Interview with kStars Winged and SuNo, the south-korean duo of the Brazilian team - Keyd Stars

 

First of all, thank you for doing this interview. Please introduce yourself to our community by talking a little about yourself and your career.

kStars SuNo: Hello. I'm mid laner of Keyd Stars, Ahn Sun Ho. I started to play LoL in early 2012, I had been as mid laner of Psw Ares, SKT T1 #1, Samsung Galaxy Blue, and Quantic Gaming.

kStars Winged: Hi. I'm jungler of Keyd Stars, Park "Winged" TaeJin. I have been played LoL for around 2~3 years. I had been playing for the  Korean Pro Team Najin Black Sword for about 3 months.

Playing in Brazil, a country with an extremely different culture from what you guys are used to and is half a world away from Korea will be one of the biggest - if not the biggest challenge - in both of your careers. From everything the organization presented to you guys, in your opinion, what was essential to make both of you accept this challenge? And what are the expectations of you guys in playing in our country and representing  a Brazilian team? (Is the hype going to be overwhelming?)

kStars SuNo: Of course. it would be one of the biggest challenges for me. I thought it would be a valuable experience for me to meet other people and adapt to a different culture,  and I have confidence to get good results, so I accepted the challenge.  I hope for winning tour here.

kStars Winged: When I had gotten the offer, I accepted it gladly. I'm happy to be in Brazil, it will be a good life experience. I think it will be very hard, not very easy.  I’ll try my best to focus and hit my personal goals.

How terrified were you at first making the change?  Did you feel it was a huge risk going from the eSports capital to an underdeveloped eSports scene?

kStars SuNo: Not at all, not yet. Ah! There is one thing I can say: server problem? But I think it will be solved and the Brazilian eSports scene will be prosperous. 

According to Leaguepedia, the first major appearance for Koreans was in the OnGameNet LoL Invitational tournament that was the first to be televised in your country. With the participation of four local teams and also CLG NA and World Elite, the tournament was won by the former MiG Frost. Since then, by having a unique playstyle and very good players, the South Korean competitive scene became one of the best in the world and also one of the most feared by other regions. In your opinion, what characteristics do you guys, South Koreans, have different from players from other scenes that make you guys play better than them? And why is your playstyle so different from everyone else?

kStars Winged:  It is from lots of effort and practice, a tight schedule, and an iterative life. To be agood player, it is up to that how much effort that player makes.  In my opinion, practice makes perfect.  5 players in any given team do a ton of practice and have high work ethic,  so they are strong and have many good players.

Over a decade ago, the Brazilian E-Sports scene witnessed,  when Counter-Strike was still its main game, the team “Made in Brazil” hiring three foreign players, two of them being big names from Norway. This helped the team a lot and also the evolution of the scene. Since this exchange of information, the mindset of our players was to approach the major big foreign teams from that time. By hiring both of you, Keyd Team wants to repeat this, which got MiBR a few years later the ESWC title for their team. Just as BSL, elemeNt and vesslan did at that time, you will also teach a lot to your teammates. Regarding this, what is the first lesson you guys hope to teach Mylon, brTT and Loop? In your opinion, do you think that they will have something valuable to teach you guys as well?

kStars SuNo: I want to share a Korean team's macro and mind. I think it would be more so “helping each other” than “teaching”. When I came to Brazil, there was jet lag and gaming gear was changed, as well as much different circumstances. All teammates helped me a lot. I still have problems communicating with each other, so I need much help learning the language.
And in LoL, the coach's role is very important. Although it has only been one week in the camp,  I think Philip is an excellent coach. so if we can communicate with each other perfectly and do a bit of drills, we will be the best team.

kStars Winged: I think if we talk enough to each other and learn well and to fix the downsides from each respective region, we will be an excellent team. Winning or losing is up to how we practice. I'll teach everything that I can, our team will be much stronger. I think Keyd team is good team, and continues to work hard. If we make an effort to solve communication issues... well, we can be 1st in Brazil, or even at a worlwide competition.

In another MOBA, known as Dota2, we saw, last year, two big european teams, Alliance and Natus Vincere, traveled to China to see how the teams from this region were playing and to learn how to play against them, as well as teams from Southest Asia that are feared, too. This practice won them one title each from an important championship in Chinese territory and the two best positions (1st Alliance / 2nd Na`Vi) in the world finals of 2013. Before the creation of North American and European leagues, we saw quite frequently Western teams playing against Easterns in tournaments world nivel. Do you reckon that if teams from Europe/United States, and even Brazil, do this kind of bootcamp against you (Koreans), and also against good Chinese teams, Asia wouldn’t dominate the competitive scene as they do now?

kStars Winged: Winged:  I think it is a difference of effort. Korean progamers know only to game. I had been a progamer for about 3 months, they sleep 4~8 hours, other time is for gaming, practice, etc. They even play game during resting time. I think that’s why they are so strong in the current iteration of competitive LoL. If we exceed them in those things mentioned,  we can overcome Asia.

As you should know, the Brazilian scene is different from what you are used to in Korea. Here in Brazil, we don’t have a professional league, serious organizations and solo queue isn’t taken in the best way possible by players. In your opinion, does this hinder the development of the scene? And, as “advice” could you tell us a bit about how things are done within the competitive boundaries of your contry?

kStars SuNo: No. I feel there are many fans here, the scene can evolve more and more. League and organizations can be improved... But solo queue server problesm should be fixed. Beause of that, I missed chance to be promoted to Challenger tier twice. T.T

Korean progamers just focus on the game, I have hardly been relaxed when I was a  progamer in Korea. To be successful.  a progamer needs to focus on the game like that,  it is common sense among the Korean progamers.

Here in Brazil we usually ask our interviewee to make a brief overview of his teammates. However this interview is about you guys coming to our country, i’d like to ask both of you to talk a bit about your playstyles

kStars SuNo: I prefer to be stable. Details will be shown in further games!

kStars Winged: It is case by case, it is up to individual situation. I try to choose based on the team composition as well as the general playstyle the team identifies itself with.

Thanks to streams, all of us, lovers of League of Legends, we are able to watch any tournament held in the world. Before joining  Keyd have you ever watched a Brazilian team playing? If yes, which did you watch to “classify” our games?

kStars SuNo: I don't have experience enough to be able to evaluate. I should play against them, but I think our team will be the best.

kStars Winged: No, I didn't. There was a very short amount of time available for me to move to Brazil. so I didn’t have time to evaluate. But I can say one thing - Keyd Stars is a good team.

To finish, I’d like to leave this space to you.

kStars SuNo: It has only been few days in Brazil, so I have to adapt myself to fresh circumstances. I'll raise my condition up before the next LoL tournament to show good games and good play. I always give my immense thanks to supporting fans. Thanks also to our sponsors - BenQ Brazil, SteelSeries, and IId820 Arts NVIDIA - by making this dream a reality.

kStar Winged: I'll do more than 100% to show a good performance. Thank you to fans who support and cheer for me. Please keep cheering for me, I'll show you a good performance for that. Thanks also to our sponsors - BenQ Brazil, SteelSeries, and IId820 Arts NVIDIA - by making this dream a reality.

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Interview & Translation by: Gabriel  "gabrielpumba" Melo and Ricardo Pereira (from Portuguese into English) and Passenger Jang (from English into Korean and from Korean into English)
Formatting & Editing: Gabriel "gabrielpumba" Melo
Proofreading by: Michale "DreXxiN" Lalor

?Photo Credit: Keyd Stars's Facebook