Interview from Maplestreet

So, this is my first interview blog post with the one and only Ainslie "Maplestreet" Wyllie. When I asked him if I could interview him it was kind of a joke because I didn't really think that he'd be interested. I'm really glad he agreed and that we had the chance to talk. He's really down to Earth, funny and smart. I was extremely nervous and outside of my comfort zone with a skype call but it ended up being candid and casual conversation. So, definitely no regrets for pushing past my comfort zone a bit!

It was great to get to just talk and have a normal conversation with Maplestreet who was one of the players I first really loved watching when I got into League. T8 was one of my favorite teams last season and Maplestreet was 50% the reason and Cali the other 50% and I really enjoyed watching the team because they always played as a team and that really was a compelling thing about them for me.

I'm not gonna write a whole bio thing because that's what wikipedia is for. So, the rest of this is the transcription of the interview I did as close to verbatim as possible. I hope you guys enjoy it and again I am so grateful to Maplestreet for taking the time to talk with me and make this possible. He's a great guy and someone I do hope I get to speak to more. I wish him all the success in his future endeavors because he certainly deserves it. 

This was a lengthy conversation (because we both had a tendancy for tangents) so it will be a long post.

Without further ado, here is the transcript:
[2/12/16, 10:05PM]

Maple(M): Hello

Kit (K): Hi, Hello. I'm Kit. Can you hear me?

M: Yeah. I can hear you.

K: Okay, Cool. Alright so...

M: You go by Kit. Is that your real name?

K: Uh... yeah... Well, you go by Maplestreet, is that your real name?

M: No, my real name's Maple, obviously. My last name is Street.

K: My real name is Catherine. And I hate it. So, I've gone by Kit for a really long time.

M: Yeah.

K: So, I'm a little bit nervous. I haven't done this before so... yeah. It's very nice to meet you.

M: Yeah. Nice to meet you. You're a regular on my stream.

K: Yeah. I almost didn't get to catch it because I actually have to work during the day. So.

M: Yeah, that's alright. I'll probably be streaming the next two days or something.

K: Cool. Don't stream during LCS though. Or I'll miss it.

M: Oh yeah, that's true.

K: Yeah, when you said Valentine's Day, I was like that's Sunday.

M: I forgot. Rip in pepperonis. I'll take all the viewers away from the LCS matches.

K: Totally. All 50 of them.

M: They're all viewbots man. I just got to get my own viewbots. Counterplay.

K: Totally. So, I wrote down some questions and I guess we can kinda see how it goes. My blog is really in it's beginning stages so it'll just be a casual blog about our conversation and stuff. So, nothing like... I have like a total of 400 views on 7 posts so.

M: 400.

K: Yeah. I've only been doing it like... Well, I did one in like November... and then I did one about Gosu in December and then I just blog every week about NA LCS.

M: Oh yeah? How are you liking NA LCS?

K: Well, my favorite team is Cloud 9, so I'm liking it pretty well lately.

M: Hai will never retire.

K: I know right?

M: Poor Hai man. He'll have a broken arm but they'll still need him to play.

K: It's hilarious because last season I... my league name is C9 Forever but I would play with a Gravity icon or a T8 icon part of the time, like depending on how troll I wanted to be to people. But it's mostly a gravity icon because I play with a lot of Bunny's subs. I would always get trolled for using a gravity icon with my username.

M: C9 Forever... Kind of.

K: And guess what... Bunny.

M: Restrictions apply.

K: Bunny ends up on... But no, I like teams that play as a team and aren't like one trick ponys. So that's why C9 and T8 were like kind of my favorite teams. So, yes, I'm kind of still new to the scene. Last season was the first full season that I watched like the whole season.

M: Oh, okay, that's cool.

K: So, I'm still kind of new. So, I guess we'll start simply. This is kind of a silly question. But what originally got you into video games and league of legends?

