Worlds in the Windy City Day 4 (Ft. an Interview with Albus Nox Luna Jungler PvPStejos)
The final day of the quarterfinal stage of the World Championships were upon us, as all good things must come to an end. The final match-up that Chicago would witness was a meeting between the wests’ final team in the tournament, H2K, and the surprise wildcard team Albus Nox Luna. Though both teams are from the continent of Europe they have not met previously as they play in different leagues. Albus Nox Luna had become the darlings of the tournament and many fans have become quick followers of the Russian team.
Coming into the series on Sunday, some believed the series would be close and could have potentially been the only full five game series in the quarterfinals. H2K quickly put that theory to rest as they came out and absolutely dominated the first game of the series. Despite leaving up many power picks and donating them over to ANX, H2K got an early lead through the amazing play by their top laner, Odoamne.
The second game draft was much the same for H2K as they got most of the same champions again. Odoamne played fantastically, just like the first game, and got the early lead on Jayce. Albus Nox Luna did not seem to be playing together as a team and were playing like it was a Solo-Queue game. H2K took the second game, making it the fastest game played in Worlds, finishing at 23:38.
The third game gave some hope for fans as Albus Nox was able to stall the game out and H2K began to make sloppy plays. However, the European team gathered themselves and closed out the game completing their sweep and heading into the semifinals. H2K will be playing against Samsung Galaxy for the opportunity to play in the tournament finals. Though Albus Nox fell in this stage of the tournament, they are the first wildcard team to make it this far in the tournaments history. Despite their success, Albus Nox Luna jungler was disappointed with the end result, but happy to have had the experience.
I had the opportunity to talk to Oleksandr “PvPStejos” Glazkov , the jungler of Albus Nox Luna. PvPStejos discussed how the group stage matches are much different than the knockout stages of the tournament. He explained that in the best of series, teams have more time to prepare for how a team may play as compared to the one game played in group stages. He admitted that H2K was much better prepared for Albus Nox and were able to counter how the Russian team played. As for the junglers that PvPStejos has faced, he believes Jankos is the best jungler in Europe and outplayed him during their meeting in the quarterfinal. He also thinks that Peanut did not play very well in the group stage matches but is playing very well right now and can help carry ROX Tigers to the finals.
PvPStejos is not satisfied with what Albus Nox accomplished at worlds. Although it is great to make it past the group stage, he is not happy about getting swept in the quarterfinals. He is unsure whether the teams’ success will help grow the wildcard regions and that next year, wildcard teams may not perform well. He appreciates the fans cheering for him and his team, but fans cheers do not dictate who wins the match. He was ashamed to lose in the way the Albus Nox did but will look to the future instead of dwelling on the past.
When asked about the future, Oleksandr and his team will go back to Russia and reflect on what happened during the tournament. As for specific plans for the team, PvPStejos is unsure what the new year will bring. The team may split up or they may continue on playing together in Russia. “My point is that making your region better, being a guy who helps his own region to grow and grows with the regional level is much better.” PvPStejos talked about his own personal viewpoint on what makes a region and player better. Specifically he pointed to the Korean teams as an example of this. The Korean teams that play in the region will always beat teams that have mixed nationalities because of their mentality and their advantage of speaking the native language. Though he holds this viewpoint, he understands that if a player is offered a large amount of money they must do what is in their best interest and he does not look down on players who go where they are paid the best.
“Our journey is over.” Oleksandr ended the interview asking his fans to support the team that beat them, H2K. He hopes that H2K can move forward and end the Korean dominance at Worlds. PvPStejos was very humbled by the H2K players and respects their team. In the game of League of Legends, you are able to honor opponents following the game. Oleksandr honored H2K and encourages fans to do the same.
