On the 17th (KST), 100 Thieves’ journey at Worlds came to an end.

Being defeated by both Fnatic and iG, 100 Thieves was unfortunately out of the run for the quarterfinals. While teams like C9 was able to display their own unique style of play, 100 Thieves seemed to have struggled making their own style fruition.

Despite this, 100 Thieves gained valuable experience and knowledge at Worlds. Able to scrim and play against some of the best teams in the world, 100 Thieves will most definitely use this experience to better themselves for the 2019 season.

After the games, we got to meet and talk with 100 Thieves’ coach, Pr0lly. Below are the interview responses.

¤ How do you feel about the overall performance from 100 Thieves this Worlds?

I am a bit disappointed. I wish it it was...not theatrical but aggressive I guess. I think we held back too much and took too long to get comfortable on stage. I wish we could have transitioned more on how we were practicing to how we were playing on stage. It was unfortunate that we were unable to adjust the team’s playstyle to how it was at the end of NA LCS to the Worlds meta.


¤ Do you think 100 Thieves could not play theatrically, as you said, due to that pressure playing on the big stage?

I think it is just thematic for our team to not play in a theatrical way. When we came to Korea and started scrimming against teams that play completely different to what we are used to, we just weren’t winning the way we used to. Focusing on Dragon or looking for a play at lvl 6. Things like that. We had 2-3 deaths before 5 minutes every single game. In North America, it was really unheard of in our matches. Most of the NA games are very slow.

When we came to Korea and that started to happen, it probably took us 4-5 days to realize that we cannot continue to play the style we are used to. We are not that good to force other teams to adjust to us. We had to actually make that adjustment ourselves. That was the biggest surprise. This was what caused the difficulty in transitioning our performance in practice to the stage.


¤ It is the first time in 100 Thieves’ creation that they have gone to Worlds. What were your expectations going in?

I didn’t have high expectations. I don’t really believe that way. I did realize going in that, in regards to 1st seeds, Fnatic and Flash Wolves would be easier to verse than RNG and kt. We took the silver lining from the draft. The second seed being iG was kind of an ‘Oh no’ moment. I wish it wasn’t iG because iG seems like one of the hardest teams that could have been drawn.

Once we saw the final group draw, we knew that we had a chance to get out of groups for sure. But, we needed 1 or 2 really good days to make it work. I don’t think the task was insurmountable by any means. We knew we could actually have expectations to push ourselves.

The very first Worlds that I went to had SKT and EDG in our group. That was one of those moments when we just weren’t allowed to have expectations. Trying to beat SKT back then? We couldn’t even understand how they played League Of Legends. At least with iG and Fnatic, we can read what they do and predict what they do.


¤ Worlds gives the best experience possible to teams, players, and coaches. What do you think yourself and 100 Thieves have learned through this year’s journey through Worlds?

I can’t speak for the players, but I feel like we took too long to push ahead of the North American meta. When you come to Worlds, it is a big risk. While we played through NA, we definitely had moments to...not like transcend...but try to be better and not follow what was played. I think pushing ourselves to be a step ahead rather than trying to catch up to our region was the biggest takeaway for me.

I guess I was not fully confident that we could make it to Worlds on our first year. My focus was mainly on how 100 Thieves can do well domestically. Going into next year, I know we have a lot more experience. I am a lot more confident in the NA region and culture. I am also confident that I can push my team forward to what North America is playing.


¤ Going into next season, 100 Thieves will have an edge over other NA teams due to the experience they have gotten from Worlds. How do you think they will do in the 2019 NA LCS?

I am really exciting to see how this roster will look off-season wise. I think a lot of teams are going to nuke their roster and try to build it from the ground up. It is going to be really hard to say. If we are able to keep our star players intact, we will be able to do really well going into next year. Hopefully dethrone Team Liquid.


¤ C9 is the only lasting NA team at Worlds. Lastly, could you say a few words to C9 and some inspirational words to your team?

Of course, C9 fighting for sure. I am really happy that C9 was able to show that they can play their own style very well. Even though some of their picks are unconventional, C9 still had a lot of faith that it could work. I absolutely admire that about Cloud9. I believe C9 will do really well in quarters.

As far as motivational speech for my team, I think everyone knows that I am not that much for motivational speeches. I believe everyone is kind of their own motivator. When I can see that motivation from a player, I can pull it out of that player. I can use it to push them further. As long as my players don’t think this is the end and think they can do better, I can make them do better.