After suffering a shocking loss to R7 in the Worlds Play-Ins, 100 Thieves bounced back with an impressive win against SoftBank HAWKS. We caught up with head coach Greyson “Goldenglue” Gilmer to discuss the victory and look ahead to their next must-win game against PSG Talon.
Esports.net: What are your thoughts on SHG?
Lee Jones: The general consensus is that they’ve been very weak this tournament…
Goldenglue: I felt they were a bit passive in-game and I think they just gave us our comfort picks. I think we did feel pretty comfortable through both games. So I do think they didn’t bring too much fight, but they still made us really work for it at least in game one.
Lee Jones: Game two was especially highlighted as a significant draft win for 100T.
What did you make of their Rek’Sai top pick?
Goldenglue: I was not expecting that at all. I was expecting maybe a weird pick, that’s why we banned the Urgot later. I haven’t really seen Rek’Sai/Sejuani before. But you know, Renekton’s a really safe champion, it’s really hard to kill, so I could see that maybe in a long fight that if Rek’Sai’s even then maybe it can drain tank Renekton. But didn’t really seem to be able to do that much.
Lee Jones: I saw in an interview with Travis Gafford that you described Sniper as having main character syndrome, and in an interview with Cecilia for Esports News UK after the R7 loss he seemed to still be really positive and charismatic.
How useful is it to have a player with his attitude, especially after disappointing losses like the one against R7?
I think Sniper’s energy is amazing. I think he’s feeling his best and playing his best when he does kind of have that main character syndrome.
I do think even in front of the cameras he was looking pretty positive. I think we were all pretty down after the loss versus R7. But I think he did a really good job bouncing back today and having a lot of fun. I can hear him in the background, laughing right now in the interview next to me, which is kind of funny considering we’re talking about him. But yeah, I definitely think his energy is really precious and he’s done a lot to keep the whole team in good spirits.
Lee Jones: Is it surprising to see him keep that up on this stage? He’s played against veterans like Evi and Summit so far but seems completely comfortable and unfazed by being at Worlds for the first time.
Do you feel like he’s built perfectly for this kind of event?
Goldenglue: I think he’s definitely doing a good job right now of turning his gaze internally to our team. You know, after our R7 match, he actually got a ton of hate on his Instagram. It was like hundreds of comments telling him to retire, and he took it with a good spirit, he just uninstalled and we just laughed about it as a team. So it is kind of surprising that he’s been able to take all this pressure so well as such a young kid. And it’s only gonna get better.
Lee Jones: The R7 series seemed to ignite an NA vs LATAM rivalry overnight, and tomorrow it’ll be LATAM vs BR for a Swiss spot.
Do these emerging rivalries help to feel more positive about the changes coming to the Americas next year?
Goldenglue: I definitely think it was a good showing. I feel like the Latin and CBLOL teams are definitely showing their strength and I think people in North America underestimate them. I really think they’re formidable teams. So I’m excited that they have shown up and it will build more hype for next year. I’m pretty optimistic about the new format, so it should be fun and exciting.
Lee Jones: You’re guiding a relatively inexperienced team through what is a first Worlds experience for most of them, but it’s also your first experience on this stage as a coach.
How are you finding it trying to balance your need to guide them through that while essentially learning on the job yourself?
Goldenglue: That aspect is not very easy. A lot of times I can tell the guys are looking to me for guidance and to be that rock — and I like to think that I am that for them — but sometimes I’m definitely like: “Wow, this is also my first time being at Worlds, this is my first year as an LCS head coach.”
I think the team around us; our manager, Ryan, my assistant coach, Sam, my analyst, Nathan, they give me a lot of support which makes it easier for me to stay strong for the guys while I’m also learning myself. And it feels like a great opportunity to do this.
I really don’t want us to go home in Play-Ins and I’m hoping we show up tomorrow and make the community proud, and also just make ourselves proud because I know we can do it. And yeah, I hope we show up tomorrow.
