MidOne Talks About the Addition of No[o]ne to Team SMG

The International 12 (TI12)'s Southeast Asia (SEA) qualifier saw Team SMG perform spectacularly to achieve a berth at TI12. While the team had stepped up its performance in the region this year and entered the qualifier as one of the favorites, Volodymyr "No[o]ne" Minenko who had just joined the squad ahead of the event played a major role in the road to securing TI12’s spot. As part of the winner’s interview, team captain Yeik "MidOne" Nai Zheng talked about the inclusion of No[o]ne, mentioning that it was he who led the recruitment effort. At the same time, although the team won the qualifier, MidOne believes they still need to improve despite being lucky to have found No[o]ne during a time when it has been challenging to find “good players.”

MidOne says Team SMG is lucky to have found No[o]ne ahead of TI12’s SEA qualifier

A relieved MidOne joined the English casters for the post-game winner's interview, where he was asked about the new SMG roster and who was behind it.

“It’s mostly me. I am the one who looks for players and think about who to pick. Luckily, we got No[o]ne here. It was good. Our roster is kinda complete because it is really hard to find good players actually right now.”

This change in the midlane for SMG also led to Midone transitioning from the midlane to the safelane. In general, this was a surprising move since No[o]ne had never played in SEA before, having spent his entire career in Eastern Europe.

On the other hand, while SMG recorded a successful run, MidOne put the better performance down to his players' strong skillset. Communication and understanding are still areas where they need to grow as a team, according to him.

“I don’t think we are super gelled so far. I just think that - I would say that we are lucky we have skilled players. What I see in the teams with more skill is that everything is just easier. When it comes to team game, I think we are still not there yet. We still need to learn and talk to each other more, communicate, and understand each other better as a team.

I would say just - be yourself. Everyone being able to be themselves and being honest and talk to each other. I mean that’s how I view it, I don’t know, yeah.”

Since MidOne’s departure from Team Secret in late 2019, he has not been able to enjoy much success and as a result, hasn't played many LAN events. Now, as he prepares to attend the year's largest LAN, the player is simply looking forward to the event and is open to playing any team.

“I wanna play against everyone. It’s been two years that I didn’t get to play against anyone so I am really happy if I can play against any team honestly.”

SMG joins Talon as the second SEA team at TI12. TI12 will take place from 12th to 29th Oct 2023.