Immortals had a tough weekend in the fifth week of the LCS Summer Split, losing their games to C9 and TSM in a very one-sided fashion. Their final game for the weekend against Dignitas QNTMPAY promises a closer match based on recent results, but IMT’s 0-3 record against them for the split thus far and a demoralizing loss to TSM put them in a rough position going in.
After a tough loss to TSM and playoffs on the horizon, Immortals needs to steady the ship. (Photo via Riot Games.)
We spoke with Quin “Raes” Korebrits after the loss to talk about his recent performance, hopes for playoffs, and the merits of keeping to a core five-man roster.
Hotspawn: Thanks for joining me after that tough loss to TSM, Raes. How’re you feeling after that game?
Raes: Feeling pretty bad. The last two, three weeks I’ve been playing really poorly, especially in laning phase. I’ve been struggling to have an impact in the early game and past that point to win. Does not feel good.
Hotspawn: That makes sense. Is there anything you could point to as a reason why, or are we just talking about one of those unlucky slumps?
Raes: Definitely some kind of slump. I don’t know why, but I’m playing poorly on stage. I can’t see the trade angles in lane that I normally can. I know I can play better than this, so it really sucks to constantly— it doesn’t matter what botlane I’m [facing], I just can’t see the angles in lane and I’m getting punished consistently. All lane phases against every team, no matter if it’s 100 Thieves botlane, a good botlane, or the worst botlane. It doesn’t matter who I face, I’m losing lane every game. It sucks.
Hotspawn: I think in times like this it’s important to recognize that it’s only a passing moment. On the other hand, what’s something from Spring or Summer split that you’re proud of? A highlight reel of your time on Immortals.
Raes: There was the game against C9, the last game of the split. I was playing really confidently and had a massive CS lead and priority the entire game. That was a pretty easy matchup. There was the game I stomped FlyQuest as Tristana. This split I had a really good Tristana game against C9. The Jinx game against CLG, at least the first fifteen minutes, was pretty insane to play. Afterwards I really butchered the lategame and midgame teamfights. Beating 100 Thieves too, but I didn’t really do much that game, just got carried by my team. I was a bystander.
Hotspawn: Let’s take a step away to look at that game from a wider angle. What was the plan going in, and what do you think went wrong?
Raes: The plan going into this game, at least after draft ended, we knew we had a much stronger comp if we were even or ahead. We had decent teamfighting and a really good sidelaner in Camille, but as soon as they accelerated the early dragons it was too early in the game to fight objectives [to] slow their win-cons. It made the game really difficult for us, especially losing botlane in a lane that should be even. Ultimately what went wrong was getting solokilled bottom and losing [a] Rift we could’ve contested with our strong topside. Those were the two biggest problems in that game.
Hotspawn: Shifting away from this game and looking towards the future, Immortals is in a good spot in terms of making playoffs. Do you feel like the current standings are a good reflection of where the team’s strength is at right now?
Raes: I would say they’re a good reflection, just below EG and DIG. I have no idea how good DIG is since we haven’t faced their roster with Akaadian and Yusui yet, but I think below the top four teams and just below EG. I think that’s pretty accurate of where we stand right now.
Hotspawn: What do you think sets Immortals apart from other LCS teams, in terms of your playstyle?
Raes: Hard to say. In recent weeks we haven’t been able to show the preferred style of play [we] want to be playing because of how the games have gone. In terms of our team, I think we’re a really close-knit group of people. Azael has already commented on that. That’s the biggest difference Immortals has compared to the other teams— we’re really close with each other.
Immortals have remained a tight-knit five-man roster since the start of the year. (Photo via Riot Games.)
Hotspawn: In a month full of roster swaps to varying degrees of success, Immortals has stuck with their core group of five since the start of the year. Do you feel it’s benefited your progress as a team?
Raes: Especially in a game like League it’s hard to pull off swapping out a player. I forgot who mentioned it, but it does break a lot of trust. If a player is the one deciding a roster swap it breaks a lot of trust in the team, but I think when management or coaches do force a roster swap, it does make adjusting to playing with a new player difficult. It’s not that easy, unless it’s like an AD Carry who never talks. But if it was a jungler, like Dardoch for Dignitas, maybe it’s better in the long run, but it definitely showed in their first games back where they were uncoordinated and looked really lost. But now it looks like they’ve got their stride and are doing okay, but it definitely stunted their progress for the split and made it hard for them to bounce back.
Hotspawn: I think that’s about all I have time for. To close us out, how do you expect tomorrow’s game against DIG to go?
Raes: Honestly I think DIG have consistently overperformed on stage this entire year, split one and split two. I don’t think they’re that good of a team, but they’ve stomped, especially botlane I’ve inted into them twice. And then they have a game like we solokilled them but still managed to lose. We’re 0-3 against Dig this split, but I really hope we can manage to turn that around and beat them like we should’ve been beating them already. I don’t want to stay that after inting— I just hope we show a good game compared to the last three games where we’ve just been stomped.
Hotspawn: It’s important to keep up the confidence! Thank you for joining me, and good luck in tomorrow’s match.
