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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/WFuhkpX.jpg)
Shan "Chaox" Huang, the former AD Carry of Team SoloMid, is the star of the 59th episode of my 'Grilled' interview series.
Some of the topics discussed:
- What set TSM apart from the other NA teams in S2.
- Xpecial's potential to play other roles (i.e. mid or top)
- Chaox's strategical input to TSM.
- The best Chinese AD Carries.
- The esports infrastructure of the various Asian countries.
- Comparing Doublelift pre-CLG and after having joined.
The entire 78m51s interview can be watched at Team Acer.
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United States37500 Posts
After having a talk with Thorin, I suggest all of you take some time to listen to this interview. It will help clear up some misconceptions people have about Chaox, especially after his retirement debacle from r/LoL.
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Grilled interviews are some of the best. I think I'm going to wait it out on this one for the itunes. Nearly 79 minutes is a long time.
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Germany24794 Posts
I like these interviews, but they would be way better if they were shorter.
Chaox is definitely not interesting enough for me to spend 80 minutes on him.
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Pretty okay interview. I was hoping that Chaox would be more objective about his views(of himself) as it would've made the responses more interesting. A lot of the answers are a bit lacking, and he still gives off an air of arrogance. It's a bit frustrating to see that he states that "he has done it all except worlds", but then not actively working himself to actually get a team to worlds even though he says he wants it. He states that NA has no talent and streams too much, then goes on to say he will be streaming himself.
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He's not on a pro team so he can stream and still hold the opinion that pro players stream too much.
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One of the more thought provoking interviews. As with all interviewee subjects, Chaox had his share of personal biases, but he also had tons of insight to share (more than most I would argue), although I feel like the way he worded things, and the vibes that may have been given may have rubbed off the wrong way on some people.
1) I liked the way he described the way laning works in the bottom lane. There's a proper method of knowing when your power spikes are at certain levels, angles at which you can trade, and when you can zone the enemy out. I feel like people sometimes simplify things too much with the passive/aggressive split, when there's obviously the right moment to be passive, and the right moment to be aggressive.
2) It seems like Chaox has a pretty good eye for talent, and to me at least, was more acute with his observations of the environment he was in than most of the interviewee subjects so far. The way he notices good players, their playstyle, and how they approach the game works, was more on point than a lot of the other professional players. Of course, there's definately a lot of ego involved when the topic shifts towards himself, but his viewpoints on various topics that he could disconnect himself from personally were really interesting and thought-provoking.
3) However, as a player that was one of the most prominent figures in the North American scene, he definately did not represent himself well. Personal biases aside, it does not matter how great Chaox was individually, if he cannot make those around him great also. True greatness does not contain itself to a single person, and spreads around and promotes the growth of those around him. While he certainly was part of one of the most successful professional teams around, it looks to me as if the way he was forced out of his profession, and the realities of the circumstances made him deny any part of him that attempted to help the growth of North American League of Legends professional scene. The way in which he just shuts down any part of him that tries as hard as possible to let the professional scene become greater diminishes his legacy as one of the most memorable figures in the North American scene in my opinion.
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On July 11 2013 12:48 Letmelose wrote:
it does not matter how great Chaox was individually, if he cannot make those around him great also. True greatness does not contain itself to a single person, and spreads around and promotes the growth of those around him.
It's interesting that you say that, because if I understood him correctly that's pretty much how he rated the whole Doublelift/CLG hype, aswell.
Besides that, another really nice episode of grilled. I disagree with some of his views about his own skill/team, but his insight into the Asian scenes in comparison to the NA scene was very interesting. It's a bit of a shame that most people (especially on Reddit) will now see his comparisons of the scenes as a "butthurt NA player who now tries to shit on his old region despite himself being not very dedicated", when this is really not correlated to the reality of how KR/CN/TW compares to NA in terms of dedication and structure.
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EPT
