Interview with OpTic Academy League of Legends player - Allorim
I chat with OpTic Allorim on what it's like playing for the academy team and what his ultimate esports career goals are for the future.&l
Kieran 'Allorim' Logue is a professional League of Legends player currently playing for Optic Gaming Academy that also have some LCS games under his belt with OpTic Gaming. I have a chat with him on about what got him into League of Legends, how he felt about recent the team's recent academy results, and what his overall goals are for the future. With the recent OpTic/Immortals news, it'll be exciting to see what happens with both the academy and LCS rosters moving forward and to see how Allorim's League career continues to blossom.
You started your professional LoL career back in 2015. What was the initial appeal of the game to you and what had you been playing as your "main" game before League?
Allorim: The big reason I switched to League/decided to pursue it was because I just thought I was good at it. I got to 2300 ELO on the first season I started playing so, I figured I’d just stick with it and see where the game takes me. I played WoW mainly, along with Guild Wars when new expansions came out (Factions/Nightfall/Eye of the North).
You joined the OpTic academy team last year in June – what has your experience been like with them so far?
Allorim: I’ve really enjoyed my time here honestly, despite the unfortunate results. Everyone gets along and we’re just having a good time. I think the biggest difference between my time on EF academy and OpTic was that academy and LCS worked more closely together, and we’re all sharing ideas/talking to each other all the time.
How were you and the rest of the team feeling after the end of the Summer?
Allorim: I honestly feel that we were so much better than what the results showed, and I feel like everyone else felt the same. The players individually on our team I still believe are some of the best in the League, but we couldn’t keep a consistent record on match day. It’s really unfortunate, but I guess it happens sometimes.
Is there anything you can tell us about what will be/what is going on during the offseason to prepare for the next season?
Allorim: I’m not sure, with the switch going from OpTic to Immortals there will be a lot of changes starting from players all the way to where we’ll be practicing. It’s still too early to tell what it will end up like though.
How much do you work with the LCS team? Do you practice/bootcamp together?
Allorim: At the very least the academy and LCS team are close enough together to share ideas/how we think the game should be played. Sometimes players would sub in and out of scrims, just to see how other players perform. And like most teams there are in-house scrims where we’d test out our more secretive picks/strategies.
What is your ultimate goal for yourself and/or the team moving forward?
Allorim: I think everyone just wants to win, myself included obviously. Making the playoffs was a step forward for the LCS team, and it was a nice way to end the season, as it was OpTic’s last showing in the LCS. My personal goal is to just show everyone how much better I’ve become since the start of academy in 2018. I’m pretty confident about my steady growth over the years, and I want to prove that it’s paying off.
What has been your favorite moment so far in your League career?
Allorim: Academy finals spring 2018. Banger series with a crazy game 5. It might not be the highest quality League of Legends, but it certainly was a blast.
How are you feeling about the current meta? Are there any champions you are really enjoying playing?
Allorim: I think the meta is alright, I don’t have too many complaints. I’m a huge tank player so I’m still upset that Klepto exists, because if you ever blind a tank, get ready to be farmed off of by any ranged champ that takes Klepto. I’m really enjoying AP Glacial Cho’Gath recently, but that’s more of a solo queue thing.
Is there any player still in the Academy League that you’re surprised hasn’t been moved up full-time to an LCS roster?
Allorim: I think Blaber (from Cloud9) is due to move up sometime soon.
As a final, easy question – you used to play a good bit of WoW. Did you come back for classic release?
Allorim: I really wasn’t interested in WoW classic. Personally, I’m not a fan of how long and tedious the questing was back then. Now if there were WotLK servers, then it would be a different story, you’d catch me day and night in Azeroth waiting for ICC to come back out.
Thank you so much for taking time to answer some questions for us! Is there anyone that you would like to give a shoutout to?
Allorim: Shoutout to all the boys in OpTic Academy who made the last few splits a great time, hope to see everyone land a spot on another team next split!
Be sure and follow Allorim below to keep up with him and all things OpTic and League of Legends!
