Interview with Forg1ven, the greek god

H2K has won the quarterfinals of the League of Legends World Championship against the CIS region representatives, Albus Nox Luna. We have had the opportunity to have a conversation with Konstantinos "Forg1ven" Tzortziou, ADC of H2K.

A: No. I very rarely regret anything in my life. I am that kind of person. When I make a decision I am very determined. I don't have any regrets at all in my life.

A: I don't feel pressure. It is just that we are playing in a setting that whoever loses, loses a lot, and whoever wins, wins a lot. Pressure always benefited me as a player, I always perform better against better teams, at least in LCS.

Q: How do you feel about your match against Albus Nox Luna?

A: I respect Albus Nox a lot. They went out of group with players with no experience at all in the LCS.

I think that what they did is huge and that we also have shown a lot.

I personally respect them a lot.

Q: Some people said that not scriming was actually an advantage for Albus because no one knew what they were going to do. Do you think that bootcamping in Korea can backfire in that sense?

A: This is just the Reddit circlejerk and I think that bootcamping in Korea is always good.

It just depends on how the players of each team are going to benefit from this and, so far, the main teams have actually benefited a lot. I would put us in this group too. We got very good results there. I think we learned things that we wouldn't in our region so it benefited us a lot.

I think that it depends on the psychology and on the mindset of each player that is going to Korea.

Q: In the hypothetical case that you win the tournament, what would you do?

A: Our team is not the favourite coming into any of these matches. Personally, at least, I go step by step. Saying now that we are going to the finals or something like that is really stupid and I think it is really unrealistic. If we win we can discuss what do we do against Samsung, but I think we are not the favourite coming into any of those matches.

Q: How do you deal with the haters?

A: Haters motivate me a lot, I kinda take them seriously in a way. I obviously prefer hearing more from fans than haters but both of them do good in a way or another. I am thankful to both of these parts.

Q: Was the Caitlyn ultimate play against EDG intentional?

A: Outside the game, when I thought about it, I didnt think it was. But inside the game I pushed my model towards Ekko, behind Ekko's model. So, I can't say it was 100% planned, but I wanted to put them in a lose-lose situation where I would get more chances of finishing Ekko or Nami or both. Happened that Ekko respawned, otherwise it would have hit Nami and she would have not been able to bubble me or heal Ekko since she had flash.

Q: What has been the biggest disappointment in the tournament so far in terms of teams?

A: I am not a guy that watches other regions 24/7. I very rarely do so. I don't think there was any team failing expectations, I mean, most who did either the expectations were unrealistic or the players couldn't go higher. They were either put in a group that was really hard or they just failed themselves.

Q: There are three Korean teams in the semifinals. What does make Koreans different?

A: I am not an expert to answer this, I haven't played that much against Korean teams internationally, but I think it's mostly that they culture and their idea of the game is way different than Europe or NA or any other region. It's way healthier to the team to develop because they value the ability of a player to play as a team.

Q: Do you think that they have a better infrastructure? Does Europe have a good infrastructure?

A: Europe obviously doesn't have a good infrastructure. Also, if Korea improves their salaries, they would be way ahead of what they already are. Imagine if their pro players knew good english, they could accept some specific imports in the region like per example let's say Bjergsen or players that were famous in the past or still are really good in the game and have shown a good level of play that it is way ahead of their region. Players that skill ceiling is stopped by their own region not by themselves. So imagine how things could go if they had better wages.

Q: Is there anything that you would change in the professional scene of League of Legends?

A: I would lower LCS teams to 8, at least in Europe, or even less.

I don't think 10 is a very good competitive setting for teams because only a few of them are competitive and then the rest are actually fighting for relegation or they are just to fill spots in playoffs. I think the less the better and would make the skill level to play in LCS way higher. A lot of players that get to play are not capable of, but they have to fill a spot one way or the other.

I would also probably change the European place from Berlin to a Mediterranean city. It would be nice in terms of living and playing the game.

Q: What would you change about the game?

A: I would nerf the impact of the junglers to oblivion because they are way more powerful. The only thing you have to do in early game is, instead of winning lane, just shut down the other jungler.

Q: About your career, you started playing Counter Strike and then, did you change directly to League of Legends or did you play another game?

A: I played HotS, Global Offensive, Overwatch, League of Legends, Counter Strike 1.6... to a high level in each one.

Q: How do you manage to be so good in every game?

A: I understand the philosophy of the game and I look for the way to play that gives you the highest percentage of winning and how can you get better. If you actually like the game, no matter what you do, no matter how dumb you are, you inevitably will become better one way or another because your skill level will increase every day or every week.

Q: Would you like to be a pro gamer in any other game?

A: Global Offensive for sure. But I think it has been a lot of time since the scene is going on and I have no clue and I think is really hard. But Counter Strike was always my favourite game.

Q: Do you think that Counter Strike is harder than League of Legends?

A: I think that League of Legends is harder in a competitive setting. In League you have to know a lot of details to actually be one of the best. Obviously Counter Strike doesn't have a lot of details but, the things that are needed to succeed are different in each game.

Q: I remember as one of the most emotive moments in the history of esports when you cried in the Spring Split because you had to go for the military service. How did you manage that situation?

A: The timing when this happened was really terrible. It was just 2 or 3 weeks before playoffs. I learned it like or 4 hours before playing. It was really emotional for me. I should understand that I won't be here forever but on the other hand I will always be here at least as a viewer because I love gaming as a personality

Q: Did you enjoy Madrid in the Spring Split finals of 2015?

A: Yes. Of all the cities that I have visited in my career as a player or before, Madrid reminded me a lot to Greece. The city reminded me a lot to Thessaloniki, the second biggest city in Greece, that is very similar. I liked it a lot. I would love another final in the future to be held in Madrid. I really enjoyed it. I hope to visit it in the future, not only because it reminds me to Greece, but because it's a wonderful place to be.

Q: Have fun and good luck!

A: Thank you! I will try my best.