IMT Inero – “I don’t know if you’re going to see me next year”

As a seasoned esports veteran, I can relate to Inero’s thoughts on the importance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle in this fast-paced world of gaming. Having been there, done that, I wholeheartedly agree with his sentiments about prioritizing physical health, social interactions, and nutritious eating habits. It’s easy to get lost in the pursuit of victory, but it’s crucial to remember that our well-being is just as important as our performance.

Inero talks IMT struggles, his view on mental health, and his doubts about a return to LCS.

In this recent split, Immortals, a team of immortal-like players, didn’t meet their self-set standards. They were one of just two teams, the other being Shopify Rebellion, who failed to qualify for the LCS playoffs. Following their last series, Coach Nick “Inero” Smith sat down with Xpsp for a discussion about the shifting meta, the reasons behind his team’s struggles, and future prospects for esports. Here, we share our conversation with Immortals’ Head Coach Inero, as he reflects on his team’s performance this season and shares his concerns for 2025.

Inero talks Immortals’ failure

After completing the division, it seems to me that the series or the split has turned out quite differently than expected. So, where does your focus lie regarding the series at this moment, and could you share your feelings about it?

Nick “Inero” Smith expresses: “Ugh, my thoughts are occupied with the series…I’m not feeling great, not at all. It’s truly disheartening, incredibly frustrating. Game one was like, despite all the adjustments we made, it’s still the same issues that keep hindering us. From a coach’s standpoint, it’s quite dismal. I feel sorry for the players as I know they are putting in their best efforts, but we seem to be repeating similar mistakes in the same situations again and again. At least, we identified what was meant to transpire in each situation. The game is played by someone winning, someone losing, unfortunately today it’s not us.”

Did we tackle the same matters from our previous discussion during the split, or have you found solutions for some of the concerns we addressed before?

“Indeed, there appear to be many shared aspects. Identifying the reasons behind these similarities could potentially help us find solutions. However, I must admit I’m uncertain as to why. We’ve explored numerous strategies and held multiple discussions on how to tackle this issue, considering both soft and hard approaches. Everyone involved is in agreement about what we should do and how we should approach it. The challenge lies in effectively implementing these plans when the time comes and bringing our ideas to life. Unfortunately, we’ve found it difficult to achieve this, especially during the execution phase. This is where success truly matters, so I can’t quite pinpoint what might have made things easier for us.”

As someone who closely follows your insights on the game, I wanted to get your take on lane swaps and the ever-changing meta. From your perspective, there seemed to be a significant focus on Void Grubs as an objective earlier in the season. With the emergence of these powerful AD solo laners, do you believe this trend is a continuation of the same meta or are there other factors at play?

“It’s not always the case, but having an AD solo laner benefits AP junglers mainly by facilitating damage spread. However, lane swaps still occur, especially around the 10-minute mark for second grubs, when teams vie for control. The practice of swapping lanes for first grubs has diminished. Moreover, if you have an AD mid laner, they usually outperform mages early in the game, and this allows the support to move, hindering the mage’s early performance. This can have a minor but noticeable impact on the game.”

Inero compares esports to traditional sports mental health

As a long-time enthusiast of the League of Legends esports community, I’ve been closely following the recent discourse surrounding mental health. In a heartfelt conversation with Sniper, he candidly shared the toll that competitive play takes on his mental wellbeing. In the same week, Meech stepped away due to mental health concerns, and Faker showed signs of burnout after T1’s match against Gen.G. Given my background in the North American scene, I can’t help but ponder upon the delicate equilibrium players must maintain between the intense personal and emotional pressures of competition.

“It’s a competitive sport at the end of the day. For people who have been around or aware of traditional sports, the mental health stuff is always there. There’s lots of stress. It’s a stressful job, it’s a stressful experience. There’s not much you can really do to change that apart from just really being aware of yourself and aware of what is good for you and bad for you. I think for the esports space, a lot of it is finding ways to be healthier. I think it’s really, really undervalued, I mean, we’re all gamers.

A sedentary lifestyle spent at home, indulging in frequent snacking and video games may not promote good health. Additionally, this lifestyle might not foster a balanced social life nor encourage proper nutrition, which are crucial for overall well-being. It’s essential to maintain relationships with others, eat nutritiously, and engage in physical activity to avoid potential health issues in the future.

“You need to maximize how much you’re training and you can’t really drop that, but you have to be aware of the rest of life around you. Traditional sports guys, it’s all physical so your practice is shorter than it is in esports. But there’s a lot of film time that people devote time into. They have more social life and they’re naturally healthier because they’re athletes. So it’s a part of the job. In esports, as a whole, that aspect is sacrificed a decent amount in the name of getting a few more solo queue games in, rather than necessarily having good practice. That stuff is important, I think it’s something that really needs to be addressed for each person individually. Easier said than done, you know?”

Inero doesn’t know if he’ll be back in LoL esports in 2025

2025 looks like it’s shaping up to be an exciting year for League of Legends as a seasoned gamer! With the LCS league changes, infrastructure upgrades, and more on the horizon, I can’t help but wonder about the challenges that might come my way next year.

“I think the biggest obstacle is the one that’s remained for LCS in general. It’s making a product that people care about and want to watch in general. That’s something that hasn’t been figured out by Riot or the teams. I don’t think it’s been figured out at all. That’s the one that’s really going to matter. On the competitive end of things, it’s not really gonna change too much, we’re gonna have a similar amount of competitive teams. It will make it harder for younger talent to really get into the scene, unless they’re huge standouts, but that’s already been the case. I don’t think it’s going to change too much. I don’t even know, maybe that’s the biggest hurdle, I don’t know if you’re going to see me next year on stage, if we’re being realistic here.”

Any final words to sign off the split?

“Firstly, I want to express my gratitude to all fans once again. It’s heartening to receive private messages from dedicated supporters who have always been there for me. Their support means a great deal to me. I’m especially thankful for The Immortals fans and the fans of our team members.

Regardless of what happens next year, you are a legend in my book for the amazing runs with Golden Guardians. Those LCS moments are among the best ever for me. So, I just wanted to say thank you. The teams you’ve assembled have provided me with countless hours of passion for the game, so again, thank you for that.

“Appreciate that, man. Thank you very much.”

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2024-08-25 14:34