Rami "Inori" Charagh is the jungler for Phoenix1. In the past, Inori, has played on multiple Challenger teams in an attempt to become a part of the North American LCS. In 2016, Phoenix1 bought out Team Impulse and signed Inori, giving him the opportunity to prove himself. Recently, Phoenix1 has been making great strides in improving as a team and has even took a series off of the previously undefeated Team Solo Mid. In this interview, we sit down with Inori to discuss his past, the series against TSM, and his role in Phoenix1.

Image by Riot Esports

Two months ago, you reached challenger in Korea, a feat that many NA LCS pro players haven’t been able to achieve. What were your thoughts playing against the best of the best in Korean solo queue? Additionally, do you feel that the quality of their solo queue is better despite grievances (e.g. scripters)?

Inori: I think it was a big accomplishment for me because I was able to do it with only solo queue. It was a great experience playing vs these amazing Korean junglers like Peanut and Chaser I felt like a bit of how they played rubbed off on me. Korean solo queue is treated much more serious than NA solo queue so it's a lot more rewarding when you win games at higher elo and it gives you more motivation to play league. Scripters decay more the higher mmr you get but I mostly banned Kog'Maw to save my sanity.

You’ve attempted going pro multiple times in the past, namely in 2014, and have made your big break with Phoenix1. What was your reaction when Phoenix1 reached out to you?

Inori: I was very grateful for Phoenix1 picking me up and giving me a chance to show my worth in the LCS. I was extremely happy when they reached out to me for a tryout because I knew I would impress them since I just got back from Korea.

Prior to playing professionally, you were an active coach on lol-coaching. Do you think that translated well into a team environment; being able to communicate information effectively?

Inori: I think coaching helped me understand people more in general. I know more of what someone is feeling and it makes having relationships with your teammates a lot easier. Coaching was an enjoyable experience for me just because of how grateful all the people were for the 30 minutes of time I gave them. After a few weeks, they would even link me a picture of them promoting to plat 1 from being gold 5 before the coaching.

Shortly after winning the series against TSM, ending their undefeated split, you managed to make an enemy out of TSM fans and a fan out of many other viewers with the interview conducted with Phreak. Do you really feel that your mid lane – jungle synergy surpasses Svenskeren x Bjergsen? Following that up, do you expect that you’ll be able to live up to those words in the games to come?

Inori: I felt like during that series the synergy between Pirean and I was far greater than what Bjerg and Sven had going for them. We pretty much just 2v5d against the best team in NA which is pretty impressive to say the least. I don't think we will live up to the hype after coming off that series. I still feel like our team is lacking in certain areas which need to be fixed if we want to be a strong team. I still think TSM is an incredible team with an amazing support staff which I admire so much.

The Rengar pick in the series against TSM surprised everyone but what was even more shocking was your choice of build. Instead of going for the bruiser Rengar build that’s been done in competitive, you opted for the full damage Rengar build. What gave you the confidence to go for the pick and what prompted the decision to build full damage?

Inori: I feel like whenever i play vs stronger teams, I do better but when I play vs weaker teams I do worse. I guess I just have a bit of hatred for TSM deep inside me that just took me over that series. I went full dmg because, in my mind, I felt like I had to go all out if we were to beat tsm, change it up, bring them out of their comfort level and force them into my level which is the best style #clownfiesta.

Zentinel has said that he feels that you have a lot more experience than him and your calls are a lot more decisive. Do you feel that that’s a major contributing factor to Phoenix1 rising from the ashes and winning 4 games of the last 7 you’ve played?

Inori: I think I have a big voice on this team and I try to control a lot of the macro plays going on which has helped us secure some of these victories, but I think a lot of people are stepping up when it matters and I hope to see a team where we all can trust each other to carry when needed.

How do you think this split would have gone if you didn’t have visa issues and were able to play from the beginning of the split?

Inori: I think the visa issues really fu**ed our team. I believe we could be a playoff team right now if I played from the start. Perhaps where NV is standing is where we could have stood. This split just feels so bad but I'm glad I was able to make a great memory out of it from the TSM games. That was actually one of the highest points of my life. I've only dreamed of bringing out my first Rengar game in Lcs and shitting on an undefeated Tsm on an underdog team.

What is your role in Phoenix1? Do you make a lot of the calls? How much input do you have on your champion pick?

Inori: I shotcall most on some days but on other days Mash shotcalls a lot as well. It really depends on my mood or how much I am really into the game. Pick and ban was being done by Charlie for the most part but moving forward from after the C9 game yesterday, I will have a more active role in pick and ban.

What’s an average day look like for you on Phoenix1?

Inori: Mostly just scrim and soloq. Nothing interesting but we sometimes jump in the hot tub when we're feeling stressed out.

Has the team morale risen up with the recent success? What’s life like at the Phoenix1 house right now?

Inori: The win was more of a double-edge sword because a lot more fans/haters are watching our next games expecting us to perform good against lesser teams or are going to just call us cheesers who took away TSM's undefeated season. P1 org is really happy and I am happy for them! I'm just sad when we lose games in general so even though we beat TSM, losing to C9 the next day just brings me back down.

What are your feelings about the upcoming pre-Worlds changes, dissuading lane swaps and encouraging 2v2 lanes?

Inori: I like the change because I want the game to be as entertaining for a spectator as possible and as of right now 2v1 is boring and not fun to play for the players as well. I hope to see a lot new and interesting stuff from it and hope I can adapt to it well.

Any last words for the readers and fans?

Inori: To all the readers, I want to say that i'm just a Rengar one trick who's trying to keep the Phoenix1 rising! To all my fans ,thank you for all your support. I'm truly sorry for my poor performances but I hope I can give you all more games like the TSM one's we had. Thanks to everyone who supports P1 as a org. They are actually super amazing and I really wish I can keep this team in LCS because I never want to leave this org.

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