The Piltover Post

As the new kids on the block, a lot of LTA fans were interested to see how Disguised would match up against their senior counterparts such as Team Liquid, FlyQuest, and Cloud9. Unfortunately, DSG had a rocky start and it only seemed to get more difficult for them as the year rolled on. After two splits with a format that was working against them, they made changes to the roster. One thing that stayed the same was DSG’s jungler, Lawrence Lin “eXyu” Xu. In spite of the challenges thrown at them, eXyu reflected on the past year and prepares for Mexico City.

Q: After being disrespected by Dignitas, a lot of fans supported you in letting DIG know they were not happy with that decision-making. Clearly, the way that DIG treated you was not okay, and it has brought to light a lot of other less-than-nice things about the management and the way that org is being run. Do you agree with the broadcast team putting a lot of emphasis on the rivalry with DIG? Do you think it matches your own feelings?

A: Obviously I was pretty hurt when DIG initially let me go and I’ve been very vocal about how I feel about the org and their decisions in general. I think the rivalry was a bit overused by the broadcast but I think it made sense from their perspective since there’s not a lot of storylines for orgs like DSG and DIG. I personally felt like it was less of a rivalry and more of a grudge match. Rivalries usually go both ways but I don’t think DIG dropping me makes them view me as a rival. It was a lot more one-sided anger/motivation I think.

Q: Disguised had a rough first start to the season and were considered a bottom-tier team. After two splits of finishing last, DSG made some changes to the roster, bringing in Isaac “DARKWINGS” Chou and Cho “Rahel” Min-seong to the mid lane and the bot lane. Towards the end of split 3, it felt like DSG was finally finding its footing, despite challenges thrown your way. With the three splits and two international tournaments crammed in, the season felt a lot shorter than in the past. Do you think that you could have made it to the Championships if you had more time? 

A: I can’t say for sure that we would’ve made it to the Championship but I think we would have been more likely to make it for sure. I think our team was definitely ramping up but the short split/weird format didn’t help us at all.

Q: The pick-and-play format received quite a bit of backlash from viewers, which was understandable. Letting teams pick the team they want to fight felt very insincere, and not in the best interest of the league. A lot of viewers were unhappy about it. From a player’s perspective, what was the best part about this stage? What was the worst?

A: I think the format could be cool in theory but honestly it felt more like a tournament than a split. I think the best part is that you can have the opportunity to call your own shot against a favorite and take them down. The worst part is that it doesn’t feel like a full split and you don’t get the opportunity to play against everyone.

Q: The formatting for competitive League of Legends has been inconsistent, and to many viewers, it has been a complete disaster. With their ruling in place, Disguised will have to go back to tier 3 and fight in the NACL Open Qualifiers to become a part of tier 2 again. Is DSG up for the challenge? 

A: We’re definitely working hard to make sure we secure our spot in the LTA/LCS next year. If we are unsuccessful, I can’t imagine any of our players willingly playing in tier 3 so there’s definitely a lot of responsibility for us to defend the spot.

Q: DSG now faces the relegation tournament in Mexico City, despite an impressive rally in split 3. A lot of fans think that you guys will win, due to your experience in LTAN and the idea that tier 1 is a different league.  Do you share that sentiment? Are you confident in your chances in the face of relegation?

A: Our team is pretty confident that we’ll defend the spot. The teams that show up at relegation shouldn’t be overlooked though so we still need to focus up and prepare with the same intensity that we would in playoffs for tier 1.

Q: With the regular season over, how do you feel you performed? What is something that you feel helped you stand out from other junglers in the LTA? Is there something you felt that you went into the season knowing you needed to work on, and you fell short of reaching your goal? 

A: I think if you only look at the last split, I would say I played pretty well. I think the year overall was pretty disappointing and my struggles on stage were definitely hurting my confidence and snowballing from there. I came into this year trying to focus on consistency and team fighting and I’d say I made good progress in my team fighting but fell short a bit on the consistency end.