Clutch Gaming superstar Heo ‘Huni’ Seung-hoon has revealed how his team can escape the 2019 World Championship ‘group of death,’ after the LCS third-seed team qualified into the pool alongside his former orgs Fnatic and SK Telecom T1.
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The North American roster is currently undergoing a transformation between the Play-In stage, which finished with them crushing Royal Youth 3-0, and the group stage. After being the ‘big dogs’ among wildcard squads, Clutch has now dropped back to the bottom rung again.
According to Huni, who has previously played for Fnatic and SKT and collected three regional titles and a victory at MSI between the two, the LCS underdogs are now facing a challenge in the “hardest group in history.” The enigmatic Korean top laner couldn’t be more thrilled.
“It’s going to be super fun to play against Rekkles and Faker because they’re my former teammates,” he told Riot interviewer Laure Valée following the series win. “I’m especially looking forward to getting my revenge against Khan, because last time I played him, I lost.”
Despite the weight of returning to face two of his old organizations potentially weighing heavily on his mind, Huni kept the same upbeat attitude that has garnered him thousands of fans around the world: “No matter how the results turn out, it’s going to be fun. We were confident in ourselves, I think we’ve definitely gotten better compared to last week.”
For mobile users, the video segment starts at 48:02.
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Although the next stage of the competition could be very tricky for Clutch — the Dignitas-owned team has found themselves with Europe and China’s second seeds, and Korea’s champs — Huni has faith the “crazy” meta will allow him to claim his revenge.
“I think it’s possible for us to succeed in this tournament because there will be a lot of big upsets, underdogs are going to win… because it’s all so unpredictable,” he explained.
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“I played top Ezreal, and no one expected it. Other people have played Heimdinger and Fiddlesticks. I think everything is just really unpredictable. There’ll be better teams no matter what, but… I didn’t expect the meta was going to be this crazy.”
Because his team is so clearly the least favorite to escape the stacked ‘group of death,’ there’s little to no expectations on the roster’s shoulders, Huni explained after the conclusion of the Play-In Stage. They have everything to gain, and nothing to lose, he said.
“I think as everyone knows, this group, Group C, is the toughest group ever in history, but it’s going to be fun,” Huni told The Shotcaller as Clutch began preparations for the group stage.
“These three teams (Fnatic, SKT, and Chinese powerhouse Royal Never Give Up) could all beat anyone and win the championship. They’re damn good teams, and there are so many good players. No one is expecting anything (from Clutch). I don’t think we’re going to have a good time there … but even if we lose, we lose, and if we win then it’s a lot.”
The CG star also added one parting barb for his home region ahead of the group stage battle: “Right now NA actually did a better job than LCK because we got an 3-0 and DAMWON Gaming only got a 3-1, so NA’s third seed is better than LCK’s third seed,” he said with a laugh.
Huni and Clutch’s quest to defy the odds and lift the Summoner’s Cup in Paris in November begins this weekend, when they face RNG on Day 1. Follow all the World Championship action in Dexerto’s dedicated coverage tracker.
