The 2021 LCS season is in full swing and Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett is a player that needs no introduction. Whether you know him for his storied history in the North American pro scene, his dominant Jungle play, or his expansive champion pool (although it’s looking more like a champion galaxy these days), he continues to make his mark on the game week in and week out. We sat down with him to ask about all of the action in the season so far and more, read on!

Well Dardoch, it’s great to talk to you again! Last time we talked was just before Christmas, so what’s something you’ve been enjoying more now that you’re back in action and what’s something you don’t get to enjoy quite as much?

Dardoch: I’d say now that we’re back, I’m enjoying playing scrims and more competitive games in general (even in solo queue), and that’s definitely the thing I’ve missed the most. The thing I miss the most from the off-season would be doing whatever I want with my sleep schedule… or just ignoring it altogether I guess, haha.

Before we talk about the regular season, let’s talk about the Lock In Tournament. Many players, coaches and analysts alike have been vocal fans of this tournament for a variety of reasons, but what are your thoughts on this as a tool for team development?

Dardoch: I think it’s definitely beneficial. I still think there’s too much off-season in general; the format change for this year in my opinion is great because we get to play more games, but I still think the best of one format isn’t perfect. 

I mean, if you look into the Lock In Tournament, most of the BO1s were kind of one-sided, and that happens a lot in the first few games of the LCK or LPL. Fairly often the first game of a BO3 is just a stomp, then teams will go and adjust their play and strategy and then the second game is far closer (and the third after that, if it gets that far). I’d say that a team like TL (Team Liquid) would probably have dropped more games in Lock In if we were playing BO3s from the start, and I think the regular season in general would benefit greatly by having more BO3s than BO1s. The Lock In Tournament is definitely a step in the right direction, though.

How did you and the team perform compared to your expectations of how you were going to perform?

Dardoch: I honestly wouldn’t say we had any expectations of how we were going to perform, win or lose. I think if we had any expectation at all it was just to be competitive against every team we play against, and that there isn’t a single game that feels like we can’t win or is just over in champ select. In that way, I’d say we met our expectations, but it didn’t feel like that by the end since we missed out on playing in the later rounds. It at least served as a good showing for us, and even though we felt bad at the time it still felt like every game was winnable. 

Already we’re seeing big differences in the results you and the team are producing between the Lock In Tournament and the regular season. In your eyes, what has made the biggest difference in this short time?

Dardoch: It’s actually kind of a meme among the team but we’re just trying to improve every day, and us showing better results as time goes on is a product of that mindset. We go into every single game we play, whether it’s scrim or LCS, with the mindset that we’re going to try our best to win right now but we’re also going to make some mistakes through the game that we can improve on.

Looking now to the regular season; the team is currently sitting at equal 3rd place with 4 wins and 2 losses, what’s the general mood in the team about the games you’ve played so far? (editor's note: at time of publishing we are shared 2nd place with 6-3 standing)

Dardoch: As far as last week (Week 2) goes, we were happy with the result but not so happy with how we got there. There were obviously some very sloppy moments, in particular the EG (Evil Geniuses) game, which we thought was going to be a hard matchup for us and ended up being a bit of a draft kingdom where we just had an unloseable win condition through the Blue Kayn. We made a lot of really peculiar mistakes after our early lead that we gained through killing Lillia a few times… that game was just all over the place, and while we were happy to win, we certainly don’t want to replicate that play when we face the top teams in the near future.

This is the first time the LCS season is only going to be 6 weeks long, and with 3 games a week teams are facing more action than previous seasons have had to offer. Do you think this will be positive for the players in the LCS?

Dardoch: Oh absolutely. I don’t care how long the season is; every team and every player should have the mentality that they want to win everything. When you have that mentality, you have to prepare to win the region, and then at MSI, and then at Worlds, and that means that you’re not going to have that much down time. From my point of view this shouldn’t make a difference in players’ minds, but I’m just glad to be playing more frequently. 

With so many teams shaking up their rosters, there has been an influx of talent to the LCS. Sitting at the top are Cloud 9 and 100 Thieves, how does this compare to your expectations coming into the season?

