Team Liquid CoreJJ (TL CoreJJ) Interview After Loss to NRG.

The LCS 2023 Summer Split Playoffs are finally in the record book. After a wild and chaotic weekend, the underdog team NRG took down the reigning champions Cloud 9. Before NRG could face off against Cloud 9 in the finals, they would have to take down long-term rival Team Liquid in the last match of the lower bracket finals. The winner of the match would go on to face the winner of the upper bracket Cloud 9.

Early on, NRG knocked Team Liquid down to the lower bracket despite TL being ranked slightly higher than NRG. Knocked down to the lower bracket early on, Team Liquid would go on to beat and eliminate 100 Thieves, Evil Geniuses, and Golden Guardians. Although the Golden Guardians series is still contested and talked about, Team Liquid was out to get revenge on the team that knocked them down to the lower bracket. With NRG, they wanted to prove that the 3 to 1 victory in the first round was not a fluke. After a devastating loss to Cloud 9 in the upper bracket finals, NRG was determined to beat Team Liquid so that they could get their revenge on Cloud 9 for the 3 to 0 sweep.

LCS Finals Weekend

Rather than watching the finals online, we decided to head out to Newark, New Jersey to watch the final two series in person. The finals took place at the Prudential Center where LCS and League of Legends fans could celebrate their favorite teams at the fan meet and greet. Every team in the LCS was represented, even TSM who plans to leave the LCS this upcoming year. At the fan fest, guests could race through the jungle to try and get the ultimate clear. Throw rings at bottles to win prizes or they could head to the Red Bull arena to compete in the Aram tournament, get free Red Bull, and win prizes; select fans would get statues and upgraded seats.

For the event, Riot Games invited us up to the press box which was centered for the best view of the stage. For the weekend, Thutmose (Ekko – True Damage) was set to perform Run Wild. The performance would be to kick off the finals, but the theme song for the Summer Split was played continuously throughout the weekend. At the end of the weekend, only one team would be the Summer Split 2023 LCS champions.

Since you can easily look up the results of the final series, we will focus more on the interviews that took place after the Team Liquid vs. NRG series. NRG would go on to beat Team Liquid but not without TL putting up a fight. The TL vs. NRG series went to game 5; despite being down 7K gold to NRG, Team Liquid put up a fight until the last seconds of the game.

With any match, there is always a winner and a loser. During the press conference after the series, you could feel the disappointment that Team Liquid felt. Despite feeling down, Team Liquid was kind enough to let us interview their support and mid-laner, Team Liquid APA (TL APA) and Team Liquid CoreJJ (TL CoreJJ). Below is the interview with Team Liquid support TL CoreJJ.

Team Liquid CoreJJ (Jo Yong-in) Interview

In Game 2, why did you have the Stop Watch and Seeker’s Armguard? Were you going towards Zhonya’s Hourglass?

TL CoreJJ – I don’t remember exactly, but I just realized that even though I bought a tank item, I can’t tank anyway. So I just thought it could buy a little bit of time.

Out of all the champions you played during the Lower Bracket Finals, which do you think had the greatest and least impact?

TL CoreJJ – Every champion seems pretty similar to me. They always do the same job. I died too much.

When you were 0/7/7 as Nautilus, what was your mental state and how did you rebound from it?

TL CoreJJ – I just didn’t think about inting or anything champion-related.

With the process of learning a new champion, it takes time. Do you find it better to learn the new champions or do you think it is better to stick with the ones that are strong in the meta or some of your favorites?

TL CoreJJ – I always try to pick whatever is best for the team comp. I don’t have any bias about the champions.

What Monster did you drink today?

TL CoreJJ – The White one (Zero Ultra White).

With T1 making it back to Worlds, do you look forward to playing against them?

TL CoreJJ – Yeah, it is always fun to play against T1 win or lose. At Worlds, every team will be a very strong team so I’m excited to play against any other team.

During the Press Conference, you stated that you think NRG will beat Cloud 9 in the finals. Why was that?

TL CoreJJ – NRG is not bad; they are a good team. I just want to see them win at this point.

Learn More about TL CoreJJ

Did you know CoreJJ is married? If you want to learn more about TL CoreJJ, watch the video below. A special thank you to Riot Games for having us out to the LCS 2023 Summer Split Finals.