Emily Rand

  • On Passion and the North American Challenger Series: DanDy and GBM

    Lee “GBM” Chang-seok enters the interview giggling. The echo is GBM’s latest partner-in-crime, Choi “DanDy” In-kyu, who has a shyer demeanor but continues to laugh softly. “I’m good!” GBM immediately says, without provocation.

  • CLG aphromoo: 'We're the best. We're going to end first no matter what.'

    Counter Logic Gaming have always set their sights outside of North America, even when it meant taking risks that backfired magnificently, nearly sending their team to relegations. Since the creation of the League of Legends Championship Series in North America, the region has been first and foremost Team SoloMid and Cloud9 in community discussion and fandom.

  • The Moment: First impressions of Team EnVyUs

    Week 1 of the 2017 North American League Championship Series did not disappoint, game quality aside. Commentary on Team SoloMid’s loss to Immortals, the jungler swap that gave Immortals Jake “Xmithie” Puchero and Counter Logic Gaming Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett, and the return of Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng has been plentiful. A team that has – and is likely to continue — to fly under the radar is Team EnVyUs.

  • 'Brazilian Apdo' no more: Diogo "Shini" Rogê

    He doesn’t believe it.

  • The Longzhu Gaming case studies of Crash and Cuzz

    Days before their first match of 2017 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer, Inven Global released an investigative report on Longzhu Gaming. Former Longzhu players — notably AD carry Kim “Emperor” Jin-hyun and top laner Koo “Expession” Bon-taek — and staff that included current coach Kang “Hirai” Dong-hoon came forward, expressing their disappointment and frustration with Longzhu for unpaid salaries and delayed signings of contracts.

  • The Moment: SK Telecom T1's new groove

    A mere hour and a half from the moment that both teams take to the Rift in Game 1, SKT is on the Flash Wolves’ Nexus for the third time, sweeping the series. Until this moment, the Flash Wolves had the upper hand against the world’s greatest League of Legends team, SK Telecom T1, all in best-of-ones. Flash Wolves previously had the advantage at 4-2.

  • G2 Mithy: 'We finally shot down this whole international meme for G2'

    In a surprising upset based on their group stage performances, G2 Esports bested Team WE 3-1 in the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational semifinals. After the series, Yahoo Esports caught up again with G2 support Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodríguez to talk about G2’s win and their upcoming finals match against SK Telecom T1. Now it’s not because we made it to the semifinals but because we finally shot down this whole international meme for G2.

  • SKT Wolf: 'If there is still any person who doubts me as the best support then they don’t know how to play the game'

    Taiwan’s Flash Wolves once had a winning record against Korean powerhouse SK Telecom T1. After one best-of-five series at the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational, that record is now in SKT’s favor. After SKT’s 3-0 sweep, Yahoo Esports caught up with SKT support Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan to talk about the series, their upcoming opponent, and whether he’ll now be recognized as the best support in the world.

  • If you fear them, you cannot beat them: Vietnam's GIGABYTE Marines

    The rest of TSM arrive at the dragon pit as Svenskeren draws the dragon out into the river, away from the vision of their adversaries, the GIGABYTE Marines. Ten seconds later, the Marines’ jungler Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh smites the dragon away from Svenskeren. An unlikely representative according to pre-tournament rankings, the Vietnamese team have already become synonymous with aggression during the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational Play-In.

  • G2 Mithy: 'We did earn our way here...it just feels like we could have done so much more'

    G2 support Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodríguez walks into our interview room just as the Jeunesse Arena crowd roars in the waning moments of the final day of group stages at the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational.

  • Team WE Mystic: 'SKT are also merely human beings. They also make mistakes.'

    Prior to the final slate of group stage matches, Team WE jungler Xiang “Condi” Renjie issues a challenge. When the dust settles after Day 5 of the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational group stage, Team WE emerge 2-0, delivering on Condi’s challenge.

  • Flash Wolves MMD on regaining his confidence: 'I’d really like to thank the top laner from G2.'

    Once thought of as the second-place team in pre-MSI 2017 power rankings, Taiwan’s Flash Wolves were the final team to qualify for the bracket stage of the tournament after playing a tiebreaker match against Team SoloMid. Why do you think that was?

  • SKT Faker: 'Against [Flash Wolves] it seems like we make more mistakes than other games'

    SK Telecom T1’s undefeated run at the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational ended on Day 4 of the group stages when Taiwan’s Flash Wolves handed them their first loss of the tournament. SKT bounced back in their second game, beating Team SoloMid handily. Having already qualified for the knockout stage on Day 3, SKT are still indubitably the strongest team at the event and easy favorites to take the tournament.

  • Team WE 957: 'I’d give my Kled an 80 out of 100'

    China’s Team WE became the second team to qualify for the knockout stage on Day 4 of the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational with their first 2-0 day at the event. After their match against Flash Wolves, Yahoo Esports caught up with Team WE top laner Ke “957” Changyu to ask about who else he thinks will qualify for the bracket stage and whether he’s the best Kled player in the world. Fixing your mistakes is something that your teammates have spoken of as well, saying that you were still working on your team cohesion and trust.

  • FW SwordArt: 'Against SKT, we’re always playing with a lack of pressure'

    Taiwan’s Flash Wolves are one of four squads vying for one of the two remaining spots in the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational knockout stage. Why do you think Flash Wolves have had more success against SKT than most other teams that have played them?

  • Team WE Ben: 'The key to that is we have to trust each other more'

    Following their hard-fought victory over Team SoloMid, Team WE now have the slight advantage of a 3-3 record, tied for second place with G2 Esports, but behind the undefeated SK Telecom T1 at the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational. After the win, Yahoo Esports sat down with Team WE support Nam “Ben” Dong-hyun to talk about Team WE’s coordination and his synergy with bot lane partner Jin “Mystic” Seong-jun.

  • G2 Perkz: 'I think we take the best of ones kind of wrongly. We prepare for the teams themselves instead of focusing on our own strategies.'

    Day 3 of the Mid-Season Invitational saw the European representative G2 Esports go 1-1. After a close loss to Team SoloMid and a near-perfect game against Flash Wolves, Yahoo Esports caught up with G2 mid laner Luka “PerkZ” Perković to talk about G2’s highs, lows, and where the team goes from here. How did you recover so quickly to have such a dominant Game 2 against Flash Wolves?

  • SKT Wolf on how he stacks up against other Korean supports: 'I'm a 10/10 in every quality'

    It’s only the third day of the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational and SK Telecom T1 have already been crowned champions in nearly everyone’s mind. Players, support staff, casters, and analysts are all expecting SKT to take the event easily. “If we keep playing at this level, and also fix some of our mistakes that we have made, it won’t be that difficult to achieve no losses this championship,” SKT support Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan tells me after their victory over GIGABYTE Marines.

  • FW Betty: 'We have to play the meta or it’s going to be a big disadvantage to us'

    After a much-improved Day 2 of the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational, the Flash Wolves floundered again on Day 3, picking up two more losses, ending the day with a total event record of 2-4. Yahoo Esports caught up with Flash Wolves AD carry Lu “Betty” Yuhung to talk about their recent performance and new, late-game focused playstyle. How are you and the rest of the Flash Wolves handling it?

  • Xmithie to Immortals, Dardoch to CLG in NA LCS jungler swap

    While the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational continues, League of Legends roster moves are well underway in the North American League Championship Series offseason. Counter Logic Gaming have announced Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett as their new starting jungler for the 2017 Summer Split. Dardoch came into the LCS in 2016 with Team Liquid, and was the starting jungler for Immortals this past spring.