This interview was translated from DailyGame.co.kr to English by 5MahN.

Original interview by Daily eSports reporter Kang Seung-gil and was published August 7, 2013.

The guest we found for this week’s LOL STAR is CJ Frost’s midlaner ‘Ganked By Mom’ (real name: Lee Chang-seok). This player is really something. I started off the interview with no expectations but it turns out he is an eloquent rookie with many talents. Although this is his first solo interview since his debut, the time sped by as he naturally shared his thoughts.

Lee Chang-seok’s debut as part of the CJ Frost roster was in their first game of the Summer season. Famous for being a skilled Orianna player, he played the Lady of Clockwork in both sets and made his name known with a proper blast. Whether it was achieving a solo kill on Ezreal in the midlane or making a game-changing three-man ‘Shockwave,’ Lee Chang-seok showed that he really was the Orianna master.

The youngest member of CJ Frost who swept aside Rapidstar… let’s start the interview, shall we?

Nice to meet you. Please introduce yourself to the fans.

Hello. I am the player watching over CJ Frost’s midlane, ‘Ganked By Mom’ Lee Chang-seok. Since high school the only things I did well were math and games. Therefore I have always wanted to be a pro gamer, and to be on a team as amazing as CJ Frost makes me very happy.

Wait a second, you were good at math? That doesn’t match with your image at all.

Except for math, I was horrible at all the subjects (laughs). I’m the type that can focus for long periods of time. When I’m in the zone, something can happen next to me and I wouldn’t notice it. With math, as long as you focus you can solve the problems easily. Besides math, I also did a lot of piano and badminton. I competed as a representative of my school and even won a prize.

I’ve never heard that before. You really are a person of many talents. But back to the interview, tell us how you joined CJ Entus Frost.

When I was an amateur, I was part of the team n.Die.Guts. I formed a team with current Najin Black Sword member ‘Nagne’ Kim Sang-moon, and for amateurs we had pretty good results. In the middle of NLB Spring 2013, I got a call from Coach Son Dae-yang. At first I thought he was a fraud. After I found out the truth I was very happy. However, I also had thoughts like “why does CJ want me?”

Coach Son Dae-yang has a good eye for talent. You’ve been very successful in the OGN Summer season’s Round of 16. Has your life with CJ been satisfactory?

I really enjoy the family-like atmosphere. Also, I have an outgoing personality so it was easy to adapt. It is so comfortable that at times I do get a bit lazy, but at those times our managers and coaches pull me back in line.

Fans call you “4 dimensional”* but I haven’t really seen that side of you yet.

“4 dimensional”: Korean slang for being a bit weird and out-of-this-world

Since I was young I’ve heard that I was rather unique. My personality isn’t abrasive but rather peaceful, so at school I was friendly with all my classmates. I was also class president for three years. In my second year of high school I got a bit self-centered and didn’t go to meetings, though, so I did get cut.

Your spirit seems like ‘Maknoon’ Yoon Ha-yoon. So shall we let you brag about yourself a little bit?

I’m very bright (laughs). Also, I don’t easily get angry. I have been scolded by my girlfriend about that, since I end up laughing in situations where I’m supposed to get angry. I’m very ambitious, too. I have a lot of curiosity and am very competitive, so I love facing new challenges. When I played solo queue I was called “troll” often, but when I carried everyone liked it. Nowadays, it is very common to pick mid Ezreal, right? Honestly, I was using that since half a year ago.

So was mid Ezreal your idea?

There are an infinite number of item build and champion combinations. So champions that aren’t in trend at the moment can become popular with time. I was in the first generation of mid Ezreal players. Even though people called me a troll, I still won.

Your IGN is rather humorous. The name ‘Ganked By Mom’ is funny by itself, but I have a feeling there’s a story behind it.

There are times when you’re secretly on your computer in the middle of the night. My mom would always come in and scold me to hurry up and go to sleep. I think there’s a lot of people who can relate to this. We call that situation “um-ke,” short for “umma critical” (meaning: mom critical). I would often see people typing in chat, “um-ke happened so I have to leave. Sorry.” So I wanted to make my IGN “Mama Critical,” but it didn’t sound very good. Thinking it over and relating the situation of being ambushed by your mom to being ganked, I came up with the name “Ganked By Mom.”

