A Visit to StarHorn: Conversations with an International Chinese Team

Interview conducted and written by Ryan Luwei

A strong Korean boom hit the Chinese scene recently. After World Elite's announcement about their acquisition of Korean coach Hiro, StarHorn officially revealed ex-KTB super star jungler INSEC, support player Zero, and coach vicaL's acquisition. Korean gamers will show up in the LoL Pro League for the first time.

Fans are curious about the difference in the team after this three Koreans joined StarHorn. I decided to pay a visit to their gaming house to do an interview and check out what is going on there.

Uno: The Story behind the Acquisition

StarHorn did not perform well in the spring split, so we were considering hiring a Korean coach to make a difference. We thought that, as long as we could improve our conditions and make some special strategies, we could go to Korea for the Season Four World Championship. Then we got in contact with vicaL, the ex-KT coach.

On the recommendation of vicaL, we had conversations with Insec, who was asked to join a few Chinese teams at that time. Finally, Insec chose StarHorn because he believed that we could build a real Korean system under coach vicaL. That was also the reason why Zero joined us.

These three Koreans are really changing StarHorn so far. I can feel that my team is going to be more professional. We rescheduled the routine training, and everyone in my team now is following it strictly with the example of what the Koreans do.

In addition, our diet plan is more reasonable. Because we want to let our players adapt to the LPL gaming time which is 16:00 to 21:00, we eat at specific times: 10:00, 15:00, and 21:00.

Furthermore, we have an international coaching team. Chris is our Chinese coach. He can communicate with vicaL using simple words by now. However, they need to speak more in-depth about the team and strategies, so we will hire a Chinese teacher to teach the language to Insec, Zero, and vicaL.

In the end, I hope StarHorn can show more power and become more competitive in the LPL summer split after our pre-season training, which is the period when our new members adapt to each other.

InSec: I Can Sacrifice Myself for the Win

Did you get used to life in china so far? How about the Chinese food?

I am pretty OK with the daily life now as well as playing on the Chinese server. But for the food, honestly, it's too oily and there is too much spice in it.

What are your thoughts on your new teammates? Any interesting things you would like to share with us?

My teammates are very good. I hope we can get more familiar with each other, especially the in-game style so that we can achieve more in the LPL summer split.

The interesting thing I would like to share is that when I go back to the Korean server now, I will say "Ni hao" (Hello in Chinese) to my ex-teammates and friends.

How is it going for the team now? Which position do you play?

I am sure that I will be the jungler. StarHorn is pretty good so far, but I think I have to work harder to adapt to my Chinese teammates and Chinese-style strategies. Actually, I can sacrifice my KDA as long as my team can win.

You already play on the Chinese server. What is the difference between Chinese and Korean challenger/diamond solo queue?

I play for the win on the Korean server. However, on the Chinese server, it will be more entertaining. But no matter the server, one thing is for sure: I always have different opinions with my solo queue teammates. Because I think they are too selfish. They don't want to play as a team.

How much do you know about the Chinese pro junglers?

I know Clearlove because I played against him a few times during the international tournament. He is very strong and I am looking forward to meeting him again in the LPL summer split.

If StarHorn has a good performance in S4, will you consider staying in China?

Our goal is to take ourselves to S4 World Final, and we have a long way to go. I will consider it after my team achieves this goal.

Uzi's thoughts on Insec

InSec and Clearlove are both carry junglers. StarHorn has another carry position after he joined us. That is pretty good for us. Besides, he farms so well in every single game, and he likes to select champions that can carry in the late game. So we are not afraid of late-game team fights any more.

The Bottom Lane: Play Aggressively and Pay Attention to Detail

Zero

Which position is best for you? Jungler, mid laner, or support?

I used to play mid and be a jungler for a very short time. And then I became a support player, which is the best for me. But if I just play for fun, I like playing mid.

How is the synergy between you and UZI?

We cooperate with each other pretty well. There is empathy between us. After playing with him, I know clearly what the Chinese NO.1 ADC likes.

What is your style of playing support?

I play pretty aggressively after knowing every in-game detail.

You played as a sub in KTB, but now you are the starter. Do you think you can adapt to that quickly?

I played sub for KTB because Mafa and Score are better partners. It is not because I am weaker than Mafa. So it is no problem if I become a starter.

Uzi

What are your thoughts on Zero? What is the difference between your Chinese Support and Korean Support? Who will lead the bot-lane fight?

Our Korean support has better mechanics, and his skill-shots are more accurate. He controls the details in laning phase so well. He will tell me the cooldown of enemy summoner spells.

About the bot-lane leadership, we just play with each other. As long as there is a chance, either one of us can make the signal. The signal system helps us to communicate with each other a lot since we speak different languages.

Coach Team: To Make StarHorn More Professional and Unpredictable

Chris

What did you learn from vicaL?

Actually, I don’t think there are any differences between Chinese and Korean strategies. Both of us can plan strategies for the team so well. What impresses me the most is that Koreans do have discipline and obey the team rule so strictly.

How do you cooperate with each other?

We discuss strategies for the team together. Basically, I am mainly responsible for analyzing the Chinese pro teams and their ban-pick strategies while vicaL brings the Korean style to our team.

vicaL

What is the biggest problem you found when you arrived?

Communication problems always come first since we speak different languages. Besides, our top-laner and mid-laner are very strong but they cannot adapt to the lane-swap strategy. And I think StarHorn should learn how to play as a real team more.

How will you improve the team in strategy and team management?

First of all, the format is so different between LPL and OGN. Based on the LPL format, I will create a new training system for my team.

Our Chinese coach Chris will help us analyze the Chinese teams. We also create strategies for the team together although we have different opinions sometimes. We will let our players try all of the strategies we create to find out the most suitable one. In addition, two coaches makes StarHorn more unpredictable than ever. I think that is pretty cool.

Can you tell us your coaching style?

Compared to creating strategy, I focus more on communication with my players. If a player makes a mistake, I will correct it in a better way without hurting him.

In addition, I am also good at making the five members play as a team since different players have different styles.

The focus for StarHorn Royal Club is on playing as a team and working out communication. You can watch them in their first LPL matches this weekend against LGD Gaming on June 15th at 1:00 PDT.