admit it.

Those could be some of the reasons, but I’m not completely sure. What I do believe is that after yesterday’s losses, every team will do very detailed feedback, so from now on I think we can perform better and make better adjustments.

TES have often come to international tournaments with huge expectations but haven’t always managed to live up to them. This time you’re coming in more as underdogs, do you feel there’s less pressure on your shoulders compared to previous international events?

I don’t take outside opinions too seriously. We just want to try our best and focus on the stage, on our plays and on our preparation. For this World Championship, 369 has only just rejoined the team, so we need to put even more effort into practice. Worlds has a very tight schedule over a short period of time, so I really hope we can be well prepared, showcase a good performance and not carry too much pressure.

You took some time away from competition earlier because of health issues. How are you feeling now? Are you fully recovered, or is it still something you have to manage while competing?

At first I chose to take some rest. After that, both my physical health and my mentality improved, and I’ve recovered a lot. Since then, we’ve had a very tight schedule in the LPL and internationally, but I have to say this journey has been very interesting so far.

You became a world champion at 17, and eight years later you’re still competing at the highest level. You’ve experienced both highs and disappointments since that first title. What keeps you hungry? What still drives you to come back and compete year after year?

The most important part is definitely my passion for League of Legends. For pro players, daily training is kind of boring. It’s all for one moment: standing on the stage. Playing in front of the audience makes me feel super excited and hyped, so that’s the most important part for me. And every year I feel I’m still in form and can still perform on stage, so I can keep running toward the next achievement. That’s my goal and my motivation. So I put more effort into every single game and try to perform well together with my teammates.

After everything you’ve been through, what would it mean to you personally to win another world title?

If I can still run toward the World Championship, the highest title, it would mean a lot to me. It would mean that through so many years and so many stories, I’ve still been able to maintain good performances and good results on stage. But that also means it’s not an easy journey. I need to put in more effort, keep myself at a very high level, maintain good performances and make this my motivation as a pro player.