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Esports News UK caught up with JDXL League of Legends head coach Torok about his team heading into NLC Division 1 Summer 2022 Season and also the UK/Nordics scene compared to other regions in Europe.
On the NLC compared to other LoL European Regional Leagues
“We’ve been a region with two seeds for such a long time, and one of those teams usually goes on a deep run [in the EU Masters],” Torok said. “We are an underdog region because of the views compared to other regions, people think we’re not gonna be very good.
“The notorious KC fans are often very defensive about their team’s performance, but when KC first played versus X7, they said ‘you played some beautiful League of Legends against us’. And I think that’s only a positive. That respect coming to the NLC and the product, the broadcast it has too, it’s a million times better.
“And in terms of Bifrost, Furuy was my old mid-laner last split [with Singularity], so seeing him on Bifrost now… it’s really nice that people in the UK/Nordic system are sticking around and they know each other.
“I’m really passionate about this region, so I think it finally getting the attention and investment it deserves is really beautiful to see. “I don’t know if Riot will change the seeding for summer, but we have at least three teams, potentially four or five, when it comes to summer, that can do real damage at EU Masters.
“Our style is very aggressive, exciting and innovative, and you do sit on a knife’s edge sometimes because you’re trying to break the barriers of what other people think you can do. And that doesn’t necessarily score you wins, because you’re trying to do what you think is correct and will make you a better team in the long run.”
Torok, JDXL
On JDXL heading into NLC Summer 2022
“I know for a fact we can beat every single team in Europe,” Torok said. “Okay, we didn’t make it to EU Masters and that sucks, but I think that just makes it even more exciting, because we’re sat waiting for next split, with Bifrost and X7 both doing good things.
“I think in terms of our new rebuild, when we move into the summer split it’s really important that we keep showing the same flair and differentiation from other teams that we developed in spring.
“We know it’s a style that’s very aggressive, exciting and innovative, and you do sit on a knife’s edge sometimes because you’re trying to break the barriers of what other people think you can do. And that doesn’t necessarily score you wins, because you’re trying to do what you think is correct and will make you a better team in the long run.
“I love results, don’t get me wrong. But I think the academy is not just there to pump out results. Let’s make sure everyone is still enjoying the game, people are trying to innovate within the game and evolving as players.”
This is the second part of our interview – check out part 1 of our Torok interview about him playing at the i68 LAN with Verdant here. You can also see our interview with Excel’s CEO on the upcoming Summer 2022 LEC Season.
Insomnia esports coverage powered by AGON by AOC – see the AGON League of Legends monitor here and more i68 esports news and coverage here
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
