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After ahq found themselves eliminated from Group C, Westdoor spoke about H2K, team comps and EDG.
While Worlds has its share of glorious triumphs and unexpected victors, not everyone gets to advance past groups. Westdoor, the mid laner for ahq e-Sports Club and a veteran since Season 2, is one of those players. After week one, it looked as though ahq would be a cinch for the second spot to make it out of groups ... but H2K went on an unexpected rampage.
Some players are devastated after a loss, but in an interview after his team's elimination, Westdoor was able to give a comprehensive look at not only their performance at the tournament, but what their game plan needs to be for the future.
"[When I started out], I always played an assassin mid lane. Now I actually play champions to help the team," Westdoor said regarding his stylistic evolution over the years. "I play well-rounded team champions. Back in the day, I focused on assassins to carry the team, but now my teammates are strong themselves in lane. As long as I can support them, there is always a chance to win."
Unfortunately, they weren’t able to translate that strength into results on the world stage. When facing EDG, Westdoor said: "We kept reminding our team that we are not a teamfight based comp. We were more of a Gnar, Twisted Fate split push based composition, so we should avoid teamfighting them."
"At the beginning, we thought that both of us would make it out of the group stage, and the last fight would determine who would be seed one." Westdoor says when asked about ahq’s close relationship with EDG. "We weren’t prepared for the situation where one of us stays, and one of us leaves."
H2K’s sudden streak of dominance was unexpected; top laner Odoamne credits it to H2K playing their style. The other teams didn’t expect them to become such a force in group C. "We saw that H2k hadn’t really been performing in their last split so we weren’t too worried. The wildcard team was also not much of a threat so we realized that EDG was our most dangerous opponent. So it was just important that we beat H2K in order to make it out of the group stage."
Westdoor’s style, on the other hand, has become a team-focused rock who plays utility champions. "I really liked playing assassins and taking solo kills in my lane. Now it’s more of a team game, and I have to play a team style. Sometimes just getting a lead in my lane doesn’t help my team in a way that might be more beneficial later on. I had to adjust to that."
Having a veteran with a storied history can be a boon to one’s team, and someone might expect Westdoor to take the role of a leader, but the reality is a little different. "I think I’m more of a mediator. I would always try to provide my team with the most information I can and with some experiences, I never really tried to the lead the team in a certain direction."
Unfortunately, that supportive role hasn’t worked out this year. "We really just wanted to show ourselves as a team and show that we could be good. Unfortunately, this is only how far we will go this year."
The longtime League player already has a game plan for next year. "We should probably make sure both of our mid laners have a wider champion pool they can play with. Also, just in terms of teamfighting, we really do need to stay true to ourselves and play out our own playstyle."
Teams who stay true to themselves seem to have the most success at this year's Worlds. With a long and storied career, Westdoor will be embracing that lesson going into the future. Even though ahq could not break out of Group C, they already have their eyes on the next challenge ahead of them and improving themselves for next year’s bout on the international stage.
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