Le jungler de la formation MAD Lions Javier "Elyoya" Prades Batalla a répondu aux questions de la rédaction. Il y parle de la méta, mais aussi des changements faits et à venir sur la saison d’été 2021.
Javier "Elyoya" Prades Batalla, MAD Lion jungler, answered our questions about the meta, the swap, and the changes that occurred and will occur.
Given your fantastic performance during MSI, everyone was kind of waiting for you to dominate in Europe. We can safely say that the early season was a bit rough. You have ups and down. Was it something that you expected as a team or the first weeks were a bit of a disappointment?
No, it was expected because since we came from MSI, we were pretty tired and only had two weeks of rest. So we even set in MSI that we were going to take the summer season easy. We are not going to go hard. Like, right now we are playing matches, we are not even training that much because we want to have some time to relax. And also we only had two weeks, which is, in my opinion, not enough after six months of just like, nonstop work with matches.
So we were expecting this start to be a bit rough. Also, if we combine that with the recent cases of positives we had, I think everything made this start a bit rough.Coming back in the summer spring, some champions made their appearance on the Rift. Of course, there are Viego and Gwen that were here for the first week, and Mundo that came in week 3. So Viego and Gwen made a lot of change in the meta as there is one of them that is picked or banned in almost every game. With the new patch coming up, the one that will reduce mobility, do you think the meta will also change or this patch isn't much of a change on the scene?
I think meta will change just a bit because the Stridebreaker change, for example, is going to affect some champions. But not all, it's also buffing some champions. Like maybe Nocturne, he benefits a lot from these Stridebreaker changes. So there are for sure going to be some changes. I don't think the meta is going to shift too much. I think it's going to be kind of same to us, but there might be some new picks, maybe some will disappear.
The interseason this year in Europe was, I'd say, paced by the swap roles that occurred in a lot of teams. The biggest change that we saw was Bwipo going from top to jungle. Do you think that this change can be good for the player, for the team, or not?
I think if they made that change, it has to be for sure, for the greater of their player. So I trust them and that's going to be a good change. I consider why it's what it is. I think Bwipo is for sure a really good player and he understands him up really well. I think the quality he has actually fits a gungler pretty well, which is he wants to make stuff happen and that's harder as top as a jungle is way easier. So I think it's a role that's fitting. I think you just need some time to adapt to it and learn how to actually play it, but he's for sure really great player. And I think it's going to make Fnatic a better team.
Elyoya on the LEC's stage
To keep talking about Bwipo, the first week of Bwipo was a mark of confidence from Fnatic, but also some risk has been taken, especially with this Karthus. The one with TP and Smite. Do you think that champions and cheesy stuff like that can happen a lot or is this very specific to one player?
It's not specific to one player, but I don't think everyone would do it. I think you need to be confident enough, like just don't care about critics, because if you're doing something new, you're doing something that is not usual. You're going to get flamed by pretty much everyone. Like if it goes wrong, we are going to get really flamed. So you need to be ready for that mental. I think that's the only variable, because if you believe something is good, you should just go for it. And I think that in the League right now I would say the top players all kind of do it. If we believe, it's good. The bottom players, maybe some would, some wouldn't. So not sure, if this answers is the requested one here. (laughs) But I think there are more players that will do this, and I think it's a viable strategy going TP. I also tried it myself, not with Karthus but with some other champs, for example, some played Kayn. I mean, in LPL they played a Kayn with TP Smite. I also tried it. I didn't like it, but I tried it in scrims. So yeah, it's something that has some logic behind.
Okay, the top European teams has been shifted. I mean, in comparison to the last splits. Of course, we've always seen G2 and Fnatic as a top 2. Now it's shifted a bit because of course, Rogue stands as the top 2 with Fnatic. But now Misfits is in the first place. What do you think caused this change? Is it Misfits that got a bit stronger, or is it more of the other teams that maybe took it easy or need time to adapt to lots of roster changes?
I think Misfits improved a lot. Actually, yes, I think Misfits is a pretty good team. I think their topside of the map is actually really good, Razork, HiRit, Vetheo are three very strong players, I would say. And even though it might be that, for example, like us, we kind of like are going slow. So I think the other teams have been scriming for long, like G2, Rogue, Fnatic, this kind of teams. So there is no excuse for them. I think Misfits just got better.
We are reaching the end of this interview, any last words for your fans?
Yeah, I would like you to keep supporting us. Even though we didn't show the greatest performance. We are going to be at our peak for our players, because this is what really matters for us, because we want to make a good run. Last time we had some trouble. Yes, I just want to say keep cheering for us. Thank you for the support you guys sent us. Thank you so much.
