This article is part of “Professional Help” an ongoing series of tips and tricks from pro players on their favorite characters.

Poon “Ozora Veki” Kok Sing is Geek Fam’s offlaner, shotcaller and mentor, and a pivotal reason why Geek Fam placed second in this season’s MPL MY/SG, up from 5th/6th the season before.

In game two of the grand final against Resurgence, Veki performed stunningly on Terizla, turning team fights around in Geek Fam’s favor with clutch catches and surprise rotations.

Here are five tips from the man himself to help you play Terizla just like Veki:

1. Play the macro game! Run Fighter Emblem and Arrival

For Fighter Emblem, I will choose between Firmness for physical defense, or Shield for magic defense depending on the enemy heroes I’m facing.

Next, I usually add points into Persistence for extra HP and more bulkiness. Lastly, Festival of Blood grants me spell vamp for more sustain, as my first item is Queen’s Wings instead of Bloodlust Axe.

For Battle Spells, I usually choose Arrival for rotation pressure since Terizla is a really slow and heavy hero. Sometimes, I will choose purify if the enemy has a lot of heavy CC and I know I can’t survive in the side lane.

2. Buy Queen’s Wings as your core item

Queen’s Wings is the most important item for Terizla. I also buy defensive boots. Bloodlust Axe is my second item, into Athena’s Shield or Dominance Ice depending on the enemy lineup. After that, patch up any additional resistances that you need, finishing off with Immortality.

For defensive items, you will always need to see if the enemy lineup is more physical or magic heavy. This is very important for itemization overall.

3. Build combos around Execution Strike

When it comes to trading in lane, you should always look to hit your first spell as it slows the enemy and speeds you up. The explosion damage is also massive if you land your combo well. General combos are Revenge Strike (1) into Execution Strike (2): 1-2-2-2 for trading, or lead with Penalty Zone (3): 3-1-2-2-2 for team fights.

4. Peel for your carries or initiate on the backline

Depending on the team composition, you should look to push your lane quickly and try to rotate because Terizla doesn’t have much kill pressure. This is where Arrival comes in handy.

For team fights and around objectives, since I usually would not run Flicker, it’s hard to catch the backline with my ultimate, so I will peel for my carries and be a meat shield. By using Penalty Zone on the enemy front line, they won’t be able to pressure my backline.

If you prefer Flicker on Terizla, feel free to initiate on the backline. For me, taking Arrival means I can only engage the backline if I land a nice teleport flank behind the enemy.

Note that Terizla’s third hit of Execution Strike has high burst damage, so it could act like Retribution to secure objectives.

5. Know when to shine on Terizla

Terizla is more of a counter pick hero. Having Atlas or Khurfa as teammates is currently the best wombo combo.

I personally pick Terizla for countering the enemy when they have too many melee heroes, as that makes Terizla’s Penalty Zone way easier to land. Terizla is very prone to kiting, so I won’t recommend picking him against a team with many ranged heroes.

READ MORE: Geek Fam’s Ozora Veki: ‘Kaja is incredibly broken’