UOL Argonavt on Worlds 2021: “I feel pressure from my own expectations, so I’m striving to fulfill them.”
Last Updated on: 6th October 2021, 02:51 am
Whereas Unicorns of Love returned to Worlds for the third consecutive time as the CIS representative, for one of their players, specifically Andrey “Argonavt” Yakovlev, they reached the grandest stage in League of Legends for the first time in their career.
It’s the culmination of a process that began more than a year ago when the 20-year-old Ukrainian ADC was a member of Dragon Army, a resident mid-table team. in the LCL
Prior to the start of the 2021 LCL summer split, Argonavt turned many heads–including himself–by joining the reigning champions after they benched incumbent starter Stanislav “Lodik” Kornelyuk.
All of a sudden, he was among the ranks of a CIS dynasty that accomplished everything at home and was yearning for international success.
But should UoL want to realize their goal over the might of other top-tier teams in Worlds 2021, they need to resolve their issues which emerged after losing their opening two games of the Play-In stage to Detonation FocusMe and Galatasaray Esports.
As a result, they are staring at elimination with games against Beyond Gaming and Cloud9 left to be played.
Following the 0-2 day, Argonavt talked with The Click for an exclusive interview about what went wrong against UoL’s opponents, what he could’ve done better in those games, his career thus far, and participating in Worlds for the first time in his career.
UoL Argonavt’s mental struggles during Play-Ins
I understand that it was tough to lose your first two games in the Play-In stage, but I’d like to know your initial reaction after playing against DFM and GS.
Argonavt: If you skip all the thoughts in which I think I’m bad, the first fault was that we thought BYG and C9 were stronger than DFM and GS, so it’ll be very hard to make up for our [two losses].
We need to play tomorrow against BYG and the day after against C9 and we need at least one win to fight for 3-4th place and play against either HLE or LNG from Group A. It sounds like a miracle run or something like that.
They’re hard teams for sure. Of course, there’s the frustration from losing because I had no chance to play because of anxiety and fear on stage.
You mentioned the issues that the team encountered within those two games. Was there anything you felt you could’ve done better in order to turn the momentum against your opponents?
Argonavt: Start playing because I didn’t even start playing. I didn’t play those two games, I was just there as a person on stage and not as a player.
Probably, if you interview Yutapon or Alive, they would say ‘I don’t know, this guy wasn’t playing, so it was quite easy,’ so for me, I think it was the handling of pressure. I don’t know if I could handle it for tomorrow but I will try my best.
As a team, it’s hard to say because the first step is the mental aspect. If you can’t take the first step, you can’t move to the next one. That’s my fault [for not managing it].
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Do those mental problems go in line with the fact that you’re debuting in Worlds this year?
Argonavt: I think so but I can’t say for sure. I’m always feeling anxious before a competitive game, but this is good anxiety though. It makes me feel like I’m playing a different game, not just like a solo-queue or scrim. Usually, I can get over [my anxiety] and play like it’s a normal game, but today I couldn’t, so it is what it is.
From the LCL mid-table to UoL Argonavt Worlds 2021
Taking a backstep, you arrived at UoL before the start of the LCL summer split. To go from your former team in Dragon Army to this team, which is a four-time reigning LCL champion, what has the transition been like for you?
Argonavt: I didn’t even think it was possible before I was subbed in. I wasn’t even hoping to be in the Worlds stage, but I won’t be glad about just the result such as me saying ‘I’m here at Worlds, this is enough.’
Even if we lose against a much better team, and everyone knows that this is a much better team, I’ll still be frustrated because no one enjoys losing, right? It would be crazy to enjoy losing, so it’s a huge step forward from Dragon Army to the Worlds stage, but it’s not enough and I probably won’t be satisfied ever.
Besides moving to a new team, you had to work with a quartet of veterans because they’ve been together for multiple years. Has it been difficult trying to synchronize with the rest of the team?
Argonavt: I think the start was very difficult mentally speaking because I was a no-name guy entering the best team with the best players and I didn’t know much. I was the ADC from the 5th placed team who moved to the best team so I needed to learn a lot quickly. It was kind of hard just to be a part of the team, but at the end of the split, it became better, and now it’s much better.
In the bot lane, you are paired with SaNTas who’s a regular winner and a veteran just like the rest of the team. How has it been working with him specifically?
Argonavt: I enjoy working with all the guys, especially SaNTaS, because he works with me much more compared to everyone else. Because we play on the same lane, I’m trying to ask him about all kinds of new things and he patiently works me through it.
He’s like the grandfather and I’m the grandson. He slowly tells me what I need to do like ‘You need to do this,’ but sometimes, when I repeatedly make a mistake, he gets angry.
Even so, I’m fine with it because it should happen, right? If you teach a guy, who you think is good, some things and then he makes mistakes over and over again, and you don’t get frustrated, do you have the need to teach him? I’m just trying to get as much experience as I can from all of the guys.
Gaining experience is an interesting dynamic to consider with the team’s aspiration of progressing back to the group stage for Worlds 2021. You already talked about the pressure of being with a winning team, but do you also feel the pressure of being expected to contend for a spot in the group stage in a competition you’ve never been in before?
Argonavt: I think not. I don’t feel the pressure of outside expectations for me. I feel the pressure from my own expectations which are pretty high, so I’m striving to fulfill them.
Any final words to share for anyone you want to mention?
Argonavt: Despite our games, I really thank you for all of your sincere support. Thanks for having me, Pedro.