This came up earlier, but core n.Die.Guts member Kim Sang-moon joined Najin. How does it feel knowing you both joined such good teams?

I do keep in contact with Sang-moon. We cheer each other on before games. Fans thought it would be fun to see ‘Nagne’ and ‘Ganked By Mom’ facing each other, but it’s regretful that Sang-moon didn’t make it past the Round of 16.

In the Round of 16 you played all three matches, so fans were curious where ‘Rapidstar’ Jang Min-sung was. Please tell him we said hello for us.

Min-sung is practicing well, so there’s nothing big to worry about. Our relationship is one where we cheer for each other and help each other out. Since I joined Frost you think there might be more pressure on Min-sung, right? But from the beginning he was very good to me, and we got close very quickly. In the future, I hope we continue helping each other and become world-class mid laners.

So now let’s go in depth to talk about League of Legends. From your first game in the Round of 16 you made a big impact. Considering it was your debut, you showed a very calm exterior. Were you not nervous?

In high school I was leader of the band club. Once we performed on a very big stage. Of course, before the game I was a bit nervous. However, after I started focusing I didn’t remember anything. I was so immersed in the game that I couldn’t see anything else.

There were a couple of games where you could have won MVP. Do you feel sad?

There is a little regret. However, rather than winning MVP I think winning the game is the most important. MVP? I’ll get it someday. There will come a day where I get it (laughs).

Your Orianna play is really astounding. Your gameplay was truly worth the name of ‘Orianna master.’

When I first started LoL, my ELO fell to 1100 points. That was about a year ago. In those days I played Gragas with lots of confidence, but sinking into the abyss I felt rather hopeless. So I made a new account and was thinking about what to main when I saw Ambition play Orianna. So from level 1 to level 30 I only played Orianna. In ranked games, too, I only played Orianna and got to 2100 ELO.

They don’t call you the master for nothing. So what are the most attractive qualities of Orianna?

With the orb, you can make lots of versatile plays. Orianna’s applicability and utility is ridiculously high. On the other hand, her roaming is underwhelming. If the enemy champion has flash you become incapacitated. So I have to win in lane no matter the matchup and focus on minion kills.

What tips do you have for the average Orianna player?

First off all, using smartcast is good. With Orianna you have to be able to move the orb instantaneously, so if you don’t use smartcast oftentimes your reaction will be delayed. Also, calculate the amount of the shield, and move while using your ult. In team fights, save your ult until the perfect time.

Orianna was quite popular in Season 2 but we didn’t see her for a long time in Season 3. Is there a reason she’s being played again now?

For a while, the poke team comp was very common, right? Orianna didn’t fit very well into the early Season 3 meta. Also, the whole Warmog’s craze made it very hard for her to kill champions because they had so much health. After that I’ve gradually seen more pros play Orianna but it’s all been quite underwhelming. She’s a champion that requires a lot of skill. That’s why I think she hasn’t worked well lately.

Your Orianna build always has Haunting Guise in it.Could you explain why?

Looking at Orianna’s power curve, her mid game is a bit lacking. To compensate for that I buy Haunting Guise. You get an extra 200 health which is good, and 15 magic penetration which has a really big effect. After Chalice of Harmony and Haunting Guise, your item build can go down two different paths. If your team lacks damage buy Rabadon’s Deathcap; if you want to grow safely while being able to be a tank, buy Rylai’s Crystal Scepter.

There are times where your first item is Tear of the Goddess, and other times when it is Chalice of Harmony. Explain your reasoning.

If you are facing an AD champion, it’s good to go with Tear of the Goddess. However, without cooldown reduction it is a bit harder to lane. Once you buy Archangel’s Staff you do a considerable amount of damage.

As Zed you always buy Sword of the Divine, that’s a bit unique as well.

I thought that in combination with Zed’s ult the item would be very efficient, so I tried it and the result was pretty good. More in depth explanation is a secret.

You use different items, runes and masteries compared to other pros. It seems like you are a typical research type player.

That’s right. I research a lot. On every champion I try out every single item build possible and calculate it’s effectiveness. I also talk about it with my teammates.

