IG JiaQi on his first Worlds: “Once I’m on stage, the nerves are completely gone”

I’ve seen you deliver these kinds of performances in the LPL, but this is your first international event. Was it important for you to get rid of the nerves in order to deliver a statement performance like this one?

I think the reason I can perform like I did today is maybe because of my personality. I’m always that kind of person: no matter what happens, no matter what kind of stage I’m standing on, I always just want to concentrate on my in-game plays and on my game content.

Full interview on the OTPLoL broadcast from 29:57.

So you’d say there were no nerves coming into this first Worlds for you?

Maybe outside the stage, a little bit nervous here and there. But once I’m standing on the stage, the nerves are completely gone.

We’ve seen this matchup, Yunara–Lulu into Renata–Kalista, several times now at Worlds. Which side do you think has the advantage?

There are two elements. The first one is based on the players’ mechanics, and the second one really depends on what kind of draft you want to pick for the whole team.

We’ve seen IG deliver a strong performance against Gen.G even without winning it, and now a win against HLE. Do you think you’re genuinely a contender at this Worlds, coming in as a real threat to any team here?

Definitely. We would like to try to make this IG the team that all of you need to feel threatened by. So in order to reach that achievement, we really need to try our best for every single game. Just go step by step.

Last question. Is there a team or player you really want to face here at this Worlds?

To be honest, the one I really had a super strong will to face off against — I’ve just had that best of one against him. That’s Gumayusi.