M: Video games started very early for me. Cause my parents were always buying consoles at garage sales and what not... yard sales or whatever they call them in America. So yeah. I had a NES and a Sega Genesis and a played the hell out of NES games. And, I guess, since the games on the NES were so difficult it forged me into an expert videogamer.

M: But yeah, my college, my two year program in college was ending and I got a laptop that could play league... by that time my brother Oddone was already a pro player and already on TSM and moved out and stuff. So, I was like okay, why not, I'll try out this game. I was like I'll just play for fun. And then I got addicted very, very quickly and then I couldn't stop playing.

K: You know, I might be the only one but theoddone will always be your brother... like everyone says oddone's brother and I'm like no that's Maple's brother...

M: Yeah, one of these days. I'll make a name for myself in the world.

K: I knew of you first... so I was like this guy looks like Maplestreet, what the fuck is this?

M: Oh god. What a weird coincidence.

K: Wait, he has the same last name. That's really weird.

M: That's such a common last name.

K: I also didn't have a videogame console until I was 24.

M: Wow

K: Yeah, I'm 27 now. My parents didn't let us have videogames and stuff so... I'm pretty new to gaming.

M: Well, was there any activities at all?

K: Well, I did play World of Warcraft because I did have a computer. So, World of Warcraft, Sims and Civilization

M: Nice, nice. You play a lot of Civ V?

K: I haven't lately but when you started playing it I was like dammit I have to get back into this.

M: Every few months I just say time to play game or two.

K: Yeah, I kind of miss the Civilization III though.

M: I never played it until 5, so, but there's a lot of complex mechanics and stuff at first.

K: They made it like really super complicated. It used to be much simpler than that. But I like the world building games Ceasar and Zeus.

M: Yeah, I had Ceasar III.

K: I always thought those were really fun.

M: Yeah. I like those a lot too.

K: So, next, what is your inspiration or drive to play competively.

M: Well, I kind of played for fun for a while... and then this amusing competition occurred. And TSM was playing... It was the MLG summer arena and was it 2012? I believe it might have been 2012 or 2013... it's one of the two. But TSM got absolutely destroyed by a Korean team named MIG Blaze... and I was like damn, the Koreans are really good at this game and they just beat TSM and I'm a TSM fan. I must avenge their honor.

M: So, yeah, even though I was like a gold player at the time... I was just like, I must avenge my brethren. I must defeat the Koreans who are the best players in the entire world, who would beat me like 100 out of 100 times at the time. And like, for some reason, that gave me a lot of drive initially. I don't know, competition is just so fun. And seeing like all the innovative strategies that the other teams brought in really made me interested in going competitive.

K: Has that drive changed over time or is it still the innovation that drives you to be interested in playing competitively?

M: Yeah, I've definitely changed as a person along with playing the game and what not. Because I used to be very, very shy and a loner and stuff. Being thrown into the world of esports you get a very, very large audience who can hate on you or can love you... So, my motivations kind of change. I'm maybe not as competitive as I was when I was younger. It's been three years since then, so I don't have like the exact same goals as just beating Koreans... I just like... I don't know. I was super competitive but that kind of made me a mean person in a way.

M: Now, I'm just like, I kind of want to have fun because I've been through a bunch of different teams and stuff... like, it's been not fun sometimes. And other times, it feels like the world is rigged against you when bad shit happens. So, I'm just trying to improve myself as a person, work on my own personal development and along the way I'll just take league of legends with it. It's still pretty fun for me to play.

K: It's definitely fun to watch you play. I always enjoy it. You're definitely one of my favorite streamers and given when I got into League of Legends, Team 8 wasn't that popular but it's one of the teams that hooked me into League of Legends. Watching you guys play...

M: We were so good in Spring.

K: Yeah

M: I got benched.

K: That was really... that was actually... I didn't particularly like much in summer because you were my favorite player and Calitrolz was my other favorite so... I was kind of like... you guys really, really made me sad. But, he seems to be doing really well so that makes me happy. Cause I try to keep up a little bit but...

