Brazil’s INTZ shocked the world on the first day of groups when they defeated China’s 1st seed, EDG decisively. But with that victory, they painted a target on their back and signaled to other teams they deserved to be taken seriously. On Day 2, they played Europe’s H2K and lost in a slower manner that didn’t fall in line with the bold play they had on Day 1. Through the use of a translator, Colin “CD Mangaka” Nimer got to talk with Felipe “Yang” Zhao, INTZ’s top laner, about the world championship, and his personal history with his Chinese family moving to Brazil.

Colin Nimer: I know you guys just lost to H2K after coming off a hot win over EDG. Like you guys said yesterday, “Hey, it was cool that we got that win, but now things are going to get really hard since we’re on the radar and going to be looked at.” How much did that weigh on you guys as you prepared for H2K? Did that change how you approached this games pick and ban phase?

Felipe "Yang" Zhao: Today, we didn’t feel we were playing as we normally do. We thought we were a little bit shy when we were playing. I think we weren’t able to show our real game today.

CN: Right, because you guys were very proactive yesterday and you had a lot of great plays on Gnar. And then in this game you took a step back and played a scaling composition that allowed H2K to snowball the early lead. You guys picked this double-AP composition with the Rumble and we’ve seen a lot of teams pick Rumble at this tournament. What makes him so good right now?

FZ: We chose Rumble because we did not want H2K to get him. It ended up that I got it. Rumble is a very good pick right now, both in the laning phase and in team fighting. Rumble is very difficult to play if you don’t have an early advantage. If you get that advantage, then you can make a big difference in the team fights, but if you don’t, you can’t. But in this game, I couldn’t find an opening because H2K was pressuring really hard.

CN: The only team you have left to play in this group is ahq e-sports Club. What are you looking to take from this game against H2K with the things you did wrong, and what do you want to change for ahq?”

FZ: At first, we had a few mistakes in pick and ban, and then in-game. I believe that Peter and Alex on our analyst team will look into it, so the next time we definitely won’t have a mistake in pick and ban. And also we must recognize our mistake and do our best to have a good early game, and if we win early game, we think we can have the win next game.

CN: You’re of Chinese descent, correct?

FZ: Yes.

CN: So how did your family wind up in Brazil? Were you born there? How long has your family been there? I think it’s interesting.

FZ: My father came to Brazil in 1985 or 1986. I’m not sure… I don’t usually ask them those questions, but I think it was one of those years. I was born in Brazil in 1996. I think my parents went to Brazil because the Chinese economy was not very good at the time. They are a very traditional family. My parents don’t know much about the game, since they don’t have time to research or come to the events, but my brother and sister are very supportive and usually come. I’m trying to bring them here whenever they have the chance.

CN: That’s really cool! It seems like Brazil has this family rooted culture, while Chinese families can be very traditional, like, “go to school young man!”

FZ: (Laughs) Yeah.

CN: Yeah, that sort of a thing, and so for you those two worlds are clashing together. So what does it mean for you personally to have that kind of a background and then have this support from your brother and sister, and then to come and play on the world stage.

FZ: The thing about the Chinese family being traditional is very true. My parents wanted me to go to college and have a normal life, but I always liked to play games a lot, so I committed to becoming a pro player and went after it. At the beginning, my parents were a little suspicious about it, but after I got more and more into it, they accepted it. It is really good to have the support of my siblings, because when there are those situations when you do bad, you have someone to back you up and give you good inspirational words.

(Image courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr)