Hanabi on loss against RNG: “I think we had a lot of communication errors early on”
PSG Talon has not had the start to the 2021 League of Legends World Championship that they wanted. Against LPL third seed RNG, the PCS champions suffered a loss on the first day of the Group Stage. However, top laner Su “Hanabi” Chia-Hsiang isn’t too worried about his team’s chances. He’s confident that they can take down Fnatic and Hanwha Life Esports in their group.
PSG Talon top laner Hanabi remains confident in his team despite the loss against RNG. (Image courtesy of Lance Skundrich for Riot Games)
After the game against RNG, Hanabi joined for a brief chat about his opening match. He shared his thoughts on what went wrong, and how he felt about enemy top laner Li “Xiaohu” Yuan-Hao locking in surprise pick Syndra.
Hotspawn: Welcome, Hanabi. Your first game on the Worlds 2021 stage, unfortunately, ends in a loss against RNG. How did you feel heading into the matchup?
Hanabi: This is our first game versus RNG, but we faced them a lot of times in the past already. I just think that our early game wasn’t handled very well and it was a bit of a shame.
Hotspawn: In your preparation for RNG, did you look back at meeting them at MSI?
Hanabi: Not really because it has been so long. We mainly looked at their Playoffs series with LNG and WE.
Hotspawn: And what was your read on the team?
Hanabi: Their champion pool in mid is very easy to guess. So, for most of their picks today, we were very well aware of them. But to still lose… it felt like it was a missed opportunity.
Hotspawn: One of the champions RNG played that really stood out was the Syndra in the top lane. What did you think about that pick?
Hanabi: I think it’s something that Xiaohu actually practiced at this event. It’s a very strong champion because you can have priority and push early.
Hotspawn: So you expected something like this from him?
Hanabi: To be honest, we did not expect that pick to come out. But I am very confident in dealing with it.
Hotspawn: Talking about the other teams in your group: You also have Fnatic and Hanwha Life Esports. How do you feel about your chances of making it out of the group?
Hanabi: After the first game, I think we had a lot of communication errors early on and a lot of late-game mistakes as well. As for the next two matchups, we have chances to win both.
Hotspawn: What gives you the confidence that you’re gonna do well against them?
Hanabi: Because our scrim results haven’t been too bad. So I think, if we can have a normal mentality and just do our individual jobs, we should be ok.
Hotspawn: Something many people wondered about heading into the tournament, is the strength of PSG Talon without Doggo, who played well as a sub for the team at MSI. How highly do you rate your own team’s level of play?
Hanabi: I think it feels more familiar because we have been playing with Unified for so long. It doesn’t matter who we’re with, we should just do our jobs. I think the synergy in the bot lane is definitely better. But recently, we’ve been making a lot of mistakes. It drags it down to about even. [Laughs]
Hotspawn: Moving away from the competition a bit: you return to Iceland. Were you excited to go back to the country?
Hanabi: This time in Iceland, I wasn’t particularly excited. [Laughs] I just think it’s so cold.. This time, I brought a lot of coats.
Hotspawn: Is there anything in Iceland that you were looking forward to? [Laughs]
Hanabi: Since we’ve already been here before, we’ve seen most of the major sights. The only place that we haven’t been to is an actual volcano. So, I really hope to see the volcanoes.
Hotspawn: To round up, do you have any words for your fans?
Hanabi: Today against RNG, even in the very end, we had a chance to win the game. So I think it’s quite a shame. Tomorrow, I will give a better performance and we’ll try to win our games.
PSG Talon play their next game at Worlds 2021 on Tuesday, October 12th, at 3 PM CEST. You can watch the game live on the official Lol Esports website.
