On the 11th, Day 2 of the 2019 MSI Group Stage took place at the Hanoi Vietnam National Convention Center. The world champions, Invictus Gaming, continued dominating the group and finished the day with another two victories. IG had pushed both Team Liquid and SK Telecom T1 to their limit and kept them from properly retaliating. 

At the core of IG's victory is Rookie's performance. Throughout the tournament, Rookie played reliably for his team and largely contributed to his team's current flawless tournament run. 

The following is an interview with IG Rookie.

** This interview was conducted with the Shotcaller and VPEsports.

Do you believe that each member of your team is currently the best in their role in the world?

I think it's a bit too soon to say that. If we are to finish this year with more wins under our belt, I think only then we'll be able to accept such high praise. 

My teammates are all young, so they have great mechanics. They're also fearless when they play - they are capable of surprising their opponents with sudden aggression. I think our team's biggest strength is that even when someone from the team struggles throughout a match, there is another player who is fully capable of carrying the game. 


After having completely countered SKT's Sona-Taric strategy today, do you think there is another team who will dare to try that composition against you in the future?

Unless they have thoroughly prepared a strong Sona-Taric composition, I don't think so. It's a risky strategy to run on stage, so it's very likely that we won't be seeing that comp outside of the group stage. Our team is well-known in China for being strong against surprise picks and tactics. 


Did you expect SKT to pick Sona and Taric today?

When scrimming against us, SKT played Sona and Taric a number of times, so we were fully prepared for it. In addition, many teams here at the 2019 MSI enjoy playing that composition, so we prepared Draven to specifically counter it. 


Invictus Gaming seems to build their roster around you. And aside from Duke, every other player on your team joined IG as rookies. How well do you think the players developed over time?

I'm very thankful for my great teammates. Our personalities match well, and I think that's why we're making great results. Also, I bet they wanted to join IG because of me. I used to be an exceptional player back then! (Laughs)

Anyhow, I'm very thankful for my teammates. I don't think I would've made it this far without them. 


Is there a team that you are looking forward to playing again?

I'm excited to play against G2 and SKT again. When playing against us in Day 1 and 2, they didn't play their usual, signature picks. I'm curious to find out how we'll perform against them when they do play their usual picks. I'll be happier if we beat those two with standard picks from both sides.