HLE Viper: “I believe teams need their own identity. Simply copying LCK or LPL isn’t the answer.”

We had the chance to chat with HLE Viper during the first day of action at the Esports World Cup, shortly after the series against CFO.

HLE Viper heading into the EWC – focus on improving macro and decision making

You faced CFO again after First Stand. What did you think about their performance?

Viper: I found CFO’s performance at MSI impressive and thought they played their games well. When we faced them again, I felt that if we made mistakes, we could definitely lose — they’re skilled enough to capitalize on them.

Davide: At the LCK Road to MSI, the team had some disappointing moments. What did you do to overcome that for EWC?

Viper: When we played against Gen.G and T1, we realized that our macro and decision-making were clearly behind. We lacked the ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations. Unless we drastically improved those aspects, we wouldn’t achieve good results, so we talked a lot about that as a team.

You mentioned the importance of teamfights at First Stand. Do you think teamfights are even more crucial in this tournament?

Viper: Definitely. Most current compositions favor frequent skirmishes and strong early-game execution to reach power spikes. Teamfighting is always important, no matter the meta.

There are differences between Western and Eastern teams, especially in laning and draft strategy. What do Western teams need to improve to catch up with Chinese and Korean teams?

Viper: That’s an interesting question. Having played in both LCK and LPL, I haven’t thought about it deeply, but I believe teams need their own identity. Simply copying LCK or LPL isn’t the answer. Teams should build around their own strengths and find what works for them. Regarding draft, teams like LEC are creative and can use many champions, which is appealing. But in terms of macro and teamfights, I don’t think mimicking LCK or LPL is always the right move. Finding their own tempo might be better.