UK League of Legends personality, Ruddy Esports org owner, content creator and LFL English caster DonJake has called out NLC orgs in an interview with Esports News UK.
Speaking to editor Dom Sacco on the ENUK Twitch channel last night, DonJake didn’t hold back with his criticism of Division 1 teams’ content in the League of Legends UK, Ireland and Nordic European Regional League, and said their lack of identity was stifling the scene.
“NLC suffers from disparate nationalistic identities, in the sense that France can galvanise the national mood of ‘we are French’ and get that ‘ultra’ mindset a West Ham football hooligan can so ardently be in support of their team,” he said at the start of his epic rant.
“Karmine Corp have a very ultra fanbase and they will criticise you and bite your arm off before you can put a finger in the pond of criticism. That’s a positive and negative. Org owners need to do more to stop that.
“Passion doesn’t exist in the NLC, because all of the Div 1 orgs are really shit – bar Vanir. The UK orgs don’t do enough to build their own identity.”
“But when you see how Jamada got criticism for criticising KC, then said ‘I love the banter guys’ and got thousands of reactions. A lot of it is just passion, and that doesn’t exist in NLC, because first of all of the NLC Div 1 orgs are really shit.
“And I’ll talk shit because I care about the scene a lot and I really want us to grow. Shoutout to Vanir actually, as they’re the only org I’ve seen that actually prey on this nationalism and pride and build a fanbase. When you have the NLC and see its infographic, and the eight stars that lead to Mount Everest or whatever.
“The UK orgs don’t do enough to build their own identity. We’re the UK, man! Even if you’re a London org, London is the capital of arrogance in the West! We’re so braggadocious. I grew up with people in London that said ‘let me have a go on your bike’ then never come back with your bike. Where’s that rebel energy, that devil-may-care attitude?
“NLC teams do not do enough, at all, in terms of content or actual branding. You will see more returns on this crazy volatile market structure in the UK and NLC, if you pump resources into the league, the league will get more viewers and you’ll get more money back.
“Mediocrity cannot be allowed to prosper because it’s killed this region for so long, and I, DonJake, herald of change, will do as much as I can to move things in a good direction!”
“I’ve been told not to be a brand risk. But UK orgs don’t work with brands, you’re not risking anything. What the fuck are Div 2 and 3 teams risking? It’s so insane to me.
“Can we make tangible efforts to improve the scene? That’s how you grow something. Prime League Div 2 gets 15k viewers, NLC is on 5k, NLC Summer 2022 peaked at 6k in the first couple of weeks and was on 3k last year. I don’t want to shit on NLC/product manager Kaiprioska because he’s doing a great job.
“But orgs, do something! We are dying, flatlining, the heartbeat of the scene is dying on the floor and you care about making shitty little NFT tokens. Shut up, go and make a video and stop being so fucking lazy. You all disgust me with what little effort you put in!
“The Ruddy announcement video I made cost me £50, and £30 of that went to DuckyVisual of MoonStruck Media for editing the video and £20 on a studio I booked for a day. Some of these orgs [have lots more money] and are as dried up creatively as a nun’s purse, but there’s no excuse not to [improve their content].
“In conclusion, NLC orgs, please get a grip, because you are killing this region.”
That Excel rap, where DonJake got his inspiration from and other NLC Fan on the Street/Social Clash content
DonJake recently performed a rap for Excel Esports’ JD XL Fan on the Street segment on an NLC broadcast.
“The Fan on the Street segment is a good thing. Shoutout to me, I absolutely smashed it, I’m the saviour of the scene, I get it,” he jokes. “I basically got the idea for [the Excel rap] through Vanir,” DonJake said. “Shoutout to Vanir again, the only good org in the NLC – and Excel, who do good stuff through me!
“The Vanir video had a guy drinking and portraying this rampant viking thing. I saw that and thought ‘good’, they’re one of the only orgs that can get a chain of Vanir fans posting copypastas. Orgs with more financial backing don’t have a fanbase like Vanir. Make no mistake, Vanir are still in the mud, but they’re the crabs at the top of the bucket.
“So I saw that and wrote my bars. I wanted to tap into the Roll Safe, Big Shaq identity that people see us as, and put my own twist on it. I said to [NLC product manager] Kai before I did this, ‘no one will do a better job than me’. I challenge any NLC org to do so.
“Astralis came back one with a literal ‘fan’ on the street, and I was just laughing [at it]. I’m an arrogant person and you’re proving to me you can’t do it. There are no creative juices flowing for any of these ideas that they’re putting through.
“Singularity did one the other day too. Singularity, the video you did for Fan of the Street is the most mundane, lackadaisical, syphilitic waste of air time I’ve ever seen in my life. The idea that any sort of resources or thought was dedicated to that is just a joke to me. It’s the lapse of thought, the absence of creativity that went into that project.
“Mediocrity cannot be allowed to prosper because it’s killed this region for so long, and I, DonJake, herald of change… I’ll do as much as I can to move things in a good direction. I’m not a sole saviour, but orgs, please, it’s our region and your business.
“Singularity, the video you did for Fan of the Street is the most mundane, lackadaisical, syphilitic waste of air time I’ve ever seen in my life.”
DonJake also complimented NLC’s Social Clash feature, where they rank orgs based on their social media posts, such as memes and banter.
“There are very mundane memes [in this], but it’s at least better than nothing,” DonJake said.
“So shoutout to the orgs that are doing it, but all it really does is highlight how shit the orgs are that aren’t doing it. If you’re not willing to put the effort in to make a fucking meme in Paint, then what is wrong with you? Do you care? We can have a chat about how you’re tunnelling your business into the ground.”
Who is DonJake?
DonJake is a 22-year-old esports caster, org owner, content creator, DJ and entrepreneur from East London, but who actually is DonJake, beneath all of that?
He opened up on his psyche and inner self: “I’m a relatively arrogant person, I kind of operate under a stupor of bravado, I feel like it’s helpful for creatives. You know, you have to believe you’re the shit, sometimes. That comes with the added layer of the fact that I’m also a deeply insecure person that dreads their existence a lot of the time and has severe doubts about their ability to do most things.
“But it also propels me to win. I exist in a chaotic corpus, so to speak, in the sense that I’m constantly modulated by my own bipolar emotions in two different directions.
“I do very much have a persona, the character I play [in my videos] is very braggadocious, arrogant and up in your face by telling you what I think. It is a character, but it is me to an extent, but much like any persona, it’s an accentuated version of myself. I feel like there’s a weird moment people have when they clue into who I am as a person – oh, this guy isn’t a bumbling jester, he knows what he’s doing.”
DonJake’s Ruddy Esports NLC Div 3 roster
DonJake has set up an esports org in Division 3 of the NLC, known as Ruddy Esports, with fellow co-owner Harrythek1ng.
Their roster features veteran UK LoL top-laner Rifty, as well as players including jungler Tent, mid-laner Ketsuo, ADC Kallle and support player Regan.
Here’s their roster announcement:
DonJake said: “For Rifty to take the chance with us in Div 3, I couldn’t be happier. He adds such a senior role to our team in terms of legitimacy. It’s a joy to have him around – and the team in general. There’s some good UK faces on the roster.”
Check out the full interview with DonJake on the ENUK YouTube channel and be sure to follow DonJake and Ruddy Esports on Twitter.
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.
