“CLG will always have a dear place in my heart:” Contractz on NRG and the rough start of the summer

A quick chat with NRG Contractz after their loss against Immortals during the opening week of the LCS Summer Split.

Not the return to LCS NRG that was envisioned during LCS Week 1 where the Enterprise lost to Evil Geniuses in their opening game in Perfect Game, a game where the losing side takes no kills and targets, then falls against the Immortals after finding themselves in a 10k gold bullet. carat. After the Immortals game, we had the chance to catch up with NRG jungler, Juan “Contractz” Garcia to talk about the offseason and the start of the summer.

NRG had a cold start in the LCS Summer Split

It’s been a bit of a rough start to the summer for you so far, how are you?

“The first two games were definitely tough for us. I mean the first game we got it perfect, and the second game we had a 10k lead and we couldn’t close it. So definitely not the season any of us want or expect, but you just have to take those losses as And do what you can to come back strong for the next games. I think we’re all very disappointed, but we understand it’s been a long season. So we’re just trying to do what it takes.”

About Immortals Your team has been pretty good in the past when it comes to locking up matches. Why do you think you had trouble doing that today?

“I think we didn’t have clean ideas, we weren’t patient enough about the big goals and we didn’t use our wave states as well as we could. We gave them a lot of good windows to fight favorable battles or we didn’t play those battles mechanically clean. Only certain, and they shouldn’t be allowed to take 5v5 when we have three inhibitors. Just things we have to improve before our next game.”

tactical?!? #LCS pic.twitter.com/60GLThRp7d

– LCS (@LCSOfficial) June 16, 2023

Was the connection part of it since you have a brand new bot lane after so long playing with Luger and Poome? How has it been modified so far?

“I think the FBI and IgNar bring a lot to the team in terms of communication and a different style of bot lane play. We’re still getting used to each other, we all have different ideas. We’re all open minded so it’s just a matter of learning each other’s habits and incorporating them into the game. I think That’s why we’re struggling a little bit now, but I’m confident that with time we’ll still be able to connect and get on the same page.”

A fresh start under a different organisation

Of course, the bot lane wasn’t the only change for you this year, and it probably wasn’t the biggest change. We know that the LCS part of the organization is relatively the same after moving from CLG to NRG, but what kind of impact has the change had on the team?

“CLG will always hold a very dear place in my heart going back to the LCS I had and all the success we had. But the transition to NRG has been so easy. Everyone is so easy to work together, so outgoing, so hungry to win. It shows in their competitive nature and their teams.” “The other one, too. We definitely feel like we’re in a winner-takes-first organization. We obviously didn’t have the strongest start, but hopefully we can defend that and do our best. I’m grateful to both CLG and NRG for giving me a chance.”

Speaking of success, this CLG primary has had a really good trajectory in the LCS, starting at the bottom and rising up the standings in every division. But the qualifying rounds were rather short. What is the team’s goal for the summer?

“Yeah, the goal is definitely to raise the level of playoff performance. I think one of the reasons we made roster changes in the first place was to try to go further than we went before. And that includes myself as well. I need to live up to certain expectations and standards that suit me and be the best player I can be.” I want it. I think the goal is always to do better in the qualifiers, go to the finals, go to the World Championships. I’m just really hungry for the worlds this year.”

When it comes to individual goals, I know the recent split was somewhat disappointing when no CLG player was selected to the All-Pro teams. Is that something you’re considering, individual awards?

“I always try to be the best jungler that I can be. It doesn’t matter much what other people say about me. But I’m hungry, I play aggressively, I play my own style. I just try to be the best I can be in that specific way.”

meta case

Speaking of your gameplay, you were on a Sejuani mission today which we know isn’t your favourite. How do you see transforming the forest definition moving forward with item changes?

The jungle meta is still very old, not gonna lie. I’ve got Vi, Wukong, Sejuani and Maokai. They’re all pretty much the same but they’ve spiced it up a bit with Kha’Zix, the new items help him a lot. We’ve seen some Sion and Viego too lately. The jungle definitely seems to be a lot more diverse compared to the last split, which is nice to see. Sometimes you just have to take one for the team and take out a Sejuani, but overall I think the jungle definition is decent for the most part. But I really think they have to do something with Vi and Wukong, they have to get these heroes out of here.”

Do you think Vi is still the best jungler after 13.12 if Zeri is out of meta?

“I hope it isn’t, but it probably will be.”

Week 2 of the LCS Summer Split begins at 2PM PT on Wednesday, June 21st. NRG will face Team Liquid, TSM and the Golden Guardians on their way back up the standings. Fans can watch Contractz and NRG on the official LoL Esports website or LCS twitch And Youtube channels.

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