Interview with Freeze: "I feel the thrive every time I play on stage"
Interview with Freeze at the end of the NA LCS Spring Season.
With the LCS Spring Split slowly coming to its end, Aleš "Freeze" Kněžínek took some time to talk with us about his LCS experience. Renegades had some huge ups and downs this split and Freeze was with them all along, so let’s see what he has to say.
Image courtesy of Riot Games
Welcome Freeze and thank you for participating in this interview. First off all, I have to ask how have you been feeling now that you've finished play-offs? What are you doing now?
Freeze: Funnily enough, I have actually been busier lately then I was in the season. There are so many things I have to do now that Riot has moved the promotion tournament for 2 weeks. I have way less time than I expected! I’ve been taking a part in some business projects and am visiting my family.
You are the first Czech player in the LCS. As far as I know, eSports is not so present there as it is in Western Europe or NA. Do people recognize you back at home now?
Freeze: eSports is present in Czech Republic but not as much as in the world. People recognize me sometimes, but Youtube video makers and streamers are a much bigger deal here. People don’t really know pro players.
Is it hard to live so far away from family and friends?
Freeze: I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but it’s definitely not easy either. There were a lot of sacrifices I had to make.
Renegades had a really bad start of the LCS spring season but more than a great finish. In your opinion, what happened that you guys improved so much?
Freeze: We picked up Seraph and Ninja - they were a huge asset to our team. They’ve helped us a lot in our macro play.
Was it hard to deal with all those early losses?
Freeze: For me personally, it wasn’t that hard. I was somehow used to losing lots of games from the previous teams I’ve played with.
Who did you enjoy to play against the most?
Freeze: I mostly enjoyed playing versus Piglet and OHQ, they were fun AD Carries to play against. When it comes to a team, I didn’t really care.
One thing is for sure - you always played really good. How do you feel on the NA LCS stage?
Freeze: I love playing on stage! I feel the thrive every time I do. I play way better on stage than off!
Image courtesy of Riot Games
What were the worst and the best experiences that have happened to you during the spring season?
Freeze: The worst part was obviously going 1-11 and being last on standings. The best, on the other side, was knowing that our hard work and practice has paid off at the end of the split.
Do you see eSports as your future or do you have some other plans in mind?
Freeze: I wish to stay in eSports for as long as I can. There is nothing I can think of that I would rather do.
Let's talk a bit about League of Legends. How do you feel in the current meta?
Freeze: Every different meta has its strong points. I’m not very happy with this meta myself because there is too much power in tanks while they are insanely easy to play. If tanks were insanely hard to play and master, I would be ok with it. Anyone can just easily play them and have the most influence in the game.
As an AD Carry, what do you want changed in order to have better experience in the game?
Freeze: Overall, AD Carries are in a good spot, but bigger varieties of picks need to be balanced - especially jungle/top roles. They have too much power while being un-killable.
What should every Support know to give the AD Carry its full potential?
Freeze: Every Support should know his AD Carry better than the AD Carry knows himself.
We've seen lots of negative feedback from the pros on Dynamic Queue. What do you think about it?
Freeze: Honestly, I just hate the fact that I have to wait more than an hour in queue if I’m playing solo. I get a lot less time to wait if I queue up with more people.
Any shoutouts or thanks?
Freeze: Thank you for the interview and a big thanks to all of my fans for believing in me and supporting me!
