Interview with Team Coast's Jungler, Impaler: "Early on, Fusion stopped scrimming with us because they thought we weren't good enough."

Matthew 'Impaler' Taylor is the jungler for Team Coast. Recently, Team Coast qualified for the North American LCS defeating teams such as Team Fusion Gaming and Team Final Five. We sat down with Impaler to discuss his recent performance and his move to North America.

Let’s talk about the teams you’ve been in. First, SHC although underachieving weren’t one of the last place teams in the EU LCS, you guys had a lot of room for improvement. What happened? Why did you leave the team?

Impaler: I didn't exactly leave. I got kicked after not making playoffs along with KaSing. We had disagreements in the team and like many before me I woke up one day with no spot. I understood the reasoning behind my removal and I wish MYM the best of luck in the future.

After you left SHC, you joined ‘Oritura Sum’ with a lot of high profile players such as Alex Ich, Kev1n and Creaton. What was that team like? Why was the team so short-lived, what happened?

Impaler: We initially played together to see if there was a decent chance of qualifying to LCS via the expansion tournament. After a short time it became pretty apparent that we probably wouldn't be good enough and there was an obvious lack of motivation from a few of the players.

You said that there was a lack of motivation among the players. What do you mean specifically?

Impaler: Alex was having visa problems and we weren't sure if he could even play. The Millenium brothers were disappointed after losing their spot so I wasn't sure how hungry they were for the LCS. Everyone except KaSing had played competitively for a lot longer than I had.

Let’s move on to your current place in Coast. What gave you the idea to transfer from the EU LCS to the NA LCS? Did Team Coast approach you or did you approach Team Coast?

Impaler: I got a lot of team offers but none that really jumped out to me other than Coast. Jesiz spoke to me about going together and I really had no intention of going to NA, especially not alone. I had a lot of respect for Sheep and heard his name a lot even from another region so I decided to just take the risk and go for it.

How was the move from the EU LCS to the NA LCS, I’d imagine the discussion between your parents and you. First it’s like “I have to go to the LCS every week to get paid for Professional League of Legends” but now it’s “I’m going to North America to play for a new team”. How was the move?

Impaler: I think my mum took it really hard on herself. When I first went to University which is about an hour away and I lived there that was already pretty taxing on her. I then moved to Germany and she made me promise to come and see me. Now I'm living 13 hours away. I can remember very clearly when she dropped me off at the train station to go to London. She cried in my arms. Mumpaler's the real mvp.

Were you one of the last players to join the team? Were you already familiar with the roster? Did you think that this roster would be amazing from the get go. Were you confident? Do you keep up with the NA LCS and know Dontmashme/Sheep already?

Impaler: Oh yeah I mentioned earlier that I had a lot of respect for Sheep and gained a lot for Mash after starting to play. They're both really awesome people and way more often than not tear things up in the bot lane.

When you found out that Jesiz was also moving to the NA LCS, were you thinking to yourself “atleast I’m not alone!” Did you and Jesiz move to the team at the same time or did one of you two decide to move to Coast because you saw the other player move. Also, what were your thoughts on the community’s criticism of Jesiz during the Season 4 World Championships? Did you feel like there was unfair hatred?

Impaler: Yeah, I only went because of Jesiz but I think he planned on going even if I chose not to go. Jesiz received a lot of criticism for his Worlds performance but they had a substitute jungler. The fact that he already has experience is great. I think if he broadens his champion pool he'll be even better. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have qualified without our experience. After we went 0-2 against Fusion, Jesiz was the most confident player. Way back in the original EU LCS matchup, SK beat the original SHC from 0-2 so he inspired me to come back for the clean 3-2 sweep.

Moving onto the Challenger games, when you first saw the bracket, were you confident? Were you afraid of any potential threats?

Impaler:We all knew that CRS A was the favourite coming in. I think I was worried about Hauntzer's carry top lane style and Keane's niche champions mid (who plays Hecarim anyway?). After Curse Academy, I thought it was between us and Team Fusion to take the second spot, I had no idea that the set would be so close though. Early on, Fusion stopped scrimming with us because they thought we weren't good enough- We paused like 1 or 2 scrims after getting behind early and that's all we really saw of them. So I guess they came in with a lot of confidence that they'd beat us.

 Your team is made up of experienced players. Every single one of your teammates (including you) have LCS experience. What was your team’s mindset? Were there any nervous moments?

Impaler: I think I was least nervous when we were 0-2 down. Being so close to losing actually gives you a lot of freedom. I told myself that I would give the rest of the series my best and try to just carry from the Jungle. Fusion blessed me by picking a double immobile carry composition and I just grinned thinking about Rengar. When it came down to it we all kept our cool apart from the occasional hypey moments from Cris and I.

 Let’s talk about your set against Final Five. Final Five had to be the biggest dark horse in the tournament. What were your initial impressions of them? Was your team confident?

Impaler: They looked like they were pretty good but they definitely lacked a lot of experience. ShorterACE kept telling me about how nervous he was but I honestly wanted them to do well to bring attention to their players. We were all pretty confident though- I think our experience made it a simple series.

 Final Five managed to win the first game. When I interviewed the Final Five player ShorterAce last week. He told me that he felt as if you guys let a lot of crucial picks slip. What happened the first game, what was working?

Impaler: AHAHA, oh dear god.. We actually thought we were blue side so we planned our picks and bans based off of that. We let Vayne slip through and ended up losing the first game. It's pretty funny looking back.

Now, let’s talk about your hyped up match against Fusion. What were your expectations of Fusion? They were eliminated by Curse Academy the same way you guys were so how was your team morale when you faced them?

Impaler: I was really happy that CRS A beat them because they looked really demoralised and we thought CRS A destroyed us. I guess it made us realise that we were very closely matched. Additionally, our morale wasn't damaged coming into the series. We saw them play more games and we analysed their picks and bans so our plans were all thought out.

They came off to a 2-0 head start. What was team morale like? How did your team adapt?

Impaler: We prioritised Maokai too highly. We saw Curse A first picking it a lot and we just tried to copy their style but it didn't work out. We dropped the Maokai prioritisation and went back to our own style of play to secure the next 3 wins.

After the really close 2 games that you won to get back, what was your team’s mindset when you guys were approaching the final game?

Impaler: I knew we could do it. Straight after the 3'rd game and our first win. I was sure that we could win. I can remember everyone being so pumped. Michael came into the room and we were all bouncing around saying like "Just one more, keep it cool guys." I think calming down was the hardest part to get ready for the final game.

Alright, that’s all. Thanks for the interview! Any shoutouts? Good luck in the upcoming LCS!

Impaler: Firstly I'd like to thank everyone who supported Coast and myself. I think we're going to have a tough split and honestly I don't know how well we'll do so please bare with us. I've got a lot of weight on my shoulders being an "EU" jungler and I'm sure I'll get a lot of flack from the community. I'll do my best to show that I do have a place in the NA LCS and really just thanks to everyone who stuck by me. I hope you all had a wonderful New Year and bring on 2015 NA LCS!