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Scout: “I joined SKT for the purpose of learning from him. I copied and learned from Faker.”

Interview by
10.06.16

Lee “Scout” Ye-Chan used to play for SK Telecom T1 but never got much of a chance to prove himself, so he left for EDward Gaming this March and became starter during the summer split, in which EDG went undefeated.

Now, Scout is rotating in the mid lane for EDG at the League of Legends World Championship. Slingshot’s Andrew Kim caught up with him (in Korean and translated to English) about the experience, losing to INTZ and living in the shadow of Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.

Andrew Kim: People are calling you the “Faker of China.” How do you think about that title?

Lee “Scout” Ye-Chan: I’m very satisfied with that assessment. I feel that I am following after Faker because he has been my role model.

AK: Did you find yourself picking up on Faker’s style as a substitute player for SKT?

LYC: I joined SKT for the purpose of learning from him. I copied and learned from Faker.

AK: You played a super clean game today that led to a victory. What do you think the difference was between now and when you faced INTZ?

LYC: It was the very early stages of the tournament, our drafting and compositions weren’t finalized.

AK: This is your first world championships in your young career. How do you feel?

LYC: I was able to play in the regular season in China, and now I’m here after winning the regular season, so I think I’m lacking in the sense of desperation to make it to worlds in comparison to other players.

AK: EDG right now is using both you and Pawn in the mid lane interchangeably. Is there a competition dynamic?

LYC: I think there is definitely competition between us, and we continue to improve by practicing together or watching each other play.

AK: A lot of Korean players say that they had some time adjusting to China, mainly food. How was your experience like?

LYC: When I first got to China, in terms of food, I was like “what is this?” and “I’m not gonna eat that,” but we do have a cook in the gaming house that makes Korean food for us. I didn’t really have a hard time, but when the cook takes a day off on Sunday, I have a harder time.

AK: Did you think you would make it to the world championship this early into your professional career?

LYC: I do think I thought a lot about making it here even in the earlier parts of my career, since I was always confidence in my ability, even before I made it as a pro. After I became a pro though, I only think about game stuff.

AK: How did you feel like when you came to North America?

LYC: I was always of the opinion that food in America was pretty good, and I was mostly concerned about my English.

AK: What is your personal goals for the tournament?

LYC: Obviously it is becoming a champion. I do feel like we had a really good group draw and thought we could make it out of groups very easily, but as we lost to the Brazilian team, I think some lax parts we had have been tightened up.

AK: Is there a team in a different group you’re paying attention to?

LYC: I’m looking at SKT, C9, G2, and TSM. I feel like they’re all pretty equal.

AK: What is your ideal finals for the tournament?

LYC: I think for the most fun, I want to face SKT. ROX would probably be the most difficult opponents. As for the finals I want the most is facing neither.

AK: Finally, what’s the hardest thing about being a professional gamer far away from home?

LYC: When I was in SKT, my friends weren’t in college and they were only near my home town. That was pretty hard for me initially, but as I’m in China everything’s the same for me.

Cover photo courtesy Riot Games