Lee “Crash” Dong-woo, stand-in jungler for 1907 Fenerbahçe at the League of Legends World Championship, said he was pleasantly surprised to get off to a good start.
In a video interview with Fomos after Monday’s matches, Crash discussed expectations for his time with the Turkish team and the start of the tournament.
“I initially came into the stage thinking to just win one game, but I’m very happy that we leave the stage with (at least) two wins,” he said. “Since we have games tomorrow too, so we’ll have to do well.”
Crash is standing in for Kang “Move” Min-su because of complications with Move acquiring a visa. Crash said he was notified two days before he was expected to play with the team, which meant he had to adapt to the rest of the team in a quick manner.
“Move had some trouble with his Visa, and I got the notification from 1907 Fenerbahçe about two days ago,” he said. “I ended up suddenly practicing with the team and now playing with them. I heard that Fenerbahçe asked Vici if they could borrow me as a stand-in, and Vici agreed quickly, which sped up my joining Fenerbahçe.”
Fenerbahçe mid laner Kim “Frozen” Tae-il was reunited with Crash as the two played for Longzhu Gaming last year. With what practice he’s had, Crash said he thought it would be important for him to adjust his play style for the team rather than the other way around, and that his temporary teammates impressed him.
“I didn’t notice it during practice, but after playing on the stage I came away thinking that all the of the players were all independently very skilled and intelligent,” he said. “I don’t know much about the other leagues, but I do think that Turkey is also very good at LoL.”
Crash said he looks back on his time with Longzhu — the top seed from Korea at worlds — with a slight amount of disappointment, but he wishes his former teammates well.
“I’m very sorry to them for not being able to join them in their triumph despite going through tough times with the team, and its quite disappointing as well when I look back,” he said. “But the past is past and everything worked out, so I hope they continue to work hard and perform well at worlds.”