Andrew Kim: You have spent a long time in Korea: first in Jin Air, then Longzhu, and now Dignitas. What was the process like of going to a North American team?
Lee “Chaser” Sang-hyun: After I left Longzhu, I thought a lot about if I wanted to stay in Korea or try to go overseas. When I heard Dignitas will be getting the support of an NBA team, I thought that they will have a great environment as well as a support structure, so I think my decision came to me quickly.
AK: What made Dignitas so tempting?
LSH: The people who are going to Dignitas are people I like, and I also think the other three teammates from NA are great players as well.
AK: After a year in Longzhu you decided to move. Do you have any regrets or disappointments while in Longzhu?
LSH: I had a lot of disappointments. I want to use that as experience and knowhow in order to play well in Dignitas.
AK: You have gotten a lot of different evaluations as a jungler. You’ve been known as a carry-type jungler but you had some rough times in Longzhu as a team, with some saying that your mechanics were still intact. As you move to NA with opinions like that, did you keep those evaluations in mind?
LHS: The 2016 season meta was a carry-jungler meta. As a team, I couldn’t get acclimated, and I had a hard time getting used to the meta. Around November, the meta shifted to one that I can play well, so I was confident that I would be able to play well either in Korea or an another region. I will be looking forward to my own performance in the new season.
AK: How do you measure up compared to the rest of the NA junglers?
LSH: The catalyst of my decision to move was because I think I can bring my performance to it’s peak, and I am also confident that I can win against talented players like Reignover and TSM’s Svenskeren.
AK: Communication and learning English has been important to many imports players. How do you plan to learn English if you need to study?
LSH: I’m very bad at English. I want to communicate as much as I can with my teammates with my lacking English skills, even if it proves to be a source of stress. I also plan to stream to better learn the culture in America as well as the language.
AK: You’ll be coming over with a Korean player and two Korean coaching staff members. Did you have any prior experience or friendship with them?
LSH: I didn’t have a very friendly relationship with them, but I think there is a tendency of Koreans to get closer as they go overseas together. I’m not very concerned, since they are very tentative and I think I’ll get along fine with them.
AK: What are your goals for 2017?
LSH: Team Apex was in the mid to lower tier in the standings last season. I want to bring the team up to the at least to mid to upper tier of the standings, and in order to make that happen I will work very hard so I hope the fans look forward to that.