Sado from the Philadelphia Fusion: “I Felt We Were Going to Win”

Attending the first day of the semi-finals at Blizzard Arena yesterday, I was lucky enough to sit down with Fusion star and Fusion coach, Su-min “Sado” Kim and Se-hwi “NamedHwi” Go. After the first match in a best of three, the Fusion walk away with a 3-0 sweep against the New York Excelsior.

*Sado’s responses will feature his name before the answer, otherwise the speaker and response comes straight from coach NamedHwi

How does it feel to have pulled off that 3-0 against NYXL?

Sado: We did really well in recent scrims, and I felt that we were going to win coming in. I’m happy to win 3-0, but it wasn’t the most exciting match. Now we focus for the next day.

The team communication you guys had seemed to outplay and outpace NYXL. How were you guys able to exploit NYXL’s weaknesses?

Philadelphia Fusion Entrance by Robert Paul

NamedHwi: We figured out through scrims which compositions work best for us, and that a clear win helps to snowball quickly. Our Reinhardt and Zarya comps specifically allow for us to snowball quickly onto another point if we win fast.

Will you guys change anything going in to Saturday’s matches, or do you expect NYXL to adapt to how you played today?

NamedHwi: In the current meta, teams don’t run Tracer that much. We believe that New York are struggling with adapting to the meta. With Sabeyoelbe, Pine, and Libero, they have three great DPS players. They are having difficulty choosing which DPS to play and rotate in, so they are still trying to figure it out.

The Orisa, D.va, Roadhog tank comp is very usual, and is strong. The meta is going around and around, however. Brigitte comes out and then dive comps are going to die. Then Orisa comp comes in to counter Brigitte, with many teams playing a solo healer. Then dive comes back in because they only have one healer, and it’s easy to just focus them down. As we run our solo heal, we believe that is why NYXL runs Tracer to try and harass and pick her off in the back.

Sado and Hotba have been excellent bullying the back line. They continued to do so throughout the match and made it easy for the team to take fights when they won the picks. What do you attribute that to?

NamedHwi: In this meta, the Monkey’s job is very easy. You find one sniper by himself, and bully him. Sado is a very good monkey, so he is able to find those openings.

Since Sado has played, Fragi has been in the background of the team. Any thoughts on the differences between Sado and Fragi and why the team has been doing so well in this meta?

NamedHwi: In this meta, there are two kinds of players. The thinking player and the instinct player. With Fragi, I believe that he is a mix of both players. Sometimes the instinct and thought were able to mix very well, but in this meta, you always have to be thinking instead of reacting. Playing smart is more of a focus now. Never stop thinking, and always try to counter swap. In this instance, I believe that Sado is playing better and a better fit.

Thoughts on Wrecking Ball?

NamedHwi: I believe many teams are going to experiment with Wrecking Ball coming into the World Cup and those practices. I haven’t played any of Wrecking Ball, and have only watched, and don’t really have thoughts on how he’ll affect a meta change.

If you guys make it to the Grand Finals, which team would you rather face, the London Spitfire or the LA Valiant?

Philadelphia Fusion by Robert Paul and Blizzard

Sado: I don’t care.

As long as it’s not a boring match?

Sado: *laughs*.

NamedHwi: Personally, I’d rather play the Valiant. Korean teams can easily get momentum and have it carry them. For someone like Birdring, he was scary last week against the Gladiators. The Valiant are a strong team, but Korean teams can have more potential.

Update: Since the interview, the London Spitfire defeated the LA Valiant and booked their ticket to the Grand Finals. NamedHwi and Sado will have to face that Korean momentum.

After coming into the League after the suspension, how has your experience been playing here in Los Angeles and at such a high level, Sado?

Sado: I always scrimmed against the other teams, even though I wasn’t allowed to play until after Stage Three. I’m just happy and glad I can play and help my team win.

Alright thanks guys for the interview, congratulations again on your team’s 3-0 victory against NYXL tonight and get some rest before Saturday’s match or matches!

Sado and NamedHwi: Thank you!

And there you have it. An exclusive interview with both main tank player Sado and Philadelphia Fusion coach NamedHwi. They will try and complete the upset against NYXL Saturday! Winner will face the London Spitfire in the Grand Finals.

Featured image courtesy of Philadelphia Fusion

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