S04 Kirei: “I think if we keep on improving, getting to the top four should be realistic”
Schalke 04 Esports finished Week 2 with a 1-1 record, defeating SK Gaming and falling to the MAD Lions, which meant their overall record of 2-3 is tied at sixth place with three other teams, which are Astralis, Team Vitality and Excel Esports.
Schalke’s jungler Thomas “Kirei” Yuen spoke to us about Schalke’s run thus far in summer, some thoughts on the jungle meta and a little bit on his long career.
Thank you for accepting this interview. Let’s begin with your Week 2 game against SK Gaming, what did you guys work on from the previous week and what are your thoughts on their current form?
Kirei: We had a meeting about it and decided which picks would be the best to play against them and focus more on a team-specific draft, to pick something that would be good against them.
I think for SK, from watching their games, they always have decent early games but they never seem to be able to close it out and they seem to just throw their leads. It feels like when the game reaches the 20 minute mark they just seem to not know what to do. It was the same against us.
#LEC 2021 Summer Split Roster Update pic.twitter.com/e8M2QzW4uJ
— SK Gaming (@SKGaming) June 22, 2021
Going into the MAD Lions game, it didn’t turn out as well as the one against SK. What’s your take on what happened in the game?
Kirei: I think we had an early game lead but we didn’t manage to snowball ahead cleanly. We were ahead in the game but we didn’t manage to secure the third and fourth drakes, which we should have been able to. We struggled a bit around objective control and after MAD secured the Infernal Soul, it just became really difficult to deal with their poke composition. After that it was basically over. So yeah, I would say objective control was the biggest issue.
Despite MAD winning, they do seem to be quite inconsistent at the moment. Why do you think they’re struggling a little?
Kirei: I mean, I think it was a long season plus MSI 2021 and then they took a long break while practicing less than others. They’re still getting back in shape, which is why I think they’re not in top form yet.
It’s two kills for us in the Midlane, cmon boys! #S04WIN pic.twitter.com/E6gR4z2lDB
— Schalke 04 Esports (@S04Esports) June 19, 2021
Coming into this season, expectations were not that high for Schalke . Yet it’s fair to say you guys have had a decent start so far. What have been the key factors or things the team has worked on for this to happen?
Kirei: I would say we’ve been improving really fast. I’m not sure how other teams are but we as a team get along really well with each other. Not many people here have egos, so it’s also easier to improve. The coaching staff here definitely helps a lot as well.
I think if we keep on improving, getting to the top four should be realistic but we will have to see how we do in the long run. That’s the most important part.
Your midlaner Ilias “NUCLEARINT” Bizriken has also been performing very well recently, especially on Ryze, and he’s showing great composure for a rookie. How has it been working with him so far and how’s your synergy been developing?
Kirei: I think it’s okay for now but it’s not where I want it to be at the moment. We’re just going to keep playing together and working on it and after some time we’ll for sure be a lot better. We just need to be on the same page more and understand the same concepts, and some stuff on the communication side. That’s the one thing I think we’re focusing on.
“A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.”
– @Nuclear_int pic.twitter.com/MKfPLznVoA
— Schalke 04 Esports (@S04Esports) June 18, 2021
I’d like to ask you a little bit about the current jungle meta. I spoke to Excel Esports’ jungler Dan and he thinks the jungle meta now is very diverse. What are your thoughts on it?
Kirei: I think the jungle meta is good at the moment! I think you can play so many champions, from AD to AP champions to tanks, and in some scenarios just about anything really. There are easily at least six champions or more that are strong now, and I don’t recall jungle metas usually being this diverse. So to me the meta is pretty nice.
The two champions that have often been discussed recently are Viego and Gwen. For Viego, he’s very strong at the moment but we’re seeing him more in mid and top. Why do you think we’re not seeing the LEC use him in jungle more often?
Kirei: In my opinion, I just think that most people are not that practiced on Viego yet. He is a champion that does require a bit of time to get used to, which is why I think it’s the biggest reason. I’m pretty sure we’ll see more of him soon, since he’s such a solid champion and can be flexed into three roles.
What are your thoughts on Gwen being used in the jungle recently in other leagues?
Kirei: Same as Viego, really. I don’t think she has many bad matchups at all and she scales insanely well. She’s just broken and that’s why you can somewhat flex her to just about anywhere.
This might be a slightly difficult question. When you joined Schalke there were people who were outspoken about it and how you might not be the best fit. How do you deal with it when you read what people say about you often on social media platforms? Does it affect you?
Kirei: I do read some of it and for sure it does affect me a little but not that much. It will for sure affect me of course, since I’m only human. I know what’s going on and the pros and cons of using social media, so I’m aware of what people say but it doesn’t really matter to me.
In general, I don’t really use social media and when I do sometimes, if there’s a lot of bad stuff and the like, I just filter it since there’s no point in reading it. And then I just watch some anime, I guess (laughs)?
You’ve had a long career, playing in NA, Turkey and various ERLs. How would you say you’ve developed as a player and what has been your biggest challenge?
Kirei: I would say… it’s the knowledge you gain and working with so many different players. There are so many different scenarios in the game that you get to experience through the many different metas. Sometimes it’s a tank meta or an assassin meta, I got to experience so many different ones that throughout the years you know champion counters, what is good against them and be prepared when something changes in upcoming patches.
For my biggest challenge… good question. I think for me it’s being really happy with a team in and outside of the game. But I feel like here in Schalke, at least for me, we do seem to possess everything we need to succeed.
Bu mücadelede bizi yalnız bırakmayan büyük taraftarımızla zafer bizim!
VFŞL 2019 Kış Mevsimi Şampiyonu 1907 Fenerbahçe Espor! 💛💙👉🏻 https://t.co/IbRIbTMJAB#herzamanheryerde #FBLOL #FBWIN #VFŞL #FBWEEKLY pic.twitter.com/PJt2aC4sgY
— 1907 Fenerbahçe Espor (@FBespor) April 22, 2019
Before we end then, what have been your most fond memories in your long playing career? Going to MSI, perhaps?
Kirei: I mean… I think just everything. Just the experience of playing the game that I love everyday, nothing really specific. Getting to travel, meeting new people and just the whole experience I get from playing games basically! Obviously MSI was nice of course, but I would say meeting with new people and getting to work with some of them has been awesome.
There’s just been many good things that’s happened over the years, so it’s not easy to pinpoint something specific.
That’s absolutely fine. We’ve come to the end of the interview, anything else you’d like to add? Any shoutouts you’d like to give?
Kirei: If you’re reading this article, thank you for taking the time to read this and for the people that follow me, thanks for the support!
Thank you Kirei!
Also read:
- Will Vitality surge and can SK Gaming find a first win? – LEC Week 3 preview
- XL jungler Dan: “We wanted to bring in more experienced members with bigger voices and also more decisiveness”
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