Interview conducted by Amanda Stevens

Since Riot has allowed teams to bring substitutes with them to the World Championship, fans have become used to the idea of the phantom sixth man. Sure, we’ve seen some teams utilize their substitute, like Lee “Easyhoon” Ji-hoon for SK Telecom. But what about the ones that never see a game?

As of the end of their Quarterfinals match with EDward Gaming, the Rox Tigers have yet to use their substitute midlaner Hae “Cry” Sung-min. After the Tigers won their match, I had the pleasure of talking with Cry as we talked about what it’s like to be a substitute, who he wishes he got to play against, and his thoughts on NA solo queue.

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Amanda Stevens: Since you didn’t get to play during the group stages and you didn’t get to play tonight against EDward Gaming, how do you keep yourself mentally checked in and motivated?

Hae “Cry” Sung-min: Even though I wasn’t able to play any games on the stage so far, it’s always possible that I might. I am just trying to practice really hard, do my best, and just be prepared.

Amanda Stevens: Aside from scrims, I assume you play a decent amount of solo queue for practice. What do you think of NA solo queue in comparison to solo queue back in Korea?  

Hae “Cry” Sung-min: While playing [in] Korea, I realized that a lot of players have [a] really bad mentality. They would very easily go on tilt. And when a person on a team team goes on tilt, the other players begin to give up. The games just go one-sided. I’ve seen a lot of games go this way in Korean solo queue. But here in NA, it feels like a lot of players have [a] really good mentality. People don’t just give up and go on tilt. So, I really like that about the NA solo queue. As far as the skills go, I don’t think there is a big difference.

Amanda Stevens: There were so many diverse play styles of mids that were here at the World Championship. Is there a mid laner you really wish you had the opportunity to play against?

Hae “Cry” Sung-min: Because I’ve already faced a lot of Korean mid players, I would have really like to have faced Bjergsen. But unfortunately he is not around anymore so too bad I can’t face him.

Amanda Stevens: If you get the chance to play against Faker in the Semis, do you think you’ll be fazed at all?

Hae “Cry” Sung-min: I did face him twice in the LCK before. Each time, because I am a new player and he is such a veteran, I was really nervous and I was unstable. Faker, however, looked really comfortable and he just took advantage of that. It just seemed like it was effortless for him. If I were to face him again, I feel like the same thing is going to happen. I will be really nervous and he is just going to play effortlessly.

Amanda Stevens: Of the mids you could potentially play in the Finals, who would you want to play against the most?

Hae “Cry” Sung-min: I would pick Crown because his form looks fantastic right now. I want to face up against all the good mid laners and he’s one of them.

Amanda Stevens: If you don’t end up getting to play by the end of the World Championship, will you still look back at Worlds as a positive experience?

Hae “Cry” Sung-min: Yup! I would think of it as a positive experience.

A special thank you to Hyojoon Lee for being my translator during this interview.