K: So, of course, if I ask any questions you don't feel comfortable with you definitely don't have to answer them. Cause I have some weird questions...Not like... I just don't know where you don't want to talk about stuff. The next one is, what do you feel has been the hardest challenge since you started the whole thing?

M: Well, a continuing challenge I have, I guess, is my own personal psyche and what not. I am probably one of the least consistent pro players in the history of the game. Like, I have absolutely dumpstered everyone in North America and I have been absolutely dumpstered by everyone in America.

K: Well, you're in league with Soaz but that's Europe.

M: I don't know. It's kind of weird, like, my life is an emotional rollercoaster. It's been somewhat depressed.

K: That seems to be a common theme with gamers in general.

M: Yeah, escapism in video games. And then you turn into a toxic solo queue rager.

K: So, I'm a really socially anxious person. Doing this makes me a little nervous but I thought it would be a better experience than written.

M: Yeah, I know that feeling. I was so bad in school and stuff. School presentations were the worst.

K: I was actually okay in school... I just didn't have any friends. My parents were Pentacostal. I don't know if you guys have Pentacostal people... but basically it was a really strict religion, could only wear skirts, no make up, couldn't cut my hair.

M: Only wear skirts, shit. Sign me up for that shit.

K: No, like long skirts like to your ankle.

M: Oh shit, sign me up still.

K: No.

M: I want an excuse to wear a skirt for once.

K: Well, boys couldn't wear skirts.

M: Dammit, okay.

K: You would look really good,  though.

M: Oh yeah, shit. You gotta get the photoshop experts on it. MS Paint expert.

K: Or, you could just wait for Halloween and just dress up...

M: Yeah, just pretend to be dressed up for Halloween.

K: And really you're just exploring your darker side.

M: Yeah, how will I know if I like it if I don't try it.

K: Exactly, but yeah, it was realy weird... I didn't make any friends.

M: Yeah, don't worry. I was in the same boat and look where I am. I'm so successful, kappa.

K: You know, I think success has a lot of different faces.

M: Oh yeah. As long as you're happy. It's good.

K: I think you've accomplished a lot. I would say you're successful. Then, in your time in the competitive scene, what has been your lowest low?

M: My lowest low, huh...

K: Yeah, I know you've had a lot of highs and lows.

M: I've had a lot of lows. I've been super depressed at certain points like... Velocity was my first major team. And, at the time, no one liked us because we defeated and relegated a more popular team, MRN. And we started like performing poorly or I guess... our record didn't reflect us being a very good team. Like, so many people on reddit would just post so much hate against us. And that made me so depressed that like thousands of people were judging me as like this terrible human being. They're like, you suck at league, you suck at life. I wish you didn't exist. I'm like wow that's harsh.

K: People are awful.

M: I don't know. The average age of the people in league is actually much lower than 23 or 27. So, I'm so old. Even compared to pro players I'm like... I'm in like the top 10%. I'm pretty old.

K: On the flipside, what has been your highest high?

M: There's like... there's been moments where I've been playing the game where... it's like super, super intense. Like, there's extremely difficult plays that need to be made and I'll make them and my heart will be racing really, really fast. And like... I'll sense or hear it or I'll just feel that my heart is racing so hard... and it's louder than anything going on. But I'm like... when I can just play through that and still succeed... it's like the greatest feeling in the world. It's like I'm overcoming this extreme emotion and still performing at the highest level...

M: So, there's been a few of those on Team 8 and I've had a few of them on Renegades and a few of them on Velocity... like for some reason, at some points, I get tired of losing or like...yeah...just something inside me gets so intense and it's just so awesome... and it's something I can be proud of. I've spent most of my life not appreciating anything I do and what not... but those moments, I'm just like, Dang I did well there.

K: So, a question you probably get asked all the time... what is your favorite and least favorite champions?

