Photo: LoL Esports
Press conferences can drag on and get boring. But for Worlds 2022 of League of Legends, Riot Games managed to keep us going for a good three hours. Obviously, there were strong times and slightly weaker times, but between the Rioters, the two teams (T1 and DRX) and finally the last two somewhat surprised guests, we ate very well.
While we were also present in the room in the front rows, we took full advantage of the opportunity to pick up small details. But when it comes to this level of competition, this kind of detail can make all the difference!
BeryL: a misunderstood genius?
It is not known if the support of XRD is not comfortable enough or too much. World champion in 2020 with DWG KIA, he already had this image of a casual player in a press conference, who had almost more motivation to talk about Genshin Impact than about the upcoming match. BeryL is built different. In real life it’s even more glaring and we had the impression that he was there, without being there. Which did not prevent him from swinging in punchline that Yuumi had to be removed. His image may have played tricks on him by making him an incredibly underrated player.
Deft: a natural leader
From his experience, many consider that Defense is the leader of XRD. It must be said that his teammates often refer to him. His role is real and we could see it during the press conference. While from the beginning, no one asked a question to the poor pyosik, who had been staring at his feet for far too long, an open question was asked by a journalist. Deft as a good leader hastened to redirect it to his jungler to make him bite. It’s a small detail, but it doesn’t deceive.
Players need to be media-trained
Players are not known to be very comfortable in front of the camera. Most of them tolerate exercise, nothing more. When we asked T1 and DRX to pose in front of the cup to take pictures, we were not far from cringe. The contrast was striking with the passages of LiL Nas X and Jackson Wang. They put on a show and provided a lot of entertainment. Everyone has their own job, but players who are a little more enthusiastic would be nice to see.
Oner: champion confidence?
oner the jungler of T1 is young. A little less than Zeus, but he was still born in 2002 and is currently living his first full season in competition. It will also be a great first on Saturday in the Worlds final… But he doesn’t seem impressed for a penny. The fquiet orce, he predicted a 3-0 sec in the final with a huge bot-diff. It’s daring, but if it passes it’s incredible.
A detail to improve for next year
Finally, let us underline a point quite frustrating for the media this year at a press conference. There was no instant translation like we had or had last year when everything was online. It slows the pace down a bit and doesn’t help players stay alert. Worse, there are quite a few translations that have not taken place. When the question came from English media and the answer was in Korean, there was only an English translation, leaving the Chinese in the dark. Same observation for English speakers when the question came from a Chinese media. The worst case scenario being questions in Korean, answered in Korean without no translation. To check for the journalists online but on the spot we missed a lot of questions because of this situation… As on the Faille, you had to be Korean to win it all
worlds-lol
The League of Legends community is eagerly awaiting the Worlds finale. This year, Korea will be in the spotlight with an unexpected but story-rich clash between T1 and DRX. But before the match begins, Riot has had a little controversy over the terms of distribution.