GUM on the home Major: "It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing"

The Shanghai RMR has come at a bad time for Lynn Vision, two months after a roster change, but GUM's troops know they cannot let the opportunity slip.

Lynn Vision are one of two Chinese teams still in the running for attending their home Major, arriving in Shanghai as the No. 3 seed — with three slots on offer.

Head coach Yifei "⁠GUM⁠" Dai knows that the country expects them to make it to the Major, which will have an audience for all three stages, but stresses that "everyone knows we are not stable right now."

After elimination from PGL Copenhagen, AWPer Dongkai "⁠Jee⁠" Ji made the switch to TYLOO and their strongest rifler, Lizhi "⁠Starry⁠" Ye, followed him a few months later to leave Lynn Vision scrambling for replacements.

In the end, rifler Peiqi "⁠flying⁠" Song came in as Sike "⁠z4kr⁠" Zhang took over AWPing duties, a role he used to play in ViCi, while PUG-star Jianye "⁠afufu⁠" Wang was tasked with replacing Starry in August.

"if the Major was postponed two months it would be better," GUM admits. "But we are already decent, we can compete in this RMR. We have the potential to get the qualification."

If you cannot see the Soundcloud embed, listen to the interview here.

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First of all, let's talk about being the home team at the RMR, the highest-ranked Chinese team here, how much does it mean to have qualified here? Do you feel the pressure?

I don't think we are the highest-ranked Chinese team, here. I think Rare Atom are above us. [Editor's note: Rare Atom are ranked No. 139 on HLTV, and Lynn Vision No. 61].

Do you think they should be above you?

I don't know, we don't have many matches in China, we haven't played against them in half a year. Everyone knows we are not stable right now, so I don't know.

But what is it like to be the home team here? How much does it mean to have a Major here?

It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. The expectation for the qualification for the Major is very high, everyone expects us to perform well.

How has your preparation been? You say you're not stable, why?

For us, because of the roster change [swapping afufu in for Starry in August], if the Major was postponed two months it would be better. But no, we are already decent, we can compete in this RMR. We have the potential to get the qualification.

I wanted to ask about z4kr becoming the team's AWPer, and highest-rated player. Tell me about his evolution.

I don't know if the viewers know, but two years ago z4kr was the AWPer of LVG. He showed his talent, a lot of potential, but he also did a lot wrong. Sometimes he got nervous, or lost his... control of the situation I think.

That's why, later, we decided he should no longer take the AWP. Sometimes, he was tunnel-visioned, all his focus was on the scope. Last year, he moved to a rifler role which enables him to think as a rifler and he will think a lot more about the whole plan, how to play with his teammates.

Right now, on the AWP, he can perform much better. He knows much better how riflers will counter him, he understands the whole situation of the round. He's more mature, he doesn't throw like before, which makes us more stable. For him, much more stable.

On the roster swap, Starry's departure, in the west at least, came as a surprise. What can you tell me about losing him?

The roster change was totally based on this player's feelings. He wanted to change the environment. He played on LVG for many years already. During that time, he saw more potential on the TYLOO roster, that's all.

Is it a shame to lose him? Did you want to keep him, then?

Yeah, we wanted to keep him. But we also want to show that we are capable of raising a new player. Right now, the Chinese scene, we don't have many players to pick from. We want to show everyone we know the right way to raise a player, even from a PUG, to a professional level. But it takes time.

How is afufu settling in? Is he one of these PUG players? You said you wanted a few months delay to the RMR, is he part of why?

Yeah [laughs], that's the main reason we need two more months. Because, for PUG players, they might have the aim but the other aspects of professional play, communication, how to rate your whole situation, it's different. It will take him a lot of time because he already played Counter-Strike for 12,000 hours.

How important could this tournament be for the scene. Could having a home Major help breed more talent?

I hope so. But actually, as a team, we are not certain of our future next year because the new format using [VRS] invites. We don't know how, as an Asian team, how we get the [Valve Ranking] points. We don't have many tournaments to play. We hope the scene can grow strong, but now everything is uncertain.

Date	Matches
Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Asia RMR
11/11/2024	Lynn Vision 11:10 DRILLAS	Match