Leading the charge with 1st place, Echo Fox defeated Team Liquid.

In the beginning of the split, everyone was on the Huni one man hype train. A majority predicted that Huni would 1v9, but that was not the case. Dardoch, Fenix, Altec, and Adrian have all stepped up. They have proven that Echo Fox is not a one man Huni team, but a well mended talented 5 man team.

Since the early game leads are dedicated to the support and jungler, Inven Global interviewed Adrian to find out how Echo Fox operates so aggressively in the early game. Let’s see what Adrian has to say about TSM, Huni’s Yasuo, and Echo Fox’s Rolex watches.

¤ How do you feel about the win against Team Liquid?

It felt really good because we played the same comp we played yesterday but this time we won decisively. This is due to us making a lot more mistakes yesterday against TSM. Overall, it felt good that we could prove we weren’t screwing around in draft.


¤ Let’s talk a bit about the draft. In the game against TSM, Echo Fox lost to the Galio pick. However against TL, Echo Fox had a decisive win against it. Have you guys figured out how to play against the Galio pick now?

Playing against TSM’s Galio and TL’s Galio are two different things. I think TSM is just a way better team. We weren’t getting away with some mistakes against TSM in scrims compared to other teams. Thanks to TSM, we have learned a lot of our weaknesses. This is because, we were winning all of our games beforehand. On top of this, Echo Fox didn’t respect TSM as much as we should have. TSM picked and banned smarter as well. TL gave us more free picks such as the Tahm Kench. TSM never gave us the opportunity.

¤ Since the early game is focused around the support and jungle, what was your early game strategy?

Our early game strategy against Galio was to control him and not give openings for him to use his ultimate. We knew that as long as Galio does not get big ults off in teamfights, all of our lanes would start winning. We made a lot of mistakes against TSM without Galio even influencing the lanes. That was pretty bad. Against TL, we avoided Galio’s windows and played to our strengths which was our bot lane. We had all 3 winning lanes both games. However, TSM just had a better bot lane than Team Liquid’s.

¤ Other than TL giving Echo Fox more lenient picks, what do you think is the difference between TSM and TL?

I think TSM’s player skills and communication are way better than Team Liquid’s. It feels like TL is not clicking as well as TSM. Both teams have veteran players, but TSM is a lot more put together. Zven and Mithy are way better than Doublelift and Olleh. I feel like Doublelift and Olleh still have a lot of problems that they need to fix. Bjergsen is just a better player than Pobelter. In general, TSM has stronger players than TL.


¤ Echo Fox is now 10-2 and placed 1st in the NA LCS. What has the team atmosphere and confidence level been like? Has it changed since the start because you guys are 1st place?

I think it is still the same because we are all confident players. Even if we were 12-0, 8-6, or 8-3, we would still be confident in the same way. Echo Fox is just full of talented players. We all use our abilities to beat other players down. Even if we lose a few games, I don’t think we would mind. All we need to do is practice hard and come out on top.


¤ Patch 8.4 came out a few days ago. What are your initial thoughts on the patch as a support?

I feel like ranged supports might be a little more stronger now because the Coin got buffed and Relic Shield got nerfed. The big change was Celestial Body being removed and some potion rune added. Overall, ranged supports could be a lot stronger since melee supports can be punished more now. I think the support meta will shift in the next patch.

¤ Do you think the meta shift will be significant or only a slight shift?

Oh, I think the meta will be a good mix. I don’t think it will be one sided where there will be only ranged or melee supports. Generally, the team will play around the support picks. I don’t believe any team will just blind pick a ranged or melee support. We’ll just have to see how weak or strong it is.


¤ Since it has been quite a while for you and other members of Echo Fox to mend, who would you choose on Echo Fox that you were most close to?

It would have to be me and Huni. I have known him for so long. We do almost everything together. We always hang out, eat, and do shopping together. Huni is my best friend.


¤ Because you are a support, I would have thought you would have chosen your adc (laughs).

Oh, Johnny (Altec) is always with us. It is the trio. It is me, Huni, and Johnny. We are always go out together. Dardoch and Fenix don’t really do anything with us because they are not living with us. They are doing their own thing. It's always us 3 stuck together. Sometimes, it gets pretty funny. Since me and Johnny have girlfriends, Huni is like the 5th wheel.

¤ What is the go to thing you guys do as a trio when you guys go out?

Every weekend, from Saturday to Sunday, we have been eating at a sushi place called Kazunori. It is a hand roll place. We are always there for the NA LCS. It is our pregame ritual, to eat sushi before a game.


¤ When the Echo Fox’s roster was released, everyone was on the Huni one man hype train. What was your initial feeling when you saw everyone react this way at the beginning of the split?

Yeah, I wasen’t too surprised when everyone said Huni was going to 1v9. However, I was also confident in Fenix, Dardoch, and Altec’s ability. I think it was similar to 2016 Immortals. I think the big improvement since then is that me and Huni and play tanks really well now. Back then, we couldn’t really play tanks. I was just surprised how much Dardoch, Fenix, and Altec stepped up. Everyone thought that Huni would have to carry us all and play by himself. But, that is not the case. A lot of the games, Huni is the one falling behind now. We would have to pick up for him. However, Huni does draw a lot of attention which helps alleviate the pressure for other lanes as well.


¤ Most of the times when people play with friends and their top laner picks Yasuo, the voice coms go crazy. What is your voice coms like when Huni decides to pick Yasuo every now and then?

Most of the time, it isn’t Huni picking champions like Yasuo. I usually go “Yo, Yasuo is a good pick here right? Yasuo is good into Gnar?” and then Huni is like “Oh yeah, I should try that out.”. Because other roles know champion match ups as well, we all always suggest new ideas and Huni thinks about it. Our team always gives Huni the flexibility to choose what he wants to play if it isn’t too troll. We don’t pick champions without reason.

¤ So are you saying the Yasuo pick originated from you?

I think someone else said it.


¤ There was this picture of you guys getting a car as a present? What is this all about?

Oh (laughs). Huni and I have been looking into cars recently. We were thinking of getting a car to share. We were still deciding what car we wanted. Huni and I were thinking of Tesla, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini. Huni really likes Tesla, so we were looking into the model X. However, the Tesla takes a lot of time to get. Even if we bought it now, it would have taken a few months to receive. We are still going back and forth on what the best decision is. Maybe we will get a team car from Echo Fox if we play really well. This is because Echo Fox promised us that if we win Miami, they would get each player a Rolex or any watch they want.


¤ Lastly, is there anything you want to say to your fans or anything in general?

Sorry about the disappointing loss against TSM. We weren’t that arrogant in picks/bans. TSM just played really well and drafted well also. They played their comp well and never gave us breathing room to counterplay. I think TSM is second to us. I believe the top teams are TSM, C9, and us. We won’t disrespect TSM in anymore. They played well, and we didn’t play that well. But yeah, I want to thank everyone for supporting us. Even though we look arrogant on stage by picking Yasuo and Zilean, Echo Fox is always trying new things. We are not trying to play like everyone else, slow and boring. Echo Fox likes to play aggressive and go for fights.