ROCCAT Jankos : "Nous visons le Top 3 "

Choosing which team was the biggest surprise of the LCS Spring Split 2014 is really hard to do because of two “new” top teams emerging: SK and Roccat. To not be interested in which team was the bigger surprise would be a grave mistake. This is why we met Jankos, team Roccat's jungler, and asked him a few questions. 

 

 

team-aAa.com : Hello Jankos. First of all, thanks a lot for letting us do an interview with you. So you are the jungler of team Roccat previously known as Kiedyś Miałem Team. Can you introduce yourself for our readers ?

Jankos : Hey guys, my name is Marcin. My tournament handle is Jankos, I am 19 years old and I play Jungle for Team ROCCAT.

 

You participated in many tournaments like ESL or Dreamhack before earning a place in LCS. What is your best memory from this period ?

The most memorable moment at the event for me was during the LCS Lille Challenger Stop, because it was my first LAN event of this size . The crowd was amazing and I loved how the French fans reacted to all the plays and players.

 

Now it's time to talk about the LCS. Congrats on the third place, it was really impressive. Lots of people thought that you would have performed like the ex MYM or Dragonborns who were Polish teams also, but you proved that they were wrong. How do you feel now ?

In the last split we had the advantage of being the new team and people didn’t really know how to react to our playstyle. We were underdogs and people were still underestimating us so we had the advantage. Also, the pressure on us wasn’t that high because people didn’t expect much from us, while right now everyone looks at us as a top team and they expect us to perform as such - which brings more pressure on our shoulders.

 

You have a long history with your teammates; if we except Gambit and Fnatic, you are the team that has played together for the longest time in the EU LCS. Nowadays we can see teams with great players but without experience playing together, like TSM. What is your opinion about this ? 

The current meta is more about rotations and playing as a five person unit rather than individual plays. Currently, the individual player level is not that important as you can see its about map control and pressure. So it is not about how high skilled you are no matter what team you join, its about your cohesion with the team.

 

 

Will we see more teams with great players instead of team with players who spent a lot of time together, like it is in professional sport  ?

I think more and more teams are gonna pick up the high solo talented players because all the rotations and team movements can be taught with the time, while the solo skill is something that you either have or you don’t.

 

Is there a player or some players you really want to play with ? I'm not talking about making a new team but in a show match like the All Stars.

DiamondProX is definitely a really good player. I have been looking up to him since I started playing League of Legends, so it would be an absolute honour to play a match alongside him, even though we are both junglers. Also Froggen because of his love for the game which leads him to being one of the best players in the world.

 

Let's go back to the EU LCS. What is your objective for the summer split ?

We are definitely aiming for top 3. I think every single team in Europe will be fighting for those 3 spots that send you to Worlds. Every single players dreams about it. Worlds is what makes you a real top team! 

 

How are you preparing ?

We are playing as much as we can, way more than we used to in the spring split. Also we are watching a lot more games from Korea, NA and even China whenever we manage to get some. Currently the meta shifts way too fast so seeing what other people do and adapting to the news strats is really important.

 

Talking about the World Championship, who is currently the best team according to you ?

According to me SKT T1 K is still the best team in the World. They had a downhill performance recently in Korea, but I think when worlds and all the major international events start up, they will get back in shape and they will start winning again as they showed at All-Stars. 

 

Now can you tell us how it feels to play in the LCS ? Is it really different from playing in a tournament like Dreamhack ? Do you miss sometimes that kind of tournament ?

Usually travelling to events give you the hype and the motivation to win a lot more than what we have in LCS currently. The steady long term weeks makes you used to the feeling to play without the extra excitement that sporadic, live events bring to you. I am really excited about Week 5 which will be at Wembley, the arena looks huge and amazing. I hope it'll be filled with people.

 

You were the one who popularized Pantheon in the jungle in Europe. Is he one of your favorite characters or did you play it just because it was an hidden OP at this time ? 

Well at first we played it in mid, then we saw that some teams used it to put pressure on the lanes from the jungle. So once I saw it work, I decided to play it more often. 

 

 

Which character is your favorite ?

Elise. 

 

Have you other exotic picks that we may see in the summer split ?

I guess you’ll see in the summer split ;) .

 

Let's talk about changes of jungle in season 4 : now the junglers are no longer the guys who play to simply help their team, as they can really carry their team to victory. Does it put more pressure on your shoulders or is it a good thing because if your lanes are losing there is still a last hope ?

At least for me the changes are good because I am more of the type that tries to carry the game rather than just helping from the back. I am quite an aggressive player so it really fits my style. I like it, but right now it’s way harder than it used to be, because now people rely way more on me than they used to.

 

We can also notice two kinds of junglers actually, which have been emphasized since the change on Wriggle’s Lantern : the jungler who farms a lot and comes to help this team after 10/15 minutes with strong items like Nocturne and Master Yi for example,  and the jungler who ganks a lot immediately at the beginning of the game like Elise or Lee Sin. Of course there are the champions who can do the two together very well like Vi or Eve. Which style is your favorite ?

Feral Flare got quite nerfed so its not worth it anymore to stay in the jungle and just farm it. Champions like Lee, Elise and Eve are good because they can combine farming with putting pressure on the lanes, so iI definitely prefer that kind of champ.

 

Riot made a rework on Wriggle’s Lantern but it was too strong, so they nerfed it a bit on patch 4.7. Do you think this item is still a bit overpowered or is it balanced now ?

I think its balanced. For soloQ, it’s still quite a good item, but I dont think its viable anymore in competitive play. May be on some specific champions like Nocturne but I am not sure about it.

 

Do you want to see more changes in the jungle at the moment, or is it fine according to you ?

The jungle has always been the jungle. I always love it - I like how they change it because i think I adapt faster than other people do. 

 

How about the old junglers like Amumu, Alistar etc, do they still have a place in this meta or will they be definitively part of the past if Riot doesn't change something on the meta ? And if so, which changes could help them to come back as the top of the charts ?

Currently everyone plays the aggressive junglers which leaves those behind, because they are quite slow at farming the jungle, moreover the game actually is really faster than it used to be.  

 

 

Who is the best jungler in the world now according to you ?

Big Bro Insec ! 

 

After all that, it is time for a fun question. Can give us what you would consider the coolest team compositions for a show match ? 

Malph Top, Amumu Jungle, Orianna mid, Jarvan+Leona bot. And then you'll hear from Xaxus: WOMBOOOO COMBOOO 

 

We'll leave you alone now. Thank you very much for giving us a part of your time. Is there anything you want to say to the community and to your fans ?

I would like to thank all the people that support us even after the bad first week we had in the LCS. I also want to thank ROCCAT and AMD for the trust in us and the support they give us - We could not be here without them. Also thanks to my girl that has been cheering me up when I’m down and always supporting me.