Cover-Credits:
Worlds 2019 was a memorable championship for all League of Legends fans as FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) crushed G2 Esports in a 3-0 final. It was also the second consecutive year that the Chinese region of League of Legends Pro League (LPL) showed its dominance. Though many people hoped and believed that the final best-of-five series of that year would be too close to call, FPX proved that it was too much for G2 to handle. In a recent interview, mid-lane superstar and former FPX player Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang revealed his jam-packed schedule with FPX, confirming how hard Korean and Chinese pros work.
Worlds winning team’s schedule revealed
Doinb gave insights into FPX’s tight schedule leading up to Worlds in 2019, which the team eventually won convincingly. Doinb revealed that all the players including himself played League of Legends for more than 14 hours a day and slept for five-and-a-half hours at night.
According to LPL Fanclub on Twitter, the following was Doinb and FPX’s everyday schedule:
10:30 pm -3:30 am: Ranked
3:30 am - 9:00 am: Sleep
9:30 am - 1:00 pm: Ranked
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Lunch
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Scrims
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Dinner
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Scrims
He also reportedly visited the hospital for a full body checkup every year.
One of the biggest talking points in the League of Legends community is the work ethic of the western and eastern players. Often, the success that the eastern teams face on the international stage is directly attributed to their hard work and this example of FPX’s tight schedule is representative of it.
Doinb talks about his positive mentality as a team leader
During the interview, Doinb was asked about how he manages to stay positive even during difficult times when his team faces a tough loss. The interview posed the question of whether he was born with this attitude or if a particular incident molded him that way. Replying to this, Doinb said, “Firstly, as a captain, I can’t be emotional after failure. My teammates would be affected by my emotion. I need to think about my teammates first.”
Doinb noted that if he showcased his emotions his teammates would get the impression that their captain lost his hope. “So, I can’t be emotional. When did I know it? Between Season 6 and Season 7. I started to know no matter what happens, I can’t give up. I need to stay calm. Also, my optimism comes from that. If we lost, we still have the chance. It’s not like we are done for the rest of our life,” opined Doinb.
Recently, fans compared T1’s mid-laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok’s reaction to losing Worlds in 2017 and 2022. While he broke down then, he looked around to check on his teammates before getting emotional after losing to DRX in the 2022 Worlds final, showing his maturity as a leader.
