TL UmTi says comms were the issue Split 1: “My team was two seconds, three seconds, slow”

We sat down with Um “UmTi” Sung-hyeon, Team Liquid’s LTA North jungler, to chat offseason, the new split, and how he’s working to stop the communication issues that plagued Liquid in Split 1.

Team Liquid have, for over a year now, been the presumptive kings of North America. They’d get passed by FlyQuest at Worlds, but going into every Split, the equine mascot is the most-seen at the top of peoples’ power rankings. And yet, coming out of Split 1, there was a lot of worry and conjecture about UmTi’s level of play, and Team Liquid’s coordination. Until they 3-0’d 100 Thieves in the Split 1 finals, many weren’t sure the blue and white champions would make it that far. On Split 2 Media Day, HotSpawn sat down with UmTi to chat about the new season, the latest jungler on Summoner’s Rift, and exactly what went wrong Split 1, plus how he’s looking to fix it.

Nick: Hey UmTi, glad to chat with you. I’ll start where I’m starting with everybody today which is that Riot announced during the offseason that Fearless Draft is now the one and only format for the rest of the year, including all the domestic splits, MSI, and Worlds.

UmTi: I like the format. I like a lot of champions and a lot of players are playing their own champions, like their characters, like signature picks. But the negative thing is like, the balance doesn’t look like you know always good because it’s like a test level. I would say I don’t know how is our draft gonna work for the future, but I still think the positive thing is, like, more huge than the negative things so I like it.

How do you feel about the new Split formats that start with B01, and then transition into B03s and B05s?

UmTi: Yeah, probably I’m very positive too. More Bo3 and B05s. Especially with Fearless Draft, that is gonna be fun.  I think B01 into B05 I would like to play more for sure, but I think I’m happy with it.

Nick: This is something you’ve talked about, but during Split 1 there were worries that you looked like you were on a different page from your team, and your play felt inconsistent. However, despite First Stand not being the result you wanted, you guys did look more solid in a lot of ways than during some of the troubles of Split 1. What do you think led to that desync between you and your team..

How did you guys work towards solving it?

“The first thing is, like, we worked really hard. We worked with me about watching every one of my VoDs and watching every one of my past VODs, post-games, and revisiting [all of my] comms that I can make shorter to give my team more good information or, like, engaging timing that I’m looking for.”

Because the problem was I was looking for a very good engage angle, or I was looking for a very good play but my words or, like, sentences were not enough to, like,let my team to know [it was urgent].I didn’t [communicate the urgency of the comms] for like, my team to be, like, “emergency!” about it.

So that actually shows [in-game]. Like, my team was two seconds, three seconds, slow [to the play]. And then I’m looking like I’m just inting too much. So I think we probably fixed that issue more, and then it feels, like, better at First Stand, for sure. But I think, I still think that my performance is not, like, this is just the inting that I did. But for work. But I still think my individual level is, like, not consistent, I would say. My individual level is, like, sometimes it’s very high. I can beat anyone. Sometimes I’m, like, very low, or, like, even just low level. So I’m trying to, like…I know that is the problem for me, and that actually causes my team to lose too. So I’m trying to be consistent a lot more. [I was making] like, let’s say, [in six plays], three best plays and three worst plays. Or like, two best plays in the world, and three worst plays in the world. I want to make, like, one best plays and zero worst plays. Or, like, two best players and one worst player. Yeah, like that.”

Nick: So, it sounds like communication was a big part of what you’ve been working on. If it’s okay, can you speak to what steps you take to improve that kind of specific in-game communication?

What sort of practice or improvement have you been doing, and why do you think it’s working?

UmTi: First thing is, like, about the communication, like, I think I have a very good feeling that a good thing is going to happen, or, like, predicting what they’re going to do. But it’s like, I was not very confident to [communicate] to my teammates about “this is going to happen”, “let’s fight here”, like, kind of this thing. Or, like, you know, that when I have to be decisive, I was not, or something. Or when I was even saying it, like, I didn’t do a good play. But I understand, like, some of my team doesn’t know what am I doing, so, like, that kind of thing, so I want to make it more direct play to my team that’s about: “I’m fighting this, I’m looking for this.”

Or, like, before, the 30 seconds when I’m planning, “Ready to TP? I’m going to make something.” like, you know, just like a very actionable comm. So [the big improvement in]communication is before it was, like, I’m “looking here!” and then, like, you know, just watching it [happen]. And everyone was like “What are you looking for?”, you know?

That kind of thing [would] happen. Yeah, so, I think, I was, I was having a, like, good feeling for when a good thing is going to happen, but I didn’t actually, like, communicate it well to my teammates about what’s going to actually happen.

So, like, what is going to actually happen, actually doesn’t matter. It’s what am I going to do, and what do I want to my teammates to do. So, that kind of communication that I’m trying to improve, I think I actually improved a lot of that.

Nick: Wow, thank you for that answer, UmTi. It’s really interesting to hear exactly how you isolate and address those kinds of non-gameplay issues. I really appreciate you breaking that down for me.

UmTi: Thanks!

Nick: Okay, before I let you go, the big news on the live patch is the Naafiri rework. She’s absolutely tearing up solo queue, and a lot of average players seem to think she’s broken levels of good. Have you tried the Naafiri rework?

What do you think of it, and do you think we’ll see her in pro play even after the coming nerfs?

UmTi:I think, even though she’s getting nerfed, it’s still a good champion, because they didn’t actually nerf their skills, I think her skill cooldown is so short and just strong, and she has a weakness for sure, because she’s an easy champion. I think the, right now, the difficulty is that when you’re playing Naafiri, you’re getting too much high reward, I think, more than [the risk]. Like, her risk is, like, so low, and her return is, like, so high. Yeah. But I think it’s just, like, I would not say she’s broken champion, because there are some broken champions in a team game like Vi and Mr. Skarner, or something. So I would not say Naafiri is broken level, but I’m pretty sure that is an S-tier champion, yeah. Yeah. I mean, in a team game, like, Skarner and Vi are, like, broken level, right?

What do you think is the thing about Naafiri right now that makes her so powerful? What’s the advantage she has over other junglers that you like?

UmTi: I think her Q and E is too low cooldown, and what she is building is Eclipse plus Shojin or Eclipse plus Black Cleaver. I don’t know why she has a one-shot damage with that item. That’s, like. Like, I think it’s a skills are the problem, because Shojins stacks full attack with, uh, dogs being being stronger. Meanwhile Black Cleaver is, like, just one-shotting the armor, so she’s just strong. And then, that’s my thinking, like that item build actually makes the skill cooldown so much shorter, and she is, like, killing isolated enemies, like, one-shot, so it doesn’t make sense to me. Yeah, you go Bruiser, you kill, hmm, weird.

Nick: Awesome, thanks so much for your time UmTi, best of luck this split.

UmTi: Thank you! Bye-bye!

Team Liquid return to face rivals FlyQuest on Saturday, April 5 at 1:00 PM PST, then again on April 6 at 2:00 PM PST to face 100 Thieves.