FakeGod: ''I Feel That I Can Hold My Own Against Many Of The Top Laners''

As one of the newer top laners in the league and part of the only all-North-American roster this year in the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), Aaron “FakeGod” Lee has been working wonders for Dignitas.

Dignitas had yet another 3-0 week in the LCS’ fifth week this Spring Split, and the young top laner earned himself a player of the week award to top off his strong performances versus Team SoloMid, 100 Thieves, and Golden Guardians.

We had a chance to catch up with FakeGod after what seemed to be an impossible win versus Team SoloMid, as they overcame a ginormous deficit to win the game. 
 

You got a counter pick versus Huni, and you seemed to have done really well for yourself. Does this win feel even better knowing that you had that match up, and you did what you were supposed to do?

Well, I’d say as a counter pick, the lane wasn’t actually that good. My main contribution was the team fighting later with the Gangplank scaling, but it doesn’t feel that good because I played the early game so poorly — dying to Hecarim. And then there’s another time when Viktor had a roam and killed me too with Shen. So this doesn’t really feel that good; this just feels like a victory snatched from defeat, I guess, where it’s kind of undeserved, but a win is a win. 

I’d say right now I feel pretty confident in general. I feel that I can hold my own against many of the top laners compared to before.

From the spectator’s perspective, you and the rest of the team looked like you were always one or two plays away from either getting back into the game or come late-gate, winning it outright — which is what you ended up doing. Was this the feeling of someone who was in the game actually playing it?

It was kind of similar; we were mostly banking on our scaling in the solo lanes, because GP definitely out-scales Shen later on with four items. And mid-scaling was actually pretty even, but we were hoping that we'd have the GP out-scale, and then we would just play the team fight. Then with the Gragas utility just play front to back and get their backline; just team fight and then win. That was the general idea we had, until some plays were happening that weren’t very favourable for us, like three kills bot lane and then Baron was gone and whatnot. But we still had dragon soul condition, so we were relatively positive during the mid-game to late game. 

Dardoch mentioned in the post-game interview that even after your wins, both you and Soligo immediately beeline to him and ask about where you could have done better. Is this always a thing you’ve done in your pro player career since the start, or is this something you’ve picked up come this year?

I think that’s something I normally do unless I've played perfectly. But, you know, that doesn’t usually happen even for the best player. It’s just sometimes there’s a play early game that I’m thinking about even later during the game. And then win or loss (usually not after a loss because it’s kind of depressing) but after a win, I just ask really fast to make myself feel better about knowing how to fix that problem, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

This is not exactly the first time you’ve played on an LCS team, as you played for 100 Thieves two years ago. What’s the LCS experience like now that you are once again in the LCS with Dignitas, but this time you have LCS experience under your belt, not just Academy and Collegiate? 

I’d say right now I feel pretty confident in general. I feel that I can hold my own against many of the top laners, and compared to before, I feel like the experience in LCS before has helped me a lot, and in my second attempt in LCS this year. 

• Related - An Interview With Jezu - On The Rise

If you compare your career versus the likes of Ssumday, Impact, and even Alphari, you don’t have as much experience as them, and you just faced Huni. Knowing that you’re sort of not really a newcomer but you’re certainly newer than these top laners; how does it feel to face these top laners and, as you just mentioned, hold your own?

It feels a little daunting but not too much. They’re just another player with more experience and a lot more leadership, usually. I just try to play the same no matter who I’m against. And make sure to keep playing normally and not let myself get scared by their veteran status. 

I think I feel a little bit more pressure to able match his [Dardoch] idea of the early game and make sure the early game goes well.

Seeing as how Dardoch has a wide variety of champions in his pool, as the top laner for the team, does that change how you view the game for when you’re about to go into the match? Or is it “oh, he’s playing another champion, I have to get used to it in the game and just do my thing”?

Probably the latter. It’s like, “Oh yeah, he’s playing this champion, okay.” It’s just how it is. It’s just another jungler champion. If it’s completely new, I just ask really fast what does the jungle champ do and how do we want to play with it. Actually, that happens sometimes. I mean, I see it as a jungler (Dardoch) with a lot more champions to play than most others, and we just adapt as a team to it. 

Dardoch attracts a lot of pressure both with his champion pool and his presence in the early game. How does it affect your mentality going into the game, knowing that his pressure allows you to, maybe not completely do as you please, but focus more on what you have to do? Is there a specific aspect of the game that he helps with, in that regard? 

It’s not like I don’t feel pressure because of his early game. I think I feel a little bit more pressure to be able to match his idea of the early game, and make sure the early game goes well - with the scuttles and which lanes have priority and updating for that.  I mean, I think that’s pretty normal because in my career, usually, I think of the jungle leading the early game and the laners matching that and giving the right info and stuff.

You mentioned wanting to match Dardoch’s idea of the early game. Is it a feeling you haven’t experienced before, because he’s so commanding?

It’s a bit more different feeling because Josh - he expects a lot from his teammates. It’s like a good and a bad thing, mostly good. He just expects really good things from all his teammates. As improving, we’re mostly just thinking of  how to reach the level that he knows we can get to.

Alongside the rest of his teammates, FakeGod looks to continue the momentum he’s accrued when they face off against LCS Lock In champions Team Liquid in the Spring Split’s last week of the regular season on Friday, March 12. 

Some of these answers have been edited for brevity and clarity. 

Images via Riot Games