How long will it take Busio to become the best support in the region?
100 Thieves are back in action as the LCS Spring Split continues. 100T can be moderately content with how their first week went. They were dispatched of by the reigning champions Cloud9, but put in a professional performance against Immortals. Those results mean 100T are coming into week two with a 1-1 record.
The Thieves made many changes to their roster with one of the more exciting changes coming at support. Out goes Choi "huhi" Jae-hyun and incomes academy prospect Alan "Busio" Cwalina. Ahead of week two, Jordan "Marn" Marney got the opportunity to speak with 100T Busio for an exclusive interview.
The excitement of playing on the LCS stage
Competing in front of an audience is a feeling only professional players can describe. The energy of the crowd cheering for every play is the moment you live for in esports. This was Busio's first opportunity to play in front of a crowd for an official LCS match.
The initial emotions are different for every player. Some players are born to play under the lights and thrive off of the pressure while some ease their way into it. Leading up to his first set of games, Busio admitted he felt the expected nerves. But as soon as he got onto the stage, those nerves soon went away.
"It was super exciting and I'm glad I got the first week out of the way, I just want to play on stage more now because I feel like the games on stage are very different than scrims. I expected to be nervous but when I went up on stage I felt pretty good and the nerves went away."
The young rookie did not shy away from the moment. In his game against Cloud9 Busio locked in Azir as the support. This was a bold yet calculated move and one many rookies would have shied away from. It was evident in game the intent behind the pick, it proved to be a legitimate counter to Heimerdinger.
It showcases the confidence 100 Thieves has in its young talent. Some teams prefer to ease their younger players into the league by taking the ball out of their hands, in this case, it was 100T Busio who was in control.
"I always try and find new ways to get an advantage bot lane and I felt and still feel like the Azir pick into Heimer is very strong, we just needed to push on our advantage more than we did and it would have looked a lot better."
The expectations when you play for 100 Thieves
When you line up on the Summoners Rift with Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg and Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng, you are expected to win. As showcased during the broadcast in week one, they have more in the trophy cabinet alone than some organizations will in a decade, these two players are serial winners.
For Busio, it would be understandable to be overwhelmed with the expectations of having to win immediately. This doesn't seem to be the case from our conversation. When you are surrounded by people with the elite mentality that 100T's veterans possess, it can fast-track the younger talent into immediate greatness. Busio explains the advantages of playing with 'winners'.
"I wouldn't say that being with Bjergsen and Doublelift has been intimidating but actually has made the job of improving feel a lot easier as I know that they have a lot of experience and can teach me what it takes to win and more about the game. Sure they bring more pressure and expectations when it comes to results, but their knowledge helped relieve some of that pressure."
It was always going to be interesting to see how the dynamic of 100T would shake up. For years Doublelift and Bjergsen have been the dominant voices on rosters that have lifted multiple LCS titles.
During his time in Academy, Busio began to take on the mantle of being the shot caller for the team. This makes sense given how important the Support and Jungle positions have been in competitive play. Busio explained currently on 100T there isn't a primary shot caller with each player having their own responsibilities.
"We don't have a set shot caller, everyone has their own responsibilities in the game and says what is needed. However, whenever someone is strong/has an advantage they will take the lead, but it can be any of us."
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