April 19, 2021

League of Legends

Misfits Premier Shlatan: “I don’t think the level of the group was as high as I thought but among the other three teams, AGO Rogue is probably the best.”

Before the second round robin of the EU Masters 2021 Spring kicks off, we spoke to Misfits Premier jungler Lucjan “Shlatan” Ahmad, his team’s current run at EUM and his thoughts on the current meta.

First and foremost, congratulations on your win against AGO ROGUE! It looked quite a long game with Misfits taking the lead, then Rogue stole the baron but eventually you guys closed it out. It looked like quite a wild game from the outside, what was the game like for you and Misfits?

Shlatan: Honestly, because of the game against ŠAIM SE SuppUp where we threw and lost in the end, we were a bit more stressed coming into this game since it was a really important game against AGO ROGUE. We had a really big lead as well, I think we had like two drakes and four turrets up, as well as the kill lead so it was looking good in the beginning.

Then we didn’t manage to transition it into third drake and the Soul Point, considering we should have gotten Soul Point really fast with the team composition we had against Rogue’s team composition, since theirs was more geared towards scaling and farming. We had some bad moments, like with the Nashor steal. We didn’t manage to execute all our plans perfectly, but I personally thought we had the game in our hands most of the time.

Shlatan is not level 9 he hasn’t learned Smite yet 😔 pic.twitter.com/UTAh9WVwWV

— Misfits Gaming LoL (@MisfitsggLoL) April 16, 2021

Tell me a little about the Baron play then. Was it you guys not expecting Orianna to be there or was the communication unclear, since I read Daniel “Sertuss” Gamani’s tweet on the Smites!

Shlatan: We wanted to start Nashor because we were full health and Rogue were just coming out of base, so we had time. Since they were playing Hecarim as well, I thought if he uses his ultimate into the pit, we just double Smite the Baron (since Sertuss picked up Smite).

But then I saw Hecarim around mid-lane so I thought since Hecarim is not there, I’ll smite it but I didn’t tell that to Sertuss. So… he didn’t know and Smited at around 1.2k hp which left the Nashor at around 400 hp, and then Orianna stole it. This was definitely our Baron but it’s fine, these things happen.

Never trying again to double smite Nash 🤣 #MSFWIN

— Sertuss (@SertussLoL) April 16, 2021

Following up on that, could you tell me a little bit about your game against ŠAIM SE SuppUp then? You mentioned that you guys were nervous coming into the AGO Rogue game because of this, so what were the issues going into or during the Saim Se game from your perspective?

Shlatan: I’m not really sure because I felt like the game was going really smoothly until we lost like three teamfights in a row really randomly. I think we just executed the teamfights really poorly and also we were trying to end too quickly, which gave them time to flank us when that was their only option to win a teamfight.

So yeah, we were just not calm enough and also in terms of how we played the teamfights was also a bit lacking. Those were the main issues I would say, it was mostly us just throwing the game.

I’d say Saim Se Suppup has shown a pretty decent level considering the perceived strength of this group. Most people predicted Rogue, G2 and yourselves would be the leading teams but now that you’ve played all of them, have your expectations of your group changed?

Shlatan: I would say the other three teams are really close in terms of their level. I think their early games are not really good and they mostly focus on farming. I don’t think the level of the group was as high as I thought.

When I first saw the teams, I was thinking we would have a tough time playing against G2 Arctic and AGO ROGUE since their players are really good. I was concerned we had a really hard group, but if we do our job and just play our game and our way, we will do well against all the other teams. I think the level of play is pretty even, but among the other three teams AGO Rogue is probably the best.

The Standings after Week 1 of the #EUMasters Group Stage, we’ll be back on Tuesday! pic.twitter.com/Dt9uFhhKJU

— European Masters (@EUMasters) April 17, 2021

Fair enough. Coming into EU Masters, for this season everyone is hyping up the LFL and saying they are the favourites to win. For you, who’s played your first season in the LFL with Misfits Premier, what do you make of the level of the LFL compared to the Ultraliga for example. Is the LFL a cut above all the other ERLs right now?

Shlatan: Hmmm… I would say the LFL’s level is higher on average. If you look at the teams on average the level is way higher because there are more teams that are pretty decent. To use Ultraliga as an example, there are maybe one or two good teams and that’s all. The other teams, the bottom of the pack especially, are way worse.

Though I think the idea that the LFL is a full cut above is a bit exaggerated, I think there are two extremely strong teams in ourselves and Karime Corp. The other LFL teams are still good of course and it’s the strongest ERL, since a lot of teams have young, talented mechanical prodigies.

