Interview with Jun from Murloc Geniuses: "No matter how far behind we are, we never go down without a fight"

This weekend's NA Regionals ended up with a lot of surprises, new super teams getting knocked out in groups, a shift in meta, and a non-sponsored team coming out victorious. With good teamplay, solid drafting, and the ability to turn games around at the critical moments, Murloc Geniuses took out several top teams and secured their spot at Blizzcon. After the players got home from Burbank, we got a chance to ask Murloc Geniuses' support Jun "Jun" Jang a few questions about the tournament and the changing meta.

Murloc Geniuses was the big surprise in this weekend's NA Regionals, there wasn't many who thought you would make it out of the group, but you made it all the way to the Grand final and won the whole tournament. How do you feel right now?

Jun: Honestly I didn't know what i was feeling when we finished the last map in the Grand Final. Part of it is due to the fact that it was my first LAN, and another part is that I was too focused on the game itself. I didn't realize until later, when people told me winning this tournament meant more than just winning "a" tournament.

 

It was your first LAN event ever, and pro players from all over the world already call you the best support in NA, it must be very overwhelming?

Jun: Yes, for sure. I really appreciate all the positive things I've been hearing and it means so much to me. It only makes me try even harder rather than giving me an ego.

 

Do you prefer to play online tournaments from home, like the qualifiers? Or do you thrive in the LAN environment in front of an audience?

Jun: 100% LAN, I've been playing on a laptop that is about 5-6 years old with a 13in. screen, and GPU that never allows me to have more than 20-30 fps at Max, and the people at LAN are amazing.

 

Lets talk about drafting and gameplay, you seem to prioritize Uther a lot, even picking him in first rotation in the draft. Why is Uther so important for the Murloc Geniuses draft?

Jun: I think it has to do with the meta in NA more than our team's value on the hero. A lot of teams pick heroes like kerrigan, Greymane, or stun/burst comps which Uther fits very well with and against.

 

In the other regions we see a lot of Rehgar and Kharazim as the preferred supports, but it seems that NA prefers Uther and even Brightwing over these heroes, why do you think that is?

Jun: I think it's mostly due to the NA meta and playstyle. I personally value Rehgar pretty high, and Kharazim is my favorite support. (maybe not after Auriel)

We see the rise of Tyrael these days, do you think that this lift a bit of the pressure from the shoulders of support players as he almost count as an extra support?

Jun: Yea, it does a bit, I always felt a tank and support are pretty close as their ultimate goal is to keep the team alive, which is why I see a lot of players who are good at support also being pretty good at tank and vice versa.

 

In game 4 in the Grand final against GFE your team is down 1-2 in games, and 15 minutes into this Towers of Doom game you are down 12-32 on core health. How do you keep your feelings in check and carry out such a comeback when you know that it only takes 3 alters for the enemy team to send you out of the tournament?

Jun: Oh man that game... Well I think one of the strongest traits of our team is that we do not tilt easy. No matter how far behind we are, we never go down without a fight, and from our draft we knew we had pretty good late game, so as long as we kept it together we would have a chance to bring it back.

 

We heard CauthonLuck describe briefly how the team came together, that it was a group of friends that just wanted to play. Where do you fit in this story? How did you end up on Murloc Geniuses?

Jun: I actually didn't have any personal connection with the rest of the team. I was on various amateur teams before, and Artemis (the current manager) was managing the team where I played right before Murloc Geniuses But we didn't do well, so while I was just wondering around looking for options, she asked me if I wanted to try out on a new team and I said sure, and now here I am. I actually asked Crescendo (current Denial) to give me a try out, but no one knew me at the time.

 

And the last question before we end the interview, do you think Murloc Geniuses can handle the teams from the other regions at Blizzcon?

Jun: Honestly I'm not confident enough yet to say that we will do well vs. Top teams from EU and KR. Everyone from the team know that we have a long way to go for Blizzcon and really wants to improve. What I can say is that we will try to the best of our abilities, so that whatever the result may be, there won't be regret.

 

Thanks for the interview, any shoutouts for your fans and sponsors?

Jun: Thank you for the opportunity, I really want to thank my team for giving me the chance to play at a LAN when no other team wanted to try me out because I wasn't well known in the scene. Thanks to Fury, Cattlepillar, CauthonLuck, Psalm and Artemis, you guys are awesome. I don't know if I have a lot of fans, but I appreciate every single one of you guys who were supporting me and said good things about me, it's really more than I deserve. We don't have a sponsor at the moment, but we are looking for an org.