Interview with Team OMG: Building a roster, Baron, and Teemo Fandom

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

OMG surprised a lot of 2014 World Championship watchers when they 3-0'd NaJin White Shield. Not only did OMG become the only team to 3-0 their opposition and the only second seed team in Quarters to overcome a first seed rival from another group, but also the first non-Korean team to beat a Korean team in best of series in well over a year.

Unfortunately, their World Championship run came to an end shortly after in a five-game series against Star Horn Royal Club. Before the semifinals, however, OMG took some time to answer some brief questions about their sudden roster change and their overall gameplay.

Please keep in mind that this interview was conducted between OMG's Quarterfinals at Worlds and the Semifinals.*

1: I saw in an interview with Cloud for 178 that the team sometimes practices drills with Cloud and San against Gogoing and Loveling to see who reaches level 2 first. Do you have other drills like this for the team? What are some other examples?

Yes. The players also play many 10-15 minutes laning phase drills with each other. These practices enable us to find individual problems and develop relevant solutions within the team.

2: What kind of practice did Cloud have while Dada777 was on the starting roster? Did the team practice with Cloud sometimes to keep him in top form just in case?

Cloud did a lot of solo Q practice by himself, and he also participated regularly in scrims to stay at the best competitive state. Besides practices, we also want to make sure that he keeps a good and positive attitude and mentality to perform well under the pressure of extremely competitive games.

3: There were a lot of ups and downs in getting the roster that you have now this year. How do you think changes, especially in support, has effected OMG's development?

All competitive team sports have to deal with ups and downs in building a perfect roster. Because of the competitive nature of the game, changes are inevitable. Each individual player brings different things to the team. Lots of changes made this year were out of the purpose to create a more solid bottom lane. We hope that we can keep making good changes and see more exciting results of good chemistry brought by new blood.

4: Cool and Loveling know each other very well, and I hear they even played together in a MOBA before League of Legends. Does this familiarity and synergy give OMG an advantage? Did it factor into the decision to swap Loveling to jungle both times in the past?

Familiarity is definitely very important. Because they know and trust each other, it helps a lot in creating great synergies in game play. However, this doesn’t factor into our decision to swap Loveling to jungle. We made that decision based on the team’s strategic need.

*5: Before Worlds, OMG was the only non-Korean team to take a game from SKT T1 K at Worlds last year, and now OMG is the first team to take a series from the Koreans in Quarterfinals. What do you think are your chances to win Worlds?

We certainly have built some good confidence along the way. But winning really depends a lot on our performance and who we are going to play against. Korean teams are very powerful opponents.

*6: Both Gogoing and Cloud have said in interviews that they believe they have a better chance against Samsung Blue than Samsung White. Why is it that they believe this is the case?

Because Samsung White shows more stability and consistence in their gameplay and performance.

7: Some English-speaking fans of LPL have noticed that Baron is a very important part of the meta game for LPL teams, more so than in other regions. Why is Baron so important?

Because Baron usually acts as a critical turning point for games. Most of the times, it breaks the existing equilibrium of the game; it creates opportunities for comebacks or simply would consolidate a victory.

8: Gogoing's Ryze has turned a lot of heads on the World stage, but he is also well known for many other champions like Renekton. Does Gogoing have a favorite top lane champion?

Irelia

*9: OMG has been known for some innovative champion picks and compositions in the past. Will we see anything new before the tournament ends?

Honestly, we hope we would be able to pick Teemo. It’s one of the most loved champions by the team.

10: Finally, OMG has been getting more and more western fans throughout the year. Do the players have anything they would like to say to English-speaking OMG fans?

Thank you for all your love and support. Also, by passing on our passion and dreams to the game, we hope our fans can share the core idea that inspired the players: Oh My Games, Oh My Dreams! We want to keep up the good work and bring to fans more enjoyable and exciting games to watch.

Thank you to Team OMG for answering these questions. You can follow them on twitter @OMGe_Sports.