Besides Orianna you also play Twisted Fate and Zed. It feels like you have a wide champion pool, but is Orianna the champion you are most confident on?

Zed too. Recently I’ve gained confidence and received recognition from people around me. Zed’s shadow is similar to Orianna’s orb, so I think that’s why I can play him well.

I’ve also seen you play unusual champs like mid Kog’maw.

I have confidence in mid Kog’maw. LG-IM banned Kog’maw against us, remember? If I play Kog’maw, even if the other lanes fail I’ve shown that I can carry on my own. With mid Kog’maw, as long as you survive laning phase and can hit your Living Artilleries, it’s pretty OP. Though the risk is big, it all depends on how you play it. Soon, I think I will be able to show everyone.

Your most played champion in solo queue is Kha’zix. Since the last patch it’s been difficult to pick Kha’zix, so what do you think about that?

In teamfights, Kha’zix used to be able to make versatile plays, but now after the Void Spikes nerf there are more variables to consider during laning phase, and overall he’s become more difficult. I think I have to do more research to form a solid opinion. If before Kha’zix was OP, I think he’s become just an average champion now.

Previously, Ambition said there weren’t many champions to play in mid lane. Have you been practicing any new champions, lately?

I like champions that can fill lots of roles by themselves. I mainly practice champions like Zed and Ezreal, who barely have counters and are good at poking, diving, and utility.

Now you are right in front of the Summer season’s quarterfinals. Your opponent is Najin Shield, how do you feel?

I’m not sure if I’ll play against Najin Shield, but if I do end up playing I’ll be facing ‘Ggoong’ Yoo Byung-jun, I suppose. He’s a player I’ve been watching for a long time and he plays well. I think it will be a difficult matchup. Najin Shield, as a team, is very strong as well. We’ll have to prepare well.

There will probably be a targeted Orianna ban?

There are a lot of champions to use. People say I have a shallow champion pool but it’s not that small. As long as you play 4 to 5 champions well, you can take a ban. Also, since Ggoong also plays Orianna she might not be banned.

How do you rate Ggoong’s Orianna?

Since a long time ago, it wasn’t very scary. Seeing as I am the world’s best Orianna, I know the matchup better than anyone. So if the opponent played Orianna I would be thankful. That said, if the didn’t ban Orianna and left her open for me, they would come to regret that decision.

Hypothetically, if Frost beat Najin Shield and Blaze beat KT Rolster B, then Frost and Blaze end up meeting in the semifinals. What do you think facing Blaze will be like?

CJ Blaze is an extremely good team. If we do end up meeting in the semifinals, then we’ll have to prepare a lot.

Blaze is strong because they have Korea’s best mid laner, Ambition. You practice with him every day, so what are your thoughts?

Really, he plays so well. Whatever champion he picks he plays it at the highest level. When I was an amateur, I had confidence that I would never lose in farm to everyone, but Ambition’s CS skills are really monstrous. He has good game sense, too. He’s a player deserving of the “Korea’s best mid laner” title. Practicing with a pro like that has really helped me improve.

You must be thinking about the World Championship as well. Even just thinking about playing in a stadium full of American fans must be exciting.

A dream I’ve had since I was young was to travel the world. But I’ve never been out of the country even once. Even the prospect of going to the States makes me happy. Along with my focus I’m also very competitive, but I do worry that I might not adapt to the time difference and not be able to make good plays. Starting from now I have to practice lots of things.

After talking to you in this interview I have great expectations of you. Since you are still a rookie, I hope you continue on with great determination.

League of Legends is my first MOBA game. I have a lot of focus, right? I learn everything quickly. Using that to my advantage I will become successful as a pro gamer. I will work hard to earn the title of world’s best mid laner.

First you have to crush Ambition (laughs). This was a wonderful interview. We’ll wrap it up with your final words about your goal.

My goal is obviously to win this year’s World Championship. I would be happy just to qualify, but I can’t even imagine what I’ll feel like if we win. Also, I want to win against Najin Sword’s Nagne in the regular season. And if I ever retire, I hope I’ll continue working in the field of esports. The people at NICE GAME TV like me very much, you see. Whether it be as a manager, coach, or someone on TV, I hope to work in esports.