As Contenders China Season 2's group stage came to a close, LinGan e-Sports finished strong, securing their playoff spot as the second seed from Group A. Overwatch Esports Weibo caught up with the team's flex DPS KaMi to discuss his goal as a professional player, his team’s biggest rival in playoffs and more.

The original interview was recorded and written in Chinese. Here is the authorized English version.

ID: Tang "KaMi" Yi Tao

Age: 18

KaMi, who reached top 20 on Chinese servers for many consecutive seasons and climbed to top two in Season 7 is a top-tier flex DPS in China. He helped his former team Skadi's Gift Skadi's Gift Inactive DMO Zhang Junhao (张峻豪) dps evillx Zhao Hanbin (赵瀚滨) dps Lanboss Lin Tanghan (林唐汉) dps Aidoudou Wen Yelin (闻烨琳) tank MelonZ Tian Baoyu (田宝钰) tank M1ka Liu Jiming (刘济铭) support Coldest Tong Xiaodong (童晓东) support finish Overwatch Team Story in the top eight and Contenders China Season 1 in the top eight, and made everyone remember his name with his amazing performance. He joined LGE.Huya LGE.Huya Inactive Sven Hong Eun-teak off tank Kami Tang Yitao (唐毅滔) dps Mer1t Choi Tae-min dps Molly He Chengzhi (何诚智) support Lengsa Chen Jingyi (陈婧逸) support in May of 2018. Not long after he joined, he helped LinGan e-Sports finish the Lanstory Cup in the top four and he shined in Contenders China Season 2. His consistent performance and wonderful play now leaves the audiences expecting more.

We believe his talents, mechanics and experience will surprise LinGan e-Sports and all the fans. Let's look forward to Kami's performance in the future.

Q: When did you start your professional career? What's your original intention, or what is your goal?

KaMi: I began my career around September in 2011. My first goal is obviously to win the [Contenders] championship.

Q: In your last game against Lucky Future Zenith Lucky Future Zenith Inactive YARG Kim Gwan-woo dps Lucid Yoo Jun-seo (유준서) support , who is in first place now, you and ErsTer played against each other on Genji, but your team lost ultimately. How do you feel about ErsTer's Genji? His team is still undefeated in Season 2, do you think they will keep winning games coming into the finals as they did last season?

KaMi: He played very well on Genji and he always used dragonblade effectively. Also, He always finished the last hits at the right time. He is a tough opponent for me. Lucky Future Zenith still dominates Contenders China but our team works very hard, we strive to beat them next time.

Q: Then how do you feel about your performance in the last game?

KaMi: Just okay, I didn't do very well in the details and didn't carry my team. I'm not satisfied with my performance.

Q: It's rare to see dive comp in Overwatch League as well as phenomenal Genji players. While in Contenders China, Genji still is a dominant character. As the top-tier Genji player in China, what causes this difference for you personally?

KaMi: We are lacking of effective methods to counter Genji. Compared to Overwatch League teams, we are worse at focus fire and coordination. We can't focus on the enemy Genji in the time he has no dash and deflect. Generally we use Tranquility and Sound Barrier to counter Dragonblade.

Q: With the meta shake-up caused by Sombra/Lucio/Moira buff and Mercy nerf, and new hero Wrecking Ball live on June 25th, what do you think this change means for the current popular double sniper comp and outdated dive comp?

KaMi: Maybe the Soldier/Tracer comp will come back again? The falloff buff for long-range heroes impacts the meta greatly, tank players should pay more attention in the coming meta to incoming damage. Though double sniper and dive comp won't be affected too much.

Q: In the last four weeks, LinGan e-Sports won all the games without much difficulty but lost to Lucky Future Zenith. Your team already secured the playoff spot, so now what's the goal of you and your team for this season?

KaMi: Get into the finals and fight for the championship!

Q: We also interviewed other excellent Genji players before, including Water, Jinmu, and WULIGIAO. What's the playstyle or advantages of your Genji compared to theirs?

KaMi: (Laughing) I get pocketed more and can deal with Pharah-Mercy easily.

Q: Your former team Skadi's Gift also achieved a lot last season. After Skadi's Gift disbanded, you joined LinGan e-Sports. LinGan e-Sports improved rapidly with the new additions, including you. What are the differences between playing for these two teams?

KaMi: I miss my teammates in Skadi's Gift so much and I hope they can also make it in Flag Gaming Flag Gaming Inactive ShowCheng Cheng Yu (程宇) off tank 800 Huang Li Hongding (黄李鸿定) tank . Everyone in LinGan e-Sports gets together as a team. We are working hard together toward our goals and we believe we can make it in the future. In the meanwhile, I wanna thank Cola for helping me a lot both in game and in life.

Q: "There are several veteran players in your team, like Rapunzel who used to play in APAC Season 1 and uNdeAD who began his career in OWPS Spring Season, but you are just a rookie to the Overwatch pro scene." As the new generation of top-tier players in China, how do you treat these kinds of comments? What do you wanna say to those who are new to Contenders China?

KaMi: Hard work always pays off, just strive to become better.

Q: One week left until Contenders China Season 2 playoffs and the spots are basically locked already. Which team do you wanna play against in playoffs? And why?

KaMi: I want to play Lucky Future Zenith badly. We lost to them twice but I'm not giving up. I really wanna beat them!