M: Those are always like difficult questions for me to answer for some reason. Because, I'm way too like calculating and cold right now. I used to be so pure like... I love Corki in his urfrider skin. It's so cute. But now I'm like... I like Corki but he got nerfed a bit and I shouldn't have preferences for champions since the meta keeps changing and with every patch note... I should have unclouded judgement on the champion and due to Corki being nerfed he's not actually my favorite.

K: So, if in a hypothetical world there was a Maplestreet patch where you could have like anything you wanted on any champions, what would that be?

M: Well, let's just hope Varus somehow gets a buff for AD carry. I actually like playing Varus a lot. That was actually one of my first mains. Varus is so hot dude. The half naked man, he's throwing tentacles out at everyone. It's so funny. I love Varus.

K: I love him too. That was actually the first AD carry that I got really good at...

M: Nice, nice.

K: Actually, it was like him and Twitch at the same time.

M: Oh, not bad.

K: I'm not very good at AD carry. I'm totally scrub.

M: Yeah. Don't worry. I'm pretty scrub myself. I can't hold a team at the moment. I'm boosted.

K: I'm so sad.

M: I'm so sad too. Least favorite champions... any champion that can gank me a bunch and in the meta game. Like, seriously, junglers are so annoying. Like, there's a Rek'sai reach around the turret gank which is total bullshit and impossible to deal with. I hate Rek'sai. I hate Evelynn.

K: Evelynn drives me nuts. I don't even know how I could answer those questions.

M: Quinn is annoying too. Every champion that has ever killed me in the history of the game. Screw them.

K: So, like, every champion ever.

M: Yes.

K: Except maybe like Galio. Cause no one plays Galio.

M: Yeah, something like that.

K: What do you think of season 6 so far?

M: Let's see... it started off with the huge mastery changes, essence reaver is broken forever... I actually don't mind season 6 that much. AD carries got reworked and people were saying that AD carries were broken but I felt like they were weaker than ever. Season 6, I feel like has been the season where the game is the most balanced and like the dedicated roles of each role is set in stone. Like you have to play as a team to win now and if you don't have a fairly well balanced team composition I feel like you're at a really big disadvantage.

M: So...season 6, I hate, cause I am like... I am a person that enjoys playing single player games and I enjoy...like... honing my personal skills in video games. So, like...when I'm being told I have to play as a team, I'm like crap. This is unfamiliar territory.

K: So, why are you playing a team game?

M: I don't know. I'm into deep at this point. There's no way I can change games after like spending the entirety of the past four years playing.

K: Be like... Mario Smash pro...

M: I don't know. Competivie mario and smash dude... They've been playing for like twenty years and shit. They've been playing fighting games since they were like two.

K: So, then, when I ask you what changes you most want to see... it's basically you want a game mode where you can play all by yourself?

M: No, I just want a mode where I can win my lane so hard without the jungler ganking me that I can 1 versus 5 the entire team. Sounds totally reasonable, right?

K: That's completely reasonable.

M: Yeah. I hit like level 6 and I've got a Karthus ult that one shots everyone in game.

K: Yeah, let's put a Karthus ult on an AD carry because that would be fun.

M: Yeah.

K: That would be so fun. What are your thoughts on NA LCS? Have you been watching it?

M: I've been watching a bit of it. TSM looks like the crappiest team of all time. It's so embarrassing how like...bad they are... And that's like a little bit of motivation to me. I've got toxic motivations. I'm just like god, they're so bad. I might as well do it myself. I need to get good. I can't trust on TSM or any of these teams to carry us at worlds.

K: Yeah, it was kind of hilarious because when I wrote my original... I wrote like what I thought of the teams and like how I thought they would do and like I originally... TSM has a lot of star power but I don't think they're going to mesh very well personality wise and no one is going to listen to Yellowstar.

M: Dang.

K: So, what happens, no one listens to Yellowstar and they look like a hot mess.

M: Who knows...

K: I don't know if that's it but that's what it looks like.

M: It's always hard to tell from the outside looking in. It just looks like everyone is bad.

