Hey everyone, my name is Cristian “Cris” Rosales and I play top lane for Team
Coast. Unlike a lot of the current players, I didn’t really enjoy a lot of earlier mobas.
I primarily played FPS, and participated in a lot of sports before joining the League
community. I used to play an FPS game called “Soldier Front.” The game is extremely
popular in Asia, and grew slowly in NA. At that time, I enjoyed watching the top
Korean FPS play. This was a long time ago (5-6 years), but their esports infrastructure
was already advanced, and the production value for the streams was very high
quality. So it kind of made me want to be part of the scene.
My experience with Soldier Front, and my passion for traditional sports, sparked
my drive to be competitive in everything I did. I got into League when an old
Soldier Front friend suggested that I try it out. I didn’t like League at first because
I played only Twisted Treeline. In one of my early games, a Master Yi player just
went off and wrecked my team. I decided after that experience, Soldier Front
was just my focus for awhile. So I guess you can say Master Yi stunted my growth
as a League player. LOL. I also played traditional sports competitively. My experience
ranging from Clubs/High School Soccer and a lot of basketball in my spare time with
friends.
However, the League scene started to grow at a rapid rate. Naturally, I wanted to
take another look at it. After seeing how competitive the games were, my interest
was peaked. At first I realized my set up at the time wasn’t adequate to play
League. Realizing that I needed a high performance desktop to play the game
competitively, I got a job and worked hard. I worked for two months before I could
afford the PC I needed. But when I got it, it was worth every hour of work. After
getting my new computer, I started the grind. Getting high elo was a pretty cool
experience, and the consistent practice taught me the basics of playing League
competitively. Now, Coast provides a top level CyberPower computer for everyone
on the team, and we have great internet at the gaming house. It’s quite a luxury
considering where I started. We even have a basketball court in the back yard where
we can work off some energy.
I really enjoy being on Coast. The last Coast LCS season was very disappointing,
but I feel really strong with this new roster. It was hard to accept being 1-17, but we
learned from the experience. Since we began working with Saint and the rest of the
new Coast coaching staff, I have found new motivation, and the desire to improve
the way I play. I spend a lot of my time working on the details, and making changes
to my play style in coordination with the rest of the team. Saint looks at coaching
differently from other coaches I have worked with. He spends a lot of time
reviewing the macro game rather than talking about individual, mechanical
mistakes. This helps the team to understand the game at a higher level, and make
better decisions.
Having structure is helping a lot, and of course, our new Jungler Shrimp is a
beast. We’ve all found our own ways to contribute to the success of the team, and I
have a lot of confidence in our ability to compete at a top tier LCS level. A lot of
people say that Coast always dominates in Challenger, then performs poorly in the
LCS. I have faith in my team that this time will be different. So far, we haven’t
reached our peak and are improving every day. Everyone has the same motivation
and respect for each other. This is a new experience and it is a good one. I do miss my
family and friends back home on the East Coast, but playing competitive
League is just something I need to pursue right now. As long as this team continues
to improve, and is as competitive as I am, I’m in.
I know that the community has not always been friendly to me. And a lot of that
is probably deserved. I can honestly say that I’ve learned from my mistakes, and
grown up a lot. I’ve made it my goal to not only improve as a player, but also as a
person. For those of you who have been supporters, thanks. To the others, I hope
you will give me the opportunity to show you who I am now. Thanks for reading!
Cris – [Twitter] / [Facebook] / [Azubu]
Team Coast – [Twitter] / [Facebook] / [Youtube] / [Azubu] / [Website]