FLY Inspired interview at Worlds 2024 on inspiring rookies, being the most competitive player on his team, EU vs NA and more

Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).

Worlds 2024 news and Road to London content powered by AGON by AOC | (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

FlyQuest’s Polish jungler Kacper ‘Inspired’ Słoma has plenty of reasons to be proud after his team’s victory over GAM Esports on the first day of the 2024 League of Legends World Championship Swiss stage. As the only other team from a Western region —  besides G2 Esports — to move one step closer to the Knockout Stage, Fly have restored the hopes of many NA fans who felt discouraged after 100T exited earlier in the competition. 

In this interview, Inspired reflects on FlyQuest’s Worlds journey so far, his return to Europe, Western teams’ struggle on day one of the Swiss stage, the differences between the North American and European practice environments, and how he helps guide the younger players on his team. 

Thank you, Inspired, for the interview today. First things first, congrats on the win! How are you feeling?

I’m happy. We managed to win the game recently. Our practice was a bit shaky so we were a little bit nervous going into the game. We really didn’t know if our meta was what other teams were doing or what we should be playing, so we kind of winged it a little bit, and we managed to win the game, so I’m happy about it.

So far you’re the only Western team to win a match today (as G2 had yet to play at the time of the interview). How are you feeling about that?

I think we were huge favourites going into the matchup, so I was expecting to win. I think we just needed to not choke under pressure and play our game. So I’m happy we managed to do that, but I wouldn’t say I’m happy that we are the only Western team that won a game so far. I kind of want us all to do decently well. So I’m hoping that G2 is going to manage to at least get a win for LEC.

The last time I spoke to you, the studio looked a bit different, and you were playing here in Europe. Now we have the revamped Riot Games Arena. How did it feel coming back and seeing the studio different but still walking the same streets, driving the same route?

I mean, once I was about to enter the studio from outside, I was like, ‘oh, it looks so similar to back in the day.’ But then once I was inside, I was like, ‘wow, actually everything is so different’.

And then when we were about to step on stage during the tech check day, the first time I came in I was looking around, and everything seemed so much different now. I had to walk towards the stage, and the crowd was behind me, and everything looked so much flashier, more lights, and more professional. So I liked it a lot, and I think it’s for sure fun to play here again.

Now, it’s been three years since you moved to NA. What do you think is the biggest difference between pro players and organisations in Europe and NA?

I think, organisation-wise, it’s not that big of a difference. I think the biggest difference is the practice environment. I feel like in the LCS, we have four teams that are pretty decent, and you can actually practice against them. While in Europe, I think the whole league is at least competitive. Maybe there’s one or two teams that are a bit weaker than the rest, but the others are pretty close to each other.

And the solo queue practice. Like the ERL players and the ERL structure system that Europe has, I think it just gives you better practice. After you’re done with scrims, you can actually go into solo queue and practice certain things, while it’s hard to do that in NA. 

So I think in NA the better way of doing it is just playing more scrims as a team against top teams, If you want to improve. While in EU, I feel like you just have more opportunities and overall the level of average player I think is better in EU than in NA. 

I know you’re focusing on Worlds now, but looking at the future do you think the changes coming to NA, like the two conferences in 2025, will change what you just pointed out?

Honestly, I’m not sure. I feel like it all comes from the solo queue structure. In Europe, it’s more popular because people play in ERLs, and there are more teams actually competing. So you just have more chances to improve. That’s how you create more talent.

In the LCS, it seems like when you’re a rookie and you join a top team, you have no competitive experience. For example, Massu joined us this year, and the only thing he played was one split in the Academy, so he was a fresh player.

In EU, when you join an LEC team, you’ve probably played for a year at least in an ERL team, so you kind of have an idea on how a team works. That’s the biggest difference, I feel, and because of that and the solo queue structure, NA will not really catch up with EU in that way.

Regarding FlyQuest’s motto, “Here we grow,” you’ve got veterans like yourself and Bwipo alongside rookies like Massu, but from the outside, it looks like you’ve all grown a lot as a team. Why do you think that is?

I feel like me and Bwipo are pretty good at the game overall, so we kind of know how we want our teammates to play and that just gives direction to rookies and that way they know what they need to improve on and that makes the improving process just faster.

Because I think if you’re a rookie and you have to experience everything yourself and you don’t really have direction from someone, it’s going to take you a long time to go through every scenario, and first of all, you have to play through it and you have to figure out what went wrong and what you need to do better. 

While with us I feel like we just speed up that process, so Massu and Busio are able to improve a bit faster. I think it is working well for them, but I think we still are not where we want to be. I feel like a lot of the games we are over forcing some plays, especially in practice or not being really planned well with our learning phases. So we like to play the game in a structured way while obviously rookies play it more of a wild way. They just fight a lot, don’t really think about consequences too much and I think that’s the thing we try to fix the most. 

What role do these international tournaments, like Worlds, play in that growth?

I think they’re good at punishing what we’ve been telling our rookies all year. I’ve been telling them, ‘You can get away with this against NA teams, but once you play against good teams, you won’t win.’

Massu sometimes looks at me with an annoyed face, like he doesn’t agree. But then when you play against the Asian team and you go with your silly bases or silly trades and you don’t really think about the big picture, I think the Asian teams are just really good at punishing that and I think that shows that you have to be on top of your game in order to beat them.

You’re on the road to qualifying for knockouts for the first time in your career. Which of the teams that won in day one —BLG, DK, Gen.G, HLE, LNG, or TES—would you like to face next?

I think I would like to face DK or the winner of G2 vs. PNG. I feel like DK looked the most shaky today. ShowMaker is insane, and Canyon is really good, but their top and bot lanes seemed a bit weaker compared to the rest.

LNG also looked a bit weaker, but Scout is leading that team very well. The other Asian teams are top-tier, really hard to beat, but I’d be happy if we got to face G2.

Looking forward to the road to London and your next level of growth, what does that look like for you?

I don’t set a specific goal, like making quarterfinals, to say that I’ll grow as a player. I just try my best in every game and accept the reality. If we’re good and win, I’ll be happy. If not, we can’t lose our confidence. We’re here for a reason. We’re the best team in NA, and beating the best teams in the world isn’t easy. We’ll try our best and stay confident.

With Worlds being such a global stage you’re bound to have more fans, what’s something about you that you’d like to share with your fans? Could be anything.

I like to play football, and I’m a very competitive person. Whatever I’m doing, I always want to win. Whether it’s football or League, I want to compete against someone at my level and try my best to win.

Is there a player you think is as competitive as you?

From my current teammates, no. In the past, I’m not sure. Jojopyun was very competitive when we were on EG together, but he was a bit more lazy than me.

How about your competitors at Worlds?

I’m not that close to anyone on other teams, but I think Impact is a very competitive person. You can tell from his playstyle. He’s 29 years old and still playing League at a really high level.

Cecilia Ciocchetti

Hi, I’m Cecilia! A freelance writer mainly focusing on League of Legends and its esports scenes. Find me at events interviewing anyone who has a story to tell, from players to the talented people working behind the scenes. Do you also have a story to share? Reach out to me via Twitter.