K: Yeah, I'm not blaming anyone specifically but it looks like...and Doublelift's actually said there's a lot of trust issues it seems like... Communication so... Hot mess.

M: Okay, what other team is there... LA Renegades ... They benched me for Freeze and then they were like... we might as well improve our team in the off season... let's get rid of Maple. This will fix our team.

K: I still think that was like the worst move that I've ever seen in my life.

M: I'm still tilted to this day.

K: If RF still wasn't...actually he's been benched also...so I'm like what, why am I even cheering for you guys anymore?

M: RIP


K: It's just like slowly everything I liked about the team is just going away.

M: It's so sad about the whole thing. I don't know. I'm a very competitive person. So then... they went to boot camp in Korea... And I'm just like damn wish I could go to korea to play.

K: I think they would have done better if they'd kept you but that's just my opinion.

M: Well, the past is the past. I just need to step up, move on and prove them wrong.

K: You know what team I was most wrong about?

M: Which team?

K: Immortals.

M: Oh god.

K: I said, you know, they're all really good players but aside from Adrian like none of them have like a cool head. So they're either going to be super good or super bad and they're probably going to look sloppy. Because, I didn't account for Huni and Reignover picking up on Yellowstar's shotcalling from playing with him for so long. I just didn't factor that into my assessment of them. I always figured Turtle would be better off of TSM, after watching TSM Legends and things that were happening there.

M: Fucking TSM dude. Bjergsen and four wards.

K: Dude. Aren't you like in a TSM streamer's house right now?

M: Nah, it's not really sponsored by them. They pay the rent themselves, the two people oddone and dyrus.

K: Yeah, so I'm just kidding you anyway. So, yeah, I just mean I felt like Turtle would do better on another team. But I was like Adrian is the only person on this team that knows how to place a ward. That's like what my thought was... they're just going to lose so hardcore because they're going to go for it and not know how to just calm down. Because Huni's just always so aggressive and everything. And so, I was super wrong about them. But, C9 is going to beat them this weekend because I'm a delusional C9 fan.

M: Alright then.

K: I was actually hyper critical of C9 in my predictions.

M: Dang, you're critical of every team. What team did you think was going to be good?

K: I predicted that C9 would look good and CLG thought would be interesting. I was more leaning toward Huhi would look really good and Stixxay was underrated... and then Aphro and Darshan will be Aphro and Darshan and.... Xmithie...will be Xmithie....

M: What the hell does that mean? That was the weakest analysis I've ever heard. Aphro will be Aphro, Xmithie will be Xmithie. Darshan will be Darshan.

K: At the time, I wasn't very invested in CLG. I was curious about Huhi and I like Aphro and Darshan. So, when I say Aphromoo and Darshan will be themselves is that they're going to be really, really good at what they do. And Xmithie is...

M: Going to do Xmithie things.

K: Yeah, he's going to be that cinderhulk... miss ult... I'm actually not that much of a ...

M: The Sejuani ults..

K: Sometimes, I'm like why...I don't understand their decision to keep him but he also fits their style pretty well, so... yeah. I was just really interested in Hotshot's view on how to treat players and I think it's actually done them pretty well. But, there wasn't a lot of teams I had a lot of faith in because like... I actually thought the Renegades were going to do much better than they did... so far...

M: I thought they would be better from Korean boot camp but I honestly think they got worse. It doesn't even make sense. How does that happen? I would have gotten so much better in the fires of Korea. Shit. I would have been playing my ass off...shit.

K: I don't know what happen with that. It's depressing to watch. I figured NRG would be good but I didn't care much about them. I wrote a novel on C9 and then everything else is really short. Cause, I have a lot of opinions on C9 and wrote about all the players.

M: And Balls' recent game was quite interesting. The Fiora game against Renegades...I think it was.

K: Oh, the one where he did like 529 damage?

M: Yeah... I don't like Balls. If I did a fantasy team I wouldn't want Balls. I'd take RF Legendary over Balls man.

