SK Lilipp: “Treatz is still doing a lot of the shotcalling, I’m more focused on getting the experience of which calls are good and which ones are not at this level”

SK Gaming have finally found their first victory of LEC 2021 summer, defeating Excel Esports in a 30 minute slugfest. They still have a long road ahead of them and remain last in the standings, but finally, there is hope.

Central to their victory was SK’s new support Philipp Samuel “Lilipp” Englert, who spoke to us about his callup to LEC, how he has been fitting in and what his goals are.

Thank you for accepting this interview. Congratulations on SK getting their first win and making it to the LEC! Before I ask about the game against Excel Esports, how has it been like for you to make LEC? Have you been experiencing a lot of pressure or nerves?

Lilipp: It feels really good to play in the LEC! My team is really nice to me, everyone has been really helpful, especially since I have Erik “Treatz” Wessén in the jungle who is a support main. I have two people in the team who can actively teach me to play my role better. To be honest, I was shaking a little in the last two games. I was a bit nervous but I think that’s just how things start out.

Speaking of nerves, in the game against Excel, I’d like to ask you about your level 4 dive when you flashed in, got the kill but died in return. What was the communication like? Or was it you saying, “I’m going to do this to show the LEC I’m here to play!”?

Lilipp: (laughs) The communication was more akin to, “yeah, we can look for a dive on this wave”, but I think I went in a little bit too early though. Unfortunately, my Ignite was the one that got the kill so the dive definitely could’ve been played better, but I think it was fine in the end.

Were you nervous when you were coordinating that play?

Lilipp: I think I was pretty calm. Overall, I was shaking a little in the game but I wasn’t nervous pulling off that dive.

That’s nice to hear. SK go 1-1 and coming into today, what did you guys work on from yesterday’s defeat against MAD Lions?

Lilipp: The game against MAD was more of a problem of… maybe a lack of focus from myself. I think I died at least four times unnecessarily, so for today I focused more on playing safe and went for the 80-90% plays. That was the biggest change against Excel.

What has been like for you to lane against LEC bot lane duos like MAD and Excel’s, compared to say, Prime League bot lane duos?

Lilipp: I think both are pretty fine to lane against. Obviously you have pressure on you since the opponents are very good mechanically, so it’s harder to 2v2 them like in the game against MAD where we got killed 2v2 as well. It’s for sure different compared to the Prime League, everyone in LEC is not playing to kill in these 2v2’s, they are playing more as a team, so I wouldn’t say there’s hard pressure in lane.

I think another difference is the LEC bot lanes play confidently as well. For example, if you look at the players in the Prime League, you can ask yourself if they are playing perfectly or not. If yes, maybe you don’t win some trades but if they make one mistake, you can 2v2 kill them. In LEC, you can expect your opponents to mostly play all the matchups extremely well, so maybe it’s not wise to take the risk of say, a 60% play.

Well you have William “UNF0RGIVEN” Nieminen as your partner in SK Prime so it’s always going to be a 2v2 isn’t it?

Lilipp: Yeah, for sure!

Moving on, coming into the LEC was definitely a big change for you. What’s the team atmosphere like knowing that you were coming up? Was it easy to slot into the team?

Lilipp: It was pretty easy, yeah. Everyone on the team is really, really nice and they are all helping me a lot to do the best they can for me. I felt very welcome and also having the feeling that they think they can win with me, that takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders.

That’s very nice. How’s your relationship with current jungler Treatz, since he was the previous support? Does he actively give you a lot of pointers and advice?

Lilipp: He definitely is. For example, in scrims when something bad happens or a play doesn’t pan out, we go into VOD reviews after the games and he shows me when I should engage or what combo I should use. If I’m playing on Alistar for example, he discusses with me if I should Flash + combo or W into Flash + Q. We are actively talking about engage timings during and after games.

Treatz was also known to be very vocal in shotcalling when he was the starting support, is this a role you’re trying to fit in as well?

Lilipp: Treatz is still doing a lot of the shotcalling, I’m more focused on getting the experience of which calls are good and which ones are not at this level. I’m vocal in LEC games but Treatz is still the one doing most of it, and I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from him.

With you being promoted, this continues to show more and more rookies are being promoted from the European Regional Leagues (ERLs). What are your thoughts on rookies entering the LEC in general?

Lilipp: I think all the rookies are pretty good and it’s always nice to get that chance to play in the LEC. Most of the rookies are not that passive and respect their opponents, they are more confident in their plays and most of them just go for it. I definitely get that vibe from the rookies this season.

A slightly more difficult question: When you were promoted, there were a lot of conversations about it and talks on how there could be the possibility of this promotion hurting your career if things didn’t go well. What are your thoughts on that and were you surprised by the promotion?

Lilipp: I don’t think it can hurt my career in any way. I mean, of course it’s bad to lose when you’re in the LEC as a rookie and you’re not performing too well. But in the end, as long as I don’t go mental or lose my focus, I think it’s always the best choice to take the LEC offer because I can learn so much and that will help me in my career in the long run, as long as I remain focused.

I wouldn’t say I was surprised, I did somewhat expect to be called up, but maybe a bit later into the season depending on how LEC results went. On the day I received the call asking if I wanted to play in the LEC, of course I was extremely hyped. I didn’t think about if SK could do things differently, I was thinking, “nice, I get the chance to play in LEC and prove myself”.

I’ve watched you occasionally from the OP innogy eSport days and I know you like playing champions like Pyke, for example. Are there any champions you’d like the chance to play in LEC?

Lilipp: I can’t say too much on what champions I want to play for that surprise factor but I definitely have some special picks in my pocket. If the situation is right, I’ll get to pick it but it’s not likely at the moment.

It’s not Sion is it? I know you’ve played Sion + Senna in the past…

Lilipp: Maybe? Maybe we play Senna + Sion or Senna + Wukong? Who knows! I used to play Senna + Wukong back in OP innogy too, so it’s a maybe!

Before we end, what are your personal goals and expectations for this season, now that you’ve made LEC?

Lilipp: I just want to improve as much as possible. Having the opportunity to gain LEC experience, I just want to learn as much as possible and be ready to stay in the LEC next season. Those are my biggest goals, really.

Thank you Lilipp and best of luck!

Also read:

Do you think Lillip shows promise for SK? Join the discussion on social media or on our Discord

You can also help improve our website by submitting direct feedback!

Image Credit: SK Gaming
*The listed articles are provided through affiliate links. A purchase after clicking through them supports us at esports.com as we will receive a small commission without additional cost to you.