Photo courtesy of Riot Games
Rogue got off to a perfect start in the League of Legends' LEC Spring Split 2020, defeating Misfits Gaming and ExceL Esports in the first weekend of competition. Both victories call for an enthusiastic new start for Frenchman Hans Sama, recruited in the off-season at Misfits. In his first games, the young ADC showed himself to be in great form, blossoming in his new team. Interview.
Hans, what's your first impression of this successful debut?
I really think about the way we played the game this weekend. We've been very cautious, a bit slow, and that doesn't really reflect our latest scrims. I wish we could be even more aggressive. Being aggressive is who we are. Today we played really safe, maybe because the team is still based on three rookies.
Between those three rookies and Vander, a veteran player, how do you see yourself on this team?
On the one hand I'm still young, and on the other hand I have experience already at 20 years old. That's kind of the idea. I sometimes shotcall certain plans to my team, to help them as much as I can, but I don't have priority over communication. My role is to be strong individually. I have to be better than the other carry-ad in teamfight, or in dps. I'm not in the same league as I was at Misfits.
Six months ago, during your short stint in LFL, you explained that you wanted to "get back to basics". Did this parenthesis serve you well?
The LFL reminded me of how I played at the time in LCS EU (LEC) the first time. In that interview, I also said that I wasn't playing soloQ as much anymore, that the veterans weren't playing like that anymore, and that they were theorizing the game a lot more. I had borrowed a bit of that mindset from the Misfits veterans. In LFL, everybody's a bit of a rookie and uses soloQ to improve, and that inspired me. I remembered the young player I was when I started at sixteen.
Now I'm still on top of the ladder in soloQ. Currently, I'm fourth on the European server, and I was second or third in the pre-season. SoloQ helps me with my mechanics, which is the most important thing for an ADC.
How did your preparation go, especially with Vander in the botlane?
I started training very early, almost two months before the season started. I was already playing with Vander before Rogue's announcement. Together, we're spamming League of Legends: we're at more than fifty duoQs a week, plus scrims. For a full month, when there were no team scrims yet, we were up to a hundred duoQ's a week. That's the kind of preparation we did on our side.
It's a good fit with Vander. He's not the type to impress with his mechanics. He helps me a lot more in terms of communication and shotcall. He talks to the team a lot. We've got three rookies, so it's great to have someone who's trying to organize the game, to say when we need to regroup. That's his job.
What's your take on the atmosphere in this rookie roster?
Everybody talks about the game and everybody plays the game a lot, unlike some veterans who are less into the game and have a hard time enjoying it. With my four teammates, we talk about League of Legends when we go home, when we go to eat: it's our main subject when we talk. I'm really enjoying being at Rogue's house.
Is that the kind of interaction that was lacking at Misfits?
Yes, at Misfits, we had more of that work/life barrier. That's something that might work for you, but it doesn't work for me. It's not what I want. I want to be surrounded by people who are 100% dedicated to the game. And then this year, I got rid of a lot of the shotcall, which had become very present after three years at Misfits.
How far can you go with that mindset?
We set ourselves the title as a goal. I think Rogue is my best chance and I hope to have my best year of competition this season.
Thanks to Hans Sama for answering our questions.
Credits: Riot Games
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