K: He had such low damage cause no one could ever fight him. Balls, actually isn't my favorite top laner. My favorite top laner is probably Darshan and I also like RF Legendary a lot and he's really nice so...

M: Yeah. Honestly, and I've been following the scene for a long time... Balls used to be a dominant top laner but now he's so far from it it really makes me wonder... if he's gonna be playing much longer.

K: I feel like he's on the upswing. His games lately have looked a lot better. I don't know. It might be towards the end for him. But he also seems really motivated to be better again, so...I guess we'll see what happen with them. Dyrus is... I didn't like Dyrus originally when I got into League but I didn't like TSM because... for me they were like a one trick pony team. Because it's like mid...pour everything into mid every single game and no other strategiess. So, I didn't really like that but then I liked Lustboy a lot. So...then Dyrus grew on me. I don't know how that happened.

M: He grew on you. He is pretty tall.

K: Then he made me cry when he cried at worlds and I was like I hate you so much. You're really easy to talk to.

M: Am I? I went on random tangents like what do you think of NA LCS? Well, Balls sucks. Yeah, I don't know. I thought Immortals would be really good. They're also backed by the best management staff support structure. And TSM always disappoints. I feel like they're probably just... they just have... it's such a cop out to blame like coaching and what not but they've consistently had star players each split and then they just fail. They never adapt to international play well. It's always really crappy, in my opinion.

K: At least now, there's a little bit more variety in how they play...sort of...kind of...not realy.

M: Yeah. They win and sometimes they lose. And then they throw at baron

K: I have friends who are like they're making Yellowstar look bad. And I'm like yeah... kind of. A little bit. But he's kind like the Madlife of NA. Because everytime I watch CJ I'm just like Madlife you look so sad. How did I end up with these people? There's not really any teams that I really hate. They're all kind of interesting but I was wrong about 75% of the teams but they all did like crazy shit last minute like after I'd already made all my predictions. Like the Liquid shit happened after I'd already made my predictions about Liquid. Though, I thought keeping Piglet was a mistake and I still kind am iffy about Piglet.

M: Hey, everyone's been saying he's like the best AD carry.

K: No, he's a mechanical God but so is Doublelift but that doesn't mean that they're good teammates and like... half the time I like Doublelift half the time he drives me nuts but Piglet's the same way. But sometimes I feel like they're really bad teammates. So like you can be awesome but if you're a toxic asshole you're not going to win.

M: Yeah

K: That's why I still think they would have been better off even if they had downgraded to get someone that was more... had a better attitude. But...

M: yeah.

K: No one asked me these things.

M: it's always like super difficult entering the unknown and then also if they org just drops him and like they get a lot of hate when they don't succeed right away. It's like oh you guys are just idiots. Yeah... we're dealing with kids I guess and if the orgs tweet out this guy's a stupid cunt don't pick him up for your team. That could ruin his entire life.

K: yeah. That's... I kind of like how basically the team mom for C9 when people were shit talking Bunny and it was like Rioters doing it... and she was like this is what destroys young players is people saying things like this...cause it was basically #c9withhai and it was like that's how you destroy young player's confidence.

M: Yeah.

K: Cause Bunnyfufuu is actually really good but he played against Immortals... And C9 did not look that bad that game.

M: Rest in peace Bunny. There's only one player in the history of the game that I would like...hope an org would be like don't ever pick up this player. And he's very very infamous for every team hates him. Every team that's ever decided to try him out hates him.

K: So, if you could join or create any team.. which team or what people would you want to play with? Or what organization?

M: that's an intense question.

K: I know.

M: that's so hard to say. Let's see... out of all the LCS teams right now. I guess it would be coolest to play on Immortals or maybe TSM. Like, I don't... I always want to strive to play higher levels of competition so if I could go to worlds or IEM. I think it'd be cool to play against the best players and see how I stack up. Like, for some reason, I'm like... I'm so inconsistent because my motivations are so weird. Like, if I get completely outplayed and destroyed that will motivated for like a whole month.