Since you mentioned you think yourselves and Karmine Corp are a level above the rest of the LFL teams and since you lost to them 3-0 in the LFL finals, how big do you think the level between both teams are? Do you think it’s massive, or it’s close but there are just a few things holding Misfits back?

Shlatan: It’s hard to say. I think we didn’t manage to perform on our usual level and they have really good team synergy, which I believe was what made us lose the finals. I would say our levels are about even and I would even put our team above them still, because I think we can win against them if we both get out of groups and meet each other in the finals, where we can show that we’re the better team.

I respect Karmine Corp a lot, of course. They’re a really good team with really good players, and they seem to enjoy playing with each other as well.

Fin des matchs aller de la phase de groupe : 3-0 ! 🇫🇷 #KCORP

GGWP @S04Esports 🤝 pic.twitter.com/Y0TLd7KypM

— Karmine Corp (@KarmineCorp) April 17, 2021

Since you mentioned you wish to meet Karmine Corp in the EU Masters finals…

Shlatan: I hope so!

What other regions or teams other than the LFL for this EU Masters can really challenge the LFL teams for the title?

Shlatan: I don’t know too much about every single team, honestly. From the teams that I know, BIG (Berlin International Gaming) and mousesports are coming from the Prime League, and… that’s all?

The Prime League also has FC Schalke 04 Evolution!

Shlatan: Oh yeah, that’s true. So I would say other than us or Karmine Corp, the best teams could be coming from the Prime League. I think BT Excel from the NLC is also pretty good. But in my opinion it’s difficult to say because I don’t often meet too many of the other teams – other than the ones mentioned – apart from some scrims and the like.

Just on the side, Misfits Premier is a team with four Polish players and a lot of fans like to have fun and joke about Misfits being a Polish team and not an LFL team. Does it annoy you guys or do you all just laugh at the memes?

Shlatan: We definitely laugh at it and don’t take it seriously. From my perspective, I represent the LFL obviously and even though I played in the Ultraliga before, I’m really keen to represent the French league and I’m really proud to be given the chance to do that.

Another thing is that when I’m playing competitively it’s also for myself. I represent France, but I also do it for myself. I don’t think about it as much but I’m always really proud to represent the region I’m in.

Small change pic.twitter.com/8fCyDYTjOl

— Chocolate (@CzekoladLol) April 1, 2021

That’s very nice to hear! Before we end, I’d just like your thoughts on the current meta. The two games in my opinion that really illustrate the current meta would be Game 5 of the LEC finals and your loss to ŠAIM SE SuppUp. What do you think of this current meta and do you personally like it?

Shlatan: I like the current meta but I still prefer last season’s meta before they changed the jungle. In terms of the current meta where it’s mostly farming, playing for teamfights and Dragon Souls, I like it but I also think you can play it both ways. If you play a really good early game you can suffocate your opponents, yet you still need to execute the teamfights well, so it doesn’t mean if you’re ahead you can just play however badly you want in teamfights and still win the game.

As you said the Rogue and MAD Lions game and our game where we had very big leads are good examples, but there are moments where the opponents get opportunities to come back where they shouldn’t have, so it’s really up to the team that’s having the lead to close the games cleanly.

As a jungler do you like the current meta of champions then? It’s mostly Hecarim, Udyr, maybe Lillia or Volibear sometimes, is it boring or stale to you?

Shlatan: For sure it’s boring. I mean, playing Hecarim or Udyr every single game? Though frankly, I enjoy playing them now compared to a year ago. If I thought of myself playing Hecarim or Udyr then, I would say to myself “no, I won’t play those champions because they’re so boring!” but they’re not as boring as I thought.

The current issue is that there are not enough other champions being viable coming up with the patches. For the last three patches or so, Udyr and Hecarim are still the most prominent junglers. I think that’s the problem, since we’re only seeing one type of jungler which are farming or fast clearing ones. Without Hunter’s Machete, this affects auto-attacking junglers like Lee Sin, Jarvan and so forth.

This was… certainly a game of League of Legends pic.twitter.com/2Rnv9snraz

— European Masters (@EUMasters) April 16, 2021

I’d just like to quickly ask then, do you prefer ganking junglers like Lee Sin to come back into the meta?

Shlatan: Definitely. I like farming junglers like Graves and all but I’d also like the opportunity to pick Lee Sin, you know? So please Riot, do something about it! I know it won’t happen but… yeah.

I do miss your Lee Sin too, so Riot, please! That’s the end of the interview, is there anything else you’d like to add?

Shlatan: I just want to say thank you for the interview and I want to thank all the fans cheering for me from wherever you are, be it from France or Poland!

Thank you for the interview, Shlatan!

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Image credit: Misfits Premier