An exclusive interview with XiaoWeiXiao: a Chinese pro LoL player in America

Fair warning, this statement is going to sound a bit weird: one of the most interesting stories in the American professional League of Legends scene this year is a Chinese team that isn’t playing in the LCS, America’s professional LoL league.

I’m talking, of course, about LMQ Tian Ci iBuyPower. For those that don’t know, LMQ is a Chinese professional League of Legends team that spent much of last year competing in China’s LPL. A sister team to Royal Club, LMQ had a less-than-stellar showing at China’s highest level, and then—rather suddenly, it seemed—the team announced that it was moving to the US to compete in North America’s pro scene.

(See: LMQ runs away with first NA Challenger Series: is a Chinese team on the road to the LCS?)

On the eve of one of the team’s most important matches to date, I got a chance to interview LMQ mid player Yu “XiaoWeiXiao” Xian. XiaoWeiXiao, whose tag means “little smile”, used to play for Royal Club and is one of the best farmers in the world. In fact holds the current world record as the fastest player to 300 minion kills. He’s arguably the team’s most important player, and if they do make it to the LCS, XiaoWeiXiao will be a big part of the reason why.

(All quotes that follow are my translations from XiaoWeiXiao’s answers, which were in Chinese).

Coming to America

When I asked him, XiaoWeiXiao couldn’t or wouldn’t really explain why LMQ came to America in the first place. “That was all planned by the club,” he says. “As a team member, I just do whatever the club has planned and that’s it.” But he did say that his family and friends were “amazed” by the news that the team was heading overseas. “Before that, they didn’t think my work would go this well, or that I would be able to go abroad,” he says.

And are they worried about him, a 19-year-old living with other young gamers overseas? “They trust our club,” he says, “and I’m doing pretty well right now, so they are relaxed about it.”

XiaoWeiXiao says that so far, he hasn’t found there to be a big difference between the North American and Chinese League of Legends servers. “The biggest difference is the game version,” he says. “The Chinese version is generally 2 or 3 patches behind the American version.” But he hasn’t noticed a change in the amount of ragers; “There will always be some low-quality people everywhere,” he says. He also said he didn’t think there was a big difference between the North American and Chinese metas at the moment.

But is there a skill difference between the servers? “Ha, maybe Americans’ [skill level] is a bit higher,” he tells me. But then again, I’m American; he may just have been buttering me up.

Why so quiet, LMQ?

Speaking of the differences between Chinese and Americans, I asked XiaoWeiXiao why he thinks the team has gotten a bit of a reputation as being standoffish with some North American fans. The players haven’t appeared for many interviews, and much of what has been said (on their behalf through translators) has come off as a bit rote and stilted. XiaoWeiXiao says it’s a combination of lack of experience, language issues, and cultural differences causing the disconnect:

First, in the past we really haven’t done many interviews, especially with the foreign media, so we try to respond to questions in a simple way. Additionally, at the moment our English is really not very good, so that’s another reason. And as for the modesty aspect, perhaps that’s just how Chinese people are.

His mention of modesty—qianxu in Chinese—makes reference to a cultural phenomenon some of LMQ’s newer fans may not be familiar with. Although being overly braggy isn’t well-received in any culture, humility is especially valued in Chinese public figures, and what Americans might consider to be a justified display of confidence in an interview can often come off as an embarrassing and unattractive lack of humility to a Chinese audience.