K: So, apparently you need to play for TSM and go play at IEM and get destroyed.

M: Yes. Like literally, that's what happens. Like someone presses me so much and I'm like whoa. they're awesome. Shit. I need to work way harder now. Instead, I lose track of things and I guess like waste time getting angry at stupid things like people in solo queue. But yeah, I think it'd be cool to play on a team with like big management and popularity.

K: I would vote for TSM Maplestreet.

M: yeah. Make it happen..

K: Veto the Doublelift.

M: Who knows, it could be an upgrade.

K: I think it would be. I always thought you seemed like you were a really good teammate to your teams. So that was...I think that would be a plus but then again on TSM I'm not sure how important that would be.

M: yeah, who knows.

K: My thoughts are TSM are always kind of complicated.

M: They're cute but...

K: No...they're not actually

M: So toxic in solo queue.

K: Actually none of them are that cute right now.

M: That's why they're losing.

K: Hauntzer. There you go. They have Hauntzer.

M: They're only losing cause they're not cute.

K: So, I'll adjust that. What person do you think you'd like be on a team with. A specific person?

M: Oh yeah... Let's see. Immortals is kind of cool. Cause they're the rejects. They're just like the rejects of their teams. Like Fnatic is like we don't want to pay you that much Reignover and Huni you can go away. Pobelter's probably the same deal with CLG. ah, we don't want to pay you, we want Huhi instead. So like join the rejects.

K: So, do you like Adrian's style of support?

M: I like Adrian as a person. So, I guess I could get used to his support.

K: So that's a no.

M: I don't know. I've never played with someone that's so like strong at the Janna Soraka plays. Like you don't see many people in soloq who are good soraka's. Like you'd think it'd be easy but...

K: Actually she is so hard to play well...especially at that level.

M: either the one team plays terribly against the Soraka or the Soraka is a god. Very few Soraka gods.

K: So, stylistically, what current professional support, maybe not even in NA do you think that you would synergize well with and like playing with?

M: I don't know. Me and Maria were like.. we had pretty amazing synergy.

K: The most OP botlane.

M: Because we were both like depressed people that kind of hated the world and it's like let's unite our hatred for the world.

K: I really enjoy watching you guys play together. It was..

M: It was fun for a while. It was some of the most fun I had.

K: So do you have any funny stories about your past teammates you'd like to share? Or embarrassing stories that you won't get in trouble for sharing?

M: I don't know. All I remember is my drunken adventures.

K: Oh. Tell me more.

M: I was super drunk at IEM San Jose and I think I asked Sjokz out on a date. But she realized how very drunk I was so... I also got $100 for confessing my love for Sjokz in person.

K: So, do you think she would have said yes if you weren't drunk

M: who knows. No comment. Fuck you Sjokz. You denied me. No one denies me. I won't resort to any name calling but...I'm just saying.

K: That's adorable.

M: No one should reject someone as awesome as me..

K: No, you are awesome.

M: Exactly.

K: So, what past teammate has helped you most in game or as a person?

M: In game teammates only..

K: Or you know people in the scene that have...that have been like...

M: Okay. Owner of Team 8, Eric Ma. He's the greatest human being ever. Also, I love the coach, Matt. Matt and Eric are the greatest people are ever. Eric's like... he just... has a good amount of faith in me. He always just encouraged me to go on and stuff. And like he invested a bunch of money even when we were still a challenger team. He made all or dreams happen so... Eric is like the greatest human being ever. One of these days I'm just going to become a servant for his mansion. But yeah, I would take ten bullets for Eric before letting the next bullet hit him.

K: Oh. So he's worth ten

M: I'm like you're worth about ten of me and then after me I need to rest a little. The next bullet might kill me.

K: That's true. You're only so big.

M: Matt's just like a really good friend of mine. I always talk to him about random stuff. Game philosophy and stuff. And all the players I've ever played with are just like unique individuals and they've all like had an impact on me.

K: Yeah.

M: I wouldn't say anyone had like a fairly negative impact on me... They're all unique. At times I kind of hated them. But when I look back, no one was in the wrong. They just had different perspectives and attitudes towards stuff.

M: Like, for example, Calitrolz is like this really harsh person but he's always really direct and what  not. And that's just how he is. He definitely wanted to win and he was stubborn sometimes. He was like the shotcaller in Team 8 and if we didn't have him shotcalling we probably wouldn't have won any game. Me and Slooshi weren't super decisive and like confident in our own calls. Calitrolz would be like everyone listen to me right now or I'm fucking suiciding...We're like fuck. You'd think that's like toxic but not it's actually he wants to win and he's taking the responsibility to make the calls. So you should just follow him.

K: yeah, he was really amazing to watch play.

M: yeah

K: Did you ever have conflicts with your teammates? How did you resolve them if you did?

M: I can't really think of the largest conflict that I've had against another player. I've never got into like a fist fight or yelling match. So... It's not really...Calitrolz has yelled at me a few times but...

K: So you just....

M: It was all to motivate me. Secretly he loves me, even if he'll never admit it. I understand you Cali you don' have to pretend anymore.

K: Oh god. So, what do you think of yourself as a player and how do you think you'd do if you were in the LCS this season?

M: I don't know. I had so much strong play in NACS and if I somehow kept up that level of motivation and play, I honestly believe I could be really really strong in LCS. Right now I guess I'm just inconsistent. I was on teams and then secretly not on teams. I was stuck in contract hell and then no longer in contract hell. It was unlucky. So that pissed me off. And I guess that just shifted my focus away from just constantly playing to get better and stuff. So, I need to find my way again. work on my own mental fortitude I guess. The ability to just keep working hard even when I don't feel 100% what not. I'm pretty bad right now honestly. But I feel like given the opportunity and a little bit of time I would have the motivation to impress everyone so often.

K: What are your hopes for the future?

M: That's a good question. My hopes for the future. I don't know. A few years ago, I guess my aspirations were to become someone that could have a really positive change in the world. So, I'm not entirely sure what job that was... I was thinking of becoming a teacher and stuff but like I had like these aspirations to be like this noble valiant person who helped poor kids in need and stuff...and make them not go through the troubles that I did and hardships and stuff. But in a way, the hardship shape me into the person I am. I don't know. I just want to make a positive change in the world. Doing good. I would like people at my funeral to be like he was a good kid and I mean it.

K: I absolutely agree with that myself. it's definitely a good outlook to have too.

M: I don't wanna die and at my funeral it's like he was an alright kid. Even though he did like a lot drugs and was shot like a million times by the police for trying to rob a bank. He was a cool kid. He was funny. I'm sure he just meant it as a prank.

K: Is there anything in the league of legends or esports scene that you'd be interested in doing aside from being a player?

M: I've actually had some interest in being a coach kind of. But I've never actually done the hard work for any teams yet. I've done some analysis work for various teams but I haven't been hired full time by anytime. I think maybe that's a sign I'm not as important or concise with my information as necessary.  I'm actually like decently smart on the game. Maybe I'll teach kids how to go from bronze to challenger. Be training the future superstars that will beat the Koreans for me.

K: Teach me.

M: Alright, I'll teach you. What role do you play?

K: I main jungle all last season pretty much

M: Oh god, nevermind.

K: But this season I'm pretty much sticking to mid and ADC because literally if you don't you can't move up in the elo that I'm in.

M: It's hilarious ironic that I'm like the worse jungler in the history of high elo. I find life hilarious. Like there's certain things I call ironies of life and stuff... and it's like you can jinx yourself. I've not missed this shot in 100 times and then throw it and it misses. Ah shit. just weird and amusing things that happen.

K: that was actually my last question I had written down.

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Thank you again so much Maplestreet. I enjoyed this so much and had a great time getting to talk to you and being given this great opportunity.