Samsung Morning Stars support Vittorio “Click” Massolo on expectations for EU Masters Summer: “Our expectations for EUM are very high, as we believe when we are in top form our team can contest every other team in the ERLs. Our main issue is that we are not always at our best, so we’re working hard on it.”
Samsung Morning Stars (SMS) have been chasing the title of ‘PG Nationals champion’ and qualification to the European Masters (EUM), coming close a few times but it was not meant to be. However, in the Summer of 2020 their dreams have finally been realised.
As the champions of Italy, they have been seeded straight into the Main Event of EUM, where they will get an additional week to prepare for the competition. Despite being a clear underdog, they have high hopes for their maiden entry into the competition, according to veteran support Click. He joins us to talk a little about SMS’ form, their EUM expectations, and his thoughts on the current bottom lane meta.
Thank you for accepting this interview and first off, I’d like to say congratulations on winning the PG Nationals Summer 2020!
Samsung Morning Stars had some struggles in the regular split, and you guys even took down the very hyped Mkers in your playoffs run to the crown. How do you reflect on this season and what were the biggest challenges?
Click: Thanks for having me! Since the start of the split, we always had high expectations for ourselves and aimed to win the whole tournament. But at the same time, we knew that with the way we see the game there would be a lot of work to do in order to reach a higher level of play. Thus, we treated the regular season as a testing ground since the playoffs was what really mattered. We always focused on ourselves more than our opponents, while of course making adjustments based on any given situation. I wasn’t sure at the start how we would face up against the likes of Edward “Edward” Abgaryan and co. but I personally never lacked the confidence that to think we would win.
The biggest challenge on this road was coping with our first few losses as a team. We viewed the game in different ways and we didn’t properly express our feelings about it, and this resulted in many conflicts. That being said though, I’m really proud of my team in pulling through what most teams face at some point and eventually win the PG Nationals.
You have been with SMS since spring where YDN Gamers (YDN) were overwhelmingly dominant. How does the SMS of now compare to then?
Click: I think in general we are much better now in comparison to last split, even though I think we weren’t bad in spring. We just lacked playmaking potential and it was difficult to find our identity as players, as we would not be on the same page most of the time. But now we have some great individual talent but most importantly, we are able to play together as a unit.
I’d like to touch on YDN a little bit. Last split they ruled PG Nats and many expected Mkers to do the same. Why do you think YDN succeed where Mkers failed and how would you compare the competitiveness of both PG Nats splits in 2020?
Click: YDN had a very clear team identity, they kept training and improving from start to finish. On the other hand, in my opinion Mkers didn’t improve at all during the split. I think they were good individually but didn’t improve as a team, while every other team in Italy was gradually getting better.
Overall, I think the level of PG Nats was very similar between the two splits. I also believe that we would have qualified for EUM last split if the new playoffs format for summer was implemented.
Indeed, that would have been excting to see. I’d like to talk just a little on your long career.
You spent a long time on Team Forge, playing as a jungler and playing with Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro at one point. What were your best memories from that time and do you aspire to follow in Jiizuke’s footsteps?
Click: I’ve been in Team Forge so long so I have so many memories both good and bad, but if I had to choose the best…I would probably choose that time in 2016 when we played against NextGaming in an official Italian Riot tournament, the only team that could challenge us back then. In that finals, we won 3-0 in a straight sweep and I played Red Smite Nunu (which was kind of weird to be fair)! It was in front of a huge crowd against at the time, the people there were really enjoying the event and cheering for the teams, so it was a wonderful experience.
I don’t necessarily aspire to be like Jiizuke but for sure I would like to follow his steps and play in the LEC one day.
I find your transition from jungle to support interesting so here’s a thought: Do you think it’s possible to be like Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther where a player is able to freely switch between jungle and support? Would you try it with another player if you were given the chance?
Click: I don’t think is that simple. I believe even a player of Caps’ caliber can’t always be at the top of his game if he were to swap positions constantly. At the same time, I believe playing one role and then swapping to another gives you a different perspective on many aspects of the game, which can be very beneficial. It’s possible to swap positions but especially the first time it requires a lot of effort to make it work, and it also takes time to reach a high level of proficiency.
I would not mind trying to swap positions even during the same tournament with other players in my team, but it would be more of an experiment than anything else. I personally enjoy a lot playing different roles, just not top lane. Top lane sucks.
My thoughts goes out to all toplaners reading this. Right on to the main topic: EU Masters. What are SMS’s expectations for this edition and which region or teams are you keeping an eye out for?
Click: Our expectations for EUM are very high, as we believe when we are in top form our team can contest every other team in the European Regional Leagues (ERLs). Our main issue is that we are not always at our best, so we’re working hard on it but for sure we do have high hopes. I think every region has very good teams, but I believe the La Ligue Française (France) and the Prime League (Germany) are still the best regions.
AGO ROGUE toplaner Mathias “Szygenda” Jensen mentioned of all the minor region teams, he believes SMS has the most potential to maybe cause big upsets. What do you think of the Ultraliga representatives?
Click: Both AGO ROGUE and K1CK Neosurf are very good teams and would definitely be tough opponents but as I said before, we are not scared of anyone and we are looking to cause an upset or two in EUM.
Confident, I like it. You faced Racoon many times this split and they are in Play-Ins for EUM. Tell us a bit on what you think of their chances to exit the group and make it to the Main Event.
Click: I think they have a very good chance of getting out of their Play-ins group, but it will be much harder to get to the Main Event as there are many good teams in the other groups. But I do hope Racoon has some sort of trump card they have yet to show and won’t be afraid to play their game.
Regarding EUM, I’d like to ask your opinion on the current bottom lane meta. Some players have said it’s too restrictive (Cait/Ashe etc.) yet we are seeing picks like Sona + Lux being played constantly. What do you think of the current state of bottom lane and Sona + Lux in general?
Click: I completely disagree with that statement as I think there are so many champions you can play in the bottom lane. You just have to find them and not restrict yourself to the standard marksmen + support in the bottom lane.
At the same time, I really am not a fan of Sona + Lux as a combo because they feel far too forgiving. Even if you are 100 CS behind and lose two towers, you still have too many chances to win the game.
In regards to what you mentioned on Sona + Lux being too forgiving, what do you think is the best way to counter it right now? Most people suggest hard diving compositions or playing Blitzcrank for example.
Click: I think Blitzcrank can be a good answer as in theory if you grab either Sona or Lux, you are supposed to always win the fight. I personally feel dive compositions can work, but at the same time if you fail your dive you get hard stomped after. It’s heavily reliant on excellent execution and coordination, which is not always the best solution especially in high-pressure situations.
If I had to choose, I think Blitzcrank comps with a lot of single target damage is the best way to go or in general, just drafting a lot of tools to punish mistakes.
Other teams, take notes. I’d like to talk about Senna in particular. She one of the most popular bottom lane champions currently as she can flexed into either marksmen or support, not to mention she’s pretty strong in both roles too. What do you think of her current state at the moment?
Click: Senna is very strong and allows for many different team compositions, but conversely I also believe at the moment she struggles a lot against the current crop of meta marksmen such as Caitlyn and Ashe. She is also probably my best champion right now so Riot, please don’t nerf her.
Oh is she now? I know your partner Frederik “Guubi” Mortensen plays Senna as well so tell me right here: Who is the better Senna player?
Click: I am the best Senna player on the team, but he’s alright I guess (laughs).
Fair enough! Before we end, I’d like to ask you something on solo queue. Since you mentioned that bottom lane has many options available, as a support player is there an unconventional champion that you absolutely love playing and would you recommend it to the readers?
Click: I used to play a lot of Syndra support with good results actually. It’s really funny and surprisingly strong but sadly it got nerfed quite a bit recently.
Right now if I had to choose one champion, I would say Zac as he is a really underrated support pick. Just make sure that enemies have immobile carries or targets in general and you can put a ton of pressure.
I guess I can finally climb out of Iron now with your suggestions. Any closing thoughts?
Click: It was fun answering these questions and to all the readers, look out for SMS at the European Masters because we have a lot of unconventional strategies right now that we can’t wait to play!