Dardoch: On paper, the best three teams (in my opinion) were Cloud 9, 100 Thieves, and Team Liquid, after which I’d put TSM and Evil Geniuses. C9 and 100T being at the very top isn’t a surprise to me at all, and pretty much everything else seems standard too. I think we can beat any team in the league, but also lose to any team as well, so it’s kind of a double edged sword when you’re confident playing against the big teams and cautious playing against the weaker teams. 

Social media and analysts alike have been reviewing your games particularly with a mix of admiration and bewilderment as you’ve picked 10 unique champions in 10 games. Can you talk us through your logic in changing it up so frequently?

Dardoch: The method to the madness, for me, is just that I’ll pick whatever I think is best for the specific draft. I have rookies on my team and people that are less experienced with the LCS, so this is not only an opportunity to showcase my champion pool (which people have questioned in the past), but also a way to make my team feel more comfortable. I’ll always be able to pick my champ later, and that’s the mentality I want my guys to have in champ select where if they feel that they NEED to take a champion because they’d be uncomfortable if an enemy has it or it would get banned out later on, then I’d always be there to say that I have enough champions that I can be flexible. I see it both as a way to showcase my own ability and a strategy my teammates and coach can draft around. 

The way that the team is currently structured puts both you and Aphromoo in leadership positions as the veterans on the roster. How has your experience been leading the team with Aphro by your side?

Dardoch: Zaq and I have always worked well together, even since we played together on CLG. It’s been a really great experience working with him and taking his lead in regard to the attitude of a leader. If it’s a good cop/bad cop situation, I’m definitely the bad cop out of the two of us and I’ll be more likely to get fired up, but Zaq is showing me more every day how powerful it is to be a more patient and calm leader. People will respond better to that kind of leadership, and it means that while I’m a leader in the squad I’m still learning things as we go. 

Dignitas’ new division coach, Jimmy Harrison, said on Twitter: “Week 1 we lose to TL and 100T and all I hear is DIG is 10th place for sure. Shut the f*** up and watch us develop.”

What’s it been like working with Jimmy so far and what has been the most important thing he’s brought to the team in your opinion?

Dardoch: Haha, the message that he puts out on Twitter is the exact same message he brings to the team every day. He believes in us, not just as individuals but as a group, that we’ll be one of the best teams in the region and that we have the capability to be some of the best players in our roles. I’d say the biggest thing that he’s done for the team is sculpt the environment to feel like we’re more of a family than just people who are coming to work together every day. It’s a big help that we’re all living together in-house, and we’re feeling more like a traditional team than we had with previous rosters in the past. Last season it was hard to feel like we were improving, and it was like we ended the season no better than we started it, but already with Jimmy we’re seeing the improvements consistently throughout the whole team.

I know in the past you’ve said you’re not too big on predictions, but once this season has finished, what kind of a result would make you reflect on the season as a success?

Dardoch: My main goal is just to get to playoffs and then have a good performance there, whether we win or lose, I want to be happy with how we played. If we get there, play without nerves, and then just get outclassed, then I won’t be upset. I just don’t want to get there and get knocked out early with us all saying “ah, we should’ve just 3-0’d them”, you know? I want the younger guys to feel like they had a good showing too, since they didn’t really feel that way with their previous LCS showings on the whole. 

To wrap this interview up, both Azael and Dash have said that if you busted out the Teemo Jungle this season, they’d buy Dignitas jerseys to celebrate - any chance of seeing that? If not, are there any picks you’ve been working on that might surprise people?

Dardoch: I’m not sure if I have any picks that people are going to be surprised by necessarily… I think what’s left for me to play is fairly predictable, you know, like Ivern, Graves, Olaf, Nocturne and things that are just more standard, but I definitely will not be playing Teemo. Unless he gets a monumental buff to his performance in the Jungle, I’d have to say I won’t ever play him. 

We’d like to thank Dardoch for his time and wish both him and the team all the best of luck in their games to come. You can catch Dardoch on Twitter @Dardoch and stay up to date with all of Dignitas’ games and team